St John Thackeray
{{Short description|British collector in Karnataka}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name = St John Thackeray
| image = St John Thackeray's monument at Dharwad, India.jpg
| caption = Thackeray's obelisk at Kittur Chennamma park Dharwad
| birth_date = 1778
| death_date = 23 October 1824
| death_place = Dharwad, Karnataka, India
| resting_place = Dharwad, Karnataka
| monuments = Thackeray's obelisk at Kittur Chennamma park Dharwad
| citizenship = British
| known_for = Collector and Political agent, for Southern Mahratta Doab region of British East India Company
}}
St John Thackeray (1778–1824) was a collector and political agent, who was working in south India for British East India Company during the 1820s.
Early life
Attack on Kittur
=Background=
The Kittur Kingdom, founded in 1585 by one Desai, was ruled by Mallasarja, who was childless, with Kittur Chennamma as the queen.{{cite news|last=P|first=V|title=The legend lives on|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-editorialfeatures/article517712.ece|accessdate=29 November 2012|work= The Hindu|date=16 July 2010}} Mallasarja died in 1824, and whether he adopted a boy before his death was a fact contested by St John Thackeray. Holding that the adoption was either false or forged, Thackeray marched to Kittur. Upon arriving, Thackeray sought to administer the territory. He sealed the treasury in an attempt to confiscate its treasure and jewels. Kittur Chennamma protested and closed the gates of the fort. Thackeray gave the order to blow up the gates, and in the meantime, one of Chennamma's soldiers shot Thackeray.
=Death=
File:Tomb of St John Thackeray at Dharwar, India.jpg
St John Thackeray was killed on 23 October 1824{{cite book|title=Asiatic Journal Vol 3|year=1830|publisher=Parbury, Allen, and Co|location=London|pages=[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.462512/page/n221 218]–222|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.462512 }} at Kittur, Karnataka, when he was waging a war against Kittur Chennamma, the Rani (Queen) of Kittur.{{cite book|last=O'Malley|first=Lewis Sydney Steward|title=Indian civil service, 1601-1930.|year=1985|publisher=Frank Cass|location=London|isbn=9780714620237|pages=76|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qI1gUGPKZGsC&pg=PA76 }} He along with other forces tried to enter the fortified town of Kittur with "inadequate means". First he was shot in the stomach as he rode towards the fort and was later hacked to death by a Kittur swordsman. Amatur Balappa, one of the lieutenants of Kittur Chennamma, was involved in killing Thackeray.{{cite news|title=Restore Kittur Monuments|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-karnataka/article2502260.ece?textsize=small&test=2|accessdate=29 November 2012|newspaper=The Hindu|date=1 October 2011}}
=Memorial=
References
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thackeray, Saint John}}
Category:British East India Company people