Sir William Jones, a newly appointed Puisne Judge of the old Supreme Court at Fort William in Bengal, landed at Calcutta in September, 1783. During his long voyage from England to India while on the Arabian Sea a train of reflections on the 'eventful histories and agreeable fictions of the Eastern World' crossed his mind and these reflections of a master of several oriental languages took shape in the institution, on January 15, 1784, of the Asiatic Society to investigate within the geographical limits of Asia whatever is performed by man or produced by nature. In the inaugural address delivered by Sir William Jones on the occasion he chalked out the object of the Society as 'enquiry into the history and antiquities, arts, sciences and literature of Asia' and it was agreed that 'in the infancy of the Society there ought to be no confinement, no trouble, no expense, no unnecessary formality'. It was decided to have weekly meetings for the purpose of hearing original papers read on such subjects as fall within the Society's enquiries and to invite all curious and learned men to send their valuable tracts to the Secretary for publication as Asiatick Miscellany towards the end of each year.
During the first few years, however, no such publications could be taken in hand. The Society having no funds of its own at the time Manuel Cantopher of the East India Co.'s printing office undertook such a publication as a private speculation and the first volume was brought out in 1788 under the title Asiatick Researches, instead of what the founder had contemplated. By 1797 five volumes came out and were warmly received in the literary world. They made such a name and fame that editions of it were brought out in different countries of Europe, including a pirated edition in England in 1798. The reception which the first five volumes met with induced the Society to bring out the Asiatick Researches on its own account from 1798. In 1829 it was decided to divide the Asiatick Researches into two parts: one for scientific and the other for literary communications and the plan was carried out in vol. 17 (1832) to vol. 20 (1839). This publication ceased after the 20th volume in 1839 and the Society formally dropped it in 1842.
The form of the Asiatick Researches was not suitable for short but interesting and learned communications on new and important discoveries and ideas which were necessarily left out. For a time these found a place in the Quarterly Oriental Journal, started in 1821 by Dr. H. H. Wilson, and in the Transactions of the Medical and Physical Society. Both the publications were, however, dropped in 1827.
Captain J. D. Herbert's monthly journal, Gleanings in Science, which appeared in 1829, superseded the above two Journals. The Society gained the privilege of having the précis of its monthly proceedings, which had heretofore been preserved in manuscripts, regularly published in this Journal. In 1830 when Captain Herbert left Calcutta, James Prinsep took up the responsibility to continue to get out the publication in a now character and under a new name, The Journal of the Asiatic Society. The sanction sought for was given on March 7, 1832, and and the first issue of the Journal appeared in March, 1832, und under the title of The Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal.
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