●  It was an academy of oriental studies and a centre of learning, founded on 10 July 1800 by Lord Wellesley, then Governor-General of British India, located within the Fort William complex in Calcutta.

●  It aimed at training British officials in Indian languages and, in the process, fostered the development of languages such as Bengali and Urdu.

●  But the Court of Directors feared that such a training programme might result in the loyalties of the civil servants shifting from London to Calcutta. In 1802 Fort William College was closed.