Charles Frederick Oldham

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Charles Frederick Oldham (born January 2, 1832 , † March 25, 1913 in Great Bealings , Suffolk ) was a British medic and religious historian.

Life

Oldham studied medicine at St. George's Hospital, founded in 1733 at Lanesborough House, Hyde Park Corner, London. In 1858 he became a member of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (MRCS) and in 1859 he received a licentiate from the Royal College of Physicians Edinburgh (LRCP Edin.).

On July 27, 1859, Oldham entered the Indian Medical Service as an assistant doctor and was appointed surgeon on July 27, 1871. He served in the Aligarh Levy , which were dissolved in 1888 in the course of the Rawalpindi Review , then in the 39th Bengal Native Infantry. In the 1860s he worked as a doctor in Gurdaspur and Dalhousie in the Punjab and as a medical officer in the princely state of Bahawalpur in Cholistan . The promotion to Surgeon Major took place on July 1, 1873. In 1875 Oldham was transferred to the 1st Gurkha Rifles regiment in Dharmsala , where he remained until the end of his service. From 1875 to 1876 he took part in the Perak campaign against Sultan Abdullah in Malaysia . On October 24, 1887, he was promoted to brigade doctor. From 1878 to 1879 he took part with the Thal Chotiali Field Force in the Second Anglo-Afghan War against Sher Ali Khan and their adventurous march back from Quetta to India. He retired on February 28, 1890.

Oldham was a member of the Royal Asiatic Society .

Act

Oldham's early publications dealt with medical issues, particularly malaria . As a result, he became more and more interested in geographical and, in particular, religious-historical topics, whereby his good knowledge of northern India and Afghanistan, which he had acquired during his military career, benefited. In particular, Oldham was concerned with the question of serpent worship. He put forward the theory that the Nâgas and Asuras the Vedas not know as of Max Müller assumed storm spirits, but the local opponents of invading Aryans represent, and that their descendants today in Kashmir , between the rivers Chenab and Ravi lived . They especially venerate Sesha, Vasuki Basdeo or Biisak Nag, Takshaka or Takht Nag and other Nāga Rajas who are represented in human form. Their temples, Oldham assumed, had changed little since the time of the Mahābhārata . They are mostly built from massive cedar trunks.

The Dravidians of South India are also the descendants of these tribes.

Oldham's works on the snake cult were received largely positively, even if reviewers highlight his lack of historical and ethnographic knowledge. "The Sun and the Serpent" had at least four editions.

Works

  • What is malaria, and why is it most intense in hot climates? An inquiry into the nature and cause of the so-called marsh poison, with remarks on the principles to be observed for the preservation of health in tropical climates and malarious districts. Lewis 1871.
  • Reply to Dr. MacLean's Observations in his critical Examination of Dr. Munro's Views on Malarial Fevers, etc. In: The British Medical Journal , 2, No. 769, September 25, 1875, pp. 394-395.
  • Serpent Worship in India. In: Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, July 1891, 361-392.
  • The Saraswati and the Lost River of the Indian Desert. In: Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland 1893, pp. 49-76.
  • The topography of the Arabian Sea in the neighborhood of the Laccadives: The physical features of some of the Laccadive Islands . 1895.
  • The Nāgas: a contribution to the history of serpent-worship. In: Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, July 1901, pp. 461-473.
  • The Sun and the Serpent: A Contribution to the History of Serpent Worship. Archibald Constable & Co., London 1905 ( at Internet Archive ).

literature

  • Brigade Surgeon Charles Frederick Oldham [Obituary] . In: The British Medical Journal , 1, No. 2728, April 12, 1913, p. 802 PMC 2298909 (free full text).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ CF Oldham: The Nāgas: A contribution to the history of serpent-worship. In: Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, July 1901, p. 461.
  2. ↑ CF Oldham: The Nāgas: A contribution to the history of serpent-worship. In: Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, July 1901, p. 461.
  3. ↑ CF Oldham: The Nāgas: A contribution to the history of serpent-worship. In: Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, July 1901, p. 465.
  4. ↑ Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, April 1905, pp. 389-390.
  5. ^ W. Crooke, Man 5, 1905, p. 96.
personal data
SURNAME Oldham, Charles Frederick
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British medic and religious historian
DATE OF BIRTH January 2, 1832
DATE OF DEATH March 25, 1913
Place of death Great Bealings , Suffolk