Page:History of India Vol 8.djvu/204

 The Black Hole of Calcutta

The Black Hole of Calcutta is the name given to a room in the garrison in which 136 captive British soldiers were incarcerated by Nawab Siraj-ad-Daulah when he took the fortress, June 20, 1756. The cell was only twenty feet square and had but two small windows, so that it became almost impossible to live in the stifling air. The next morning all but 23 of the men were found dead after a night of agonizing suffering.