The Asiatic Society was founded on 15 January 1784 in Calcutta to promote 'Oriental research', the scholarly study of Asia's languages, history, science and antiquities. Its journal began as Asiatick Researches and its library holds tens of thousands of manuscripts. James Prinsep, who deciphered the Brahmi script of Ashoka's edicts, was its journal's founding editor in the 1830s.
Key facts
- Founded 15 January 1784 in Calcutta for 'Oriental research'; housed at 1 Park Street, Kolkata, since 1808.
- Renamed in stages and became 'The Asiatic Society' on 1 July 1951; its museum (1814) holds an Ashoka rock edict.
- Library of about 117,000 books and 47,000 manuscripts; the Bibliotheca Indica series since 1849.
- In 2025 it launched 'Anukriti', a project to recreate damaged manuscripts. (as of 23 Oct 2026)
Why exams ask about it
The founder, the year and the city are the standard questions, with Prinsep and Brahmi as a follow-up.