Page:Dictionary of Indian Biography.djvu/376

 ROBERTS, SIR ABRAHAM (1784–1873)

General: born April 11, 1784: son of the Rev. John Roberts, and father of (q.v.): entered the Army in 1803, and joined the E. I. Co.'s service, 1804: served under Lord Lake, 1805: in Bundelkund against the Pindaris, at the sieges of Komona and Gunnouri, 1806–7: in the Nipal war, 1814–5: at the storming of Kahorga: Lt-Colonel, 1832: Brig-General in the first Afghan war, 1838–9: at Ghazni: C.B.: commanded Shah Shuja's force in 1840, but resigned and returned to India: anticipated the danger in Kabul, but his advice was disregarded: commanded the Lahore Division, and the Peshawar Division, 1852–4, when he retired: K.C.B., 1865: G.C.B., 1873: died Dec. 28. 1873.  ROBERTS, ARTHUR AUSTIN (1818–1868)

I.C.S.: son of Brown Roberts of the Indian Army: born May 12, 1818: educated at Haileybury, 1836–7: to India, 837: succeeded John (Lord) Lawrence as Magte-Collr. of Dehli: Judge of the Sagar and Nerbudda territories, 1854: formed a new code of law for them: Commissioner of Lahore, 1856: C.B. for services during the mutiny: commanded the Lahore Volunteer Corps: Judicial Commissioner of the Panjab: Member of the Governor-General's Legislative Council: acting Judge of the Calcutta High Court: Judge of the Lahore Chief Court, 1866: C.S.I.: Resident at Hyderabad, March 20, 1868: died May 10, 1868.  ROBERTS, EMMA (1794?–1840)

Daughter of Captain William Roberts: went to India in 1828 with a married sister, Mrs. R. A. McNaghten, on whose death, in 1831, she went to Calcutta and wrote for the Oriental Observer: went to India again in 1839: settled in Bombay and edited The Bombay United Service Gazette, and planned a book on the Bombay Presidency: died at Poona, Sep. 16, 1840. She wrote several works on India, including The East India Voyager, and an account of her overland voyage outwards.  ROBERTS, OF KANDAHAR, PRETORIA, AND WATERFORD, FREDERICK SLEIGH, FIRST EARL (1832–)

Field Marshal: son of General, G.C.B. (q.v.): born at Cawnpur, Sep. 30, 1832: educated at Eton, Sandhurst, Addiscombe: joined the Bengal Artillery, in April, 1852: A.D.C. to his father, 1852: D.A.Q.M.G. Peshawar, 1856: in the mutiny he was Staff Officer to Sir N. Chamberlain and John Nicholson, successively commanding the movable column to Delhi: where, during the siege, he, as D.A.Q.M.G. rejoined the Artillery. After its fall, he was in the actions at Bulandshahr, Alighar, Agra, at Sir Colin Campbell's relief of Lucknow, the recapture of Cawnpur, the destruction of Bithur, in. the fight near Khudaganj, where he won the V.C. for personal bravery in recovering a standard: in the capture of Lucknow by Sir Colin Campbell, in March, 1858: served in the Umbeyla campaign, 1863: in the Abyssinian campaign, 1867–8, was A.Q.M.G.: carried home Lord Napier's final despatches: was senior Staff Officer on the Lushai expedition, 1871–2: C.B.: Q.M.G. in 1874: commanded the Panjab Frontier Force, 1878. When the 2nd Afghan war broke out, he commanded the Kuram Field Force, fought the Peiwar Kotal action on Dec. 2, 1878: halted at Alikheyl: was a member of Sir A. Eden's Army Commission, 1879: K.C.B., 1879. After Sir L. Cavagnari's death at Kabul, on Sep. 3, 1879, he commanded the Kabul Field Force, fought the action at Charasia on Oct. 6, reached Kabul on Oct. 9. He received Yakub Khan's abdication and despatched him to India: was engaged in the operations in and around Sherpur in Dec. 1879. After the defeat of General Burrows at Maiwand, on July 27, 1880, Roberts marched from Kabul to Kandahar, Aug. 9 to 31, over 313 miles in 22 days, and defeated Ayub Khan at Kandahar on Sep. I: Baronet: G.C.B. After Majuba Hill, in 1881, he was sent to South Africa as Commander of the Forces and Governor of Natal, but peace had been concluded before he arrived. He was C. in C. Madras, 1881–5: C. in C. India, 1885–93: commanded in Burma in 1886: General in 1890: Baron in 1892: C. in C. Ireland, 1895–9: Field Marshal, 1895: C. in C. South Africa, 1899–1901: Commander-in-Chief,