1780 Hicky’s Bengal Gazette was published today in Calcutta, India. It was established by the Irishman James Augustus Hicky and is the first major English Newspaper published in India. The English lawyer William Hickey, no relation to the aforementioned Irishman, commented on the newspaper and its creator, saying: “There never having been a press in Calutta. It occurred to Hicky that great benefit might arise from setting on foot a public newspaper, nothing of that kind ever hiving appeared. Every person read it, and was delighted. Possessing a fund of low wit, his paper abounded with proof of that talent. He had also a happy knack at applying appropriate nicknames and relating satirical anecdotes”.
