Francis Buchanan-Hamilton (1762–1829) was a renowned Scottish physician, geographer, and botanist who made revolutionary contributions to the topography, agriculture, and statistical surveys of India under the East India Company. He is considered a pioneer of modern South Asian statistics because the detailed surveys he conducted from 1807 to 1814 across then-undivided Bengal (including the regions of Rangpur, Dinajpur, and Purnia) remain an invaluable treasure trove of social and economic history. He also authored significant works on his travels to Mysore and Nepal and scientifically classified many new plant species in the field of botany. Although his works were helpful to the British administration, they are now regarded as the most reliable sources for understanding the true picture of rural Bengal and its biodiversity during the colonial era.
