Ghoolam Hyder was born in
Darbhanga,
Bihar in 1776. In 1806, he travelled on his own initiative to
London to seek employment as a teacher of the
Persian language. He would often teach wearing his traditional attire, as shown in a drawing from 1808. Ghoolam Hyder found his salary insufficient to cover his expenses in England as he was often sending money back to his family in India. In 1808, he composed a formal petition for a raise in his salary which the company did not approve of, however, they did grant a £40 annual subsidy to his house rent. Ghoolam Hyder had to maintain two families, as he had a wife and two children still in India in addition to his marriage to an English woman, Rose Slocomb. He married Rose in
St Botolph's Church in London, and they had at least 6 children together. It was noted that Rose was viewed in the eyes of Ghoolam's colleagues as his "social inferior" as she had "no family".
Final years Over the next 13 years, despite continuing illnesses, Hyder continued to teach Persian orthography. During these years, he incurred mounting debts and failed to achieve promotions within his department as Britons superseded him. He died in May 1823, leaving 4 children and his pregnant wife, Rose, who was deeply in debt. Out of respect for him, Hyder's students contributed £15 towards his gravestone and his supervisor, Charles Stewart, purchased £45 worth of the family possessions from an auction. Stewart also enrolled two of Ghoolam Hyder's sons in the
First Church Hospital, and had two of his daughters trained as domestic servants. Rose Hyder received a pension from the
East India Company of £40 annually, which was not sufficient for her to maintain the middle-class lifestyle that she previously had when her husband was alive. ==See also==