THE Dictionary of National Biography, popularly known as the DNB, is a monumental work that features, in over 60 volumes, some 64,000 biographies of prominent British personalities. But it does not include a biographical article on George Speirs Alexander Ranking (1852-1934), a prominent British orientalist, though Ranking had contributed to the DNB and his article on John T. Platts provides readers with some essential information on the life of the renowned lexicographer.

C.E. Buckland’s Dictionary of Indian Biography was first published in 1905 and, at that time, George Ranking was either not famous enough or Buckland perhaps felt he did not deserve an entry.

However, C. Hayavando Rao in The Indian Biographical Dictionary (1915) has given some biographical clues, albeit the entry remained incomplete as Ranking died some 19 years later and published more works after the publication of Rao’s book.

Syed Muqeetul Hasan, in his 1981 book Calcutta Ke Qadeem Mataab’e (Calcutta’s old printing presses), has given a brief account of Ranking’s life and mentions some of his works.

Shanti Ranjan Bhattacharya, too, gave some details on Ranking’s life and works in an article published in the July 1967 issue of Saheefa, Lahore.

But Agha Iftikhar Husain, in Europe Mein Urdu (1968), cast doubt on some years mentioned by Bhattacharya. However, George Ranking’s obituary, published in The British Medical Journal on Aug 18, 1934, contains biographical details and should be considered more authentic.

According to these sources, George S.A. Ranking was, by education and profession, a medical doctor. He came to the subcontinent in the same capacity but developed a profound interest in oriental languages and was ultimately known as a grammarian and lexicographer.

Ranking was born in Hastings, Sussex, England, on Jan 9, 1852. He obtained a degree in medicine from Cambridge and joined the Indian Medical Service in March 1875.

Posted first at Bombay (now Mumbai) and then at Calcutta (now Kolkata) in November 1875, Ranking early in his career served in the Bengal Cavalry for some time.

He went back to England in or around 1879, apparently on health grounds, but returned to Calcutta after a few years. No source mentions precisely when he came back.

From 1892, he worked as professor of chemistry at Calcutta Medical College and as chemical examiner to the Government of Bengal.

In 1898, Ranking held for some time the post of surgeon superintendent of the Presidency European General Hospital, Calcutta.

From quite early in his service, Ranking had devoted himself to the study of oriental languages, learning Urdu, Hindi and Persian.

He also served from 1894 to 1905 as secretary to the Board of Examiners, Fort William, Calcutta.

In 1905, Ranking returned to England and settled at Oxford. Oxford awarded him an MA. He served at Oxford as lecturer in Persian from 1909 to 1920.

Ranking studied Urdu and Hindi for decades and this is reflected in his lexicographic and grammatical works on these languages.

His association with the armed forces benefitted Urdu in another way, too: he compiled a bilingual glossary of artillery terms, something rare in Urdu.

The book, titled Urdu-English Primer for the Use of Colonial Artillery (London, 1899), was intended to enable local servicemen, as mentioned in the preface, to work with European gunners.

The major portion of this 187-page book has three columns. Along with English terms, it gives the transliterated pronunciation of English words in Urdu script as well as their meanings in Urdu.

Muntakhabut Tawarikh is a three-volume, 16th-century Persian work on history. Written by Abdul Qadir Badayuni, it severely criticises Abul Fazl’s Akbar Nama, the official chronicle of Akbar’s reign, for its flattery and support for Akbar’s religious tendencies.

George Ranking translated the first volume of Muntakhabut Tawarikh into English in 1898.

Ranking’s other works include Hidayat-ul-Hikmah, a guide for local medical practitioners (1878); Arabic and Persian Prosody (1885); Talim-e-Zaban-e-Urdu (1889); Introductory Exercises in Urdu Prose Composition with Notes and Translations (1896); A Primer of Persian; A Guide to Hindustani in Persian and Roman Characters (1897); Annotated Glossary to Bagh-o-Bahar (1901); and The Life and Works of Rhazes, about the physician-philosopher Abu Bakr Al-Razi.

Ranking’s An English-Hindustani Dictionary (1905) is, in fact, an English-Urdu dictionary as it lists Urdu words in Urdu script.

George Speirs Alexander Ranking died on July 14, 1934, in Caversham, England. Some online sources carry a photograph attributed to him, but its authenticity needs to be verified.

Published in Dawn, July 20th, 2026