A. C. Woolner

Alfred Cooper Woolner (13 May 1878 – 7 January 1936) was a Sanskrit scholar and professor. He served as the vice-chancellor of the University of the Punjab, Lahore from 1928 to 1936.

Alfred Cooper Woolner
A. C. Woolner
Born	(1878-05-13)13 May 1878 Etruria Hall, Staffordshire, England
Died	7 January 1936(1936-01-07) (aged 57) Lahore
Academic work
Main interests	Sanskrit, Prakrit

Biography

Woolner's statue outside Punjab University in Lahore

Woolner was born on 13 May 1878 at Etruria Hall in Staffordshire, England.^[1]

Woolner was educated at Ipswich School and Trinity College, Oxford. In 1903, at the age of twenty-five Woolner he joined the University of the Punjab as its Registrar and Principal of its Oriental College.^[2] From 1928 until 1936 he served as Vice Chancellor.^[3]

On 17 December 1935, Woolner contracted malaria which, after a week, developed into pneumonia. He was moved to Mayo Hospital, Lahore where he died in the morning of 7 January 1936.^[1] He was buried in the city's Gora Kabristan on Jail Road. He was survived by his wife Mary Emily Woolner. On his wife's death in 1944 she bequeathed the majority of her estate to the University of the Punjab.^[2] Punjab University Library's collection of over 8,500 Ancient Sanskrit and Hindi manuscripts is named in his honour.^[4] The only remaining intact statue from the British Raj era in Lahore is that of Dr. Woolner which stands in front of the Pharmacy Department of Punjab University.^[5]

Works

• AC Woolner was the Founder President of Indian Library Association - ILA ( established in 1933).
• Introduction to Prakrit

References

1. Shafi, Mohammad, ed. (1940). Woolner Commemoration Volume: In Memory of the Late Dr. A. C. Woolner. Lahore: Mehar Chand Lachhman Das. p. ii–v. OCLC 3502975.
2. Vishva Bandhu, Woolner Indological Series, V.V.R.I Press
3. University of the Punjab – Introduction Archived 13 February 2008 at the Wayback Machine
4. "Library Collections". Archived from the original on 17 May 2008. Retrieved 8 February 2008.
5. Encore, NOS, The News International Archived 6 February 2008 at the Wayback Machine