The second son of Charles Kaye, a solicitor, and Eliza, daughter of Hugh Atkins, he was born in London on 3 June 1814 and baptized on 30 June 1814. He was educated at
Eton College (1823–1826) and at the
Royal Military College, Addiscombe (1831–1832). From 1832 to 1841 he was an officer in the
Bengal Artillery commissioned on 14 December 1832 as a Second-Lieutenant and on 19 August 1840 promoted to Lieutenant. During his time in the Army he began following literary pursuits both in
India and in
Britain. In 1839 he married Mary Catherine (1813–1893), daughter of Thomas Puckle of Surrey. He resigned his commission in the army on 1 April 1841 and began to write for newspapers such as the
Bengal Hurkaru, which he edited. In 1844 he started the
Calcutta Review and contributed about 50 articles to it Kaye entered the Home Civil Service of the
East India Company in 1856. As
John Stuart Mill was promoted to the post of Examiner of Indian correspondence, Kaye succeeded him as Political Assistant in the Examiner Department at
East India House. In 1866 he became a
Fellow of the Royal Society. In the
1871 Birthday Honours he was made a
Knight Commander of the Order of the Star of India (KCSI). he died in London at his home at Rose Hill on 24 July 1876. An obituary in the
Athenaeum praised him as a "household word in the East". == Published works ==