Henry John Stedman Cotton

Who was Henry John Stedman Cotton?

Sir Henry John Stedman Cotton, KCSI had a long career in the Indian Civil Service, during which he was sympathetic to Indian nationalism. After returning to England, he served as a Liberal Party Member of Parliament for Nottingham East from 1906 to January 1910.

He entered Magdalen College School in 1856, Brighton College in 1859, and King's College London in 1861. He visited Switzerland in 1863. He married his wife Mary on August 1, 1867.

Cotton joined the Indian Civil Service, arriving in India in 1867. His first posting was at Midnapore, where his immediate superior was William James Herschel, then the local magistrate. His eldest son H. E. A. Cotton was born in that city in 1868. He later served in Chuadanga, where he witnessed the great flood of 1871. In 1872 he was posted to Calcutta, and in 1873 he was appointed Assistant Secretary to the Bengal Government by Sir George Campbell, and later worked under Sir Richard Temple. In 1878 he became magistrate and collector at Chittagong; in 1880 he became Senior Secretary to the Board of Revenue in Bengal.