Allan Octavian Hume Biography
(Founder of Indian National Congress)
Birthday: June 4, 1829 (Gemini)
Born In: Saint Mary Cray, Orpington, United Kingdom
Allan Octavian Hume was a political reformer, botanist, and ornithologist who worked in British India. He was also a member of the Imperial Civil Service, which later came to be known as the Indian Civil Service. He was one of the founding members of the Indian National Congress, a political party known for its struggles to free India during the Indian independence movement. He was the administrator of Etawah, and he realized that the Indian rebellion that took place in 1857 was a result of misgovernance, after which he tried to make improvements and make the lives of the common people better. His administration helped his district return to normality, and it was eventually considered a model of development. Throughout his career, he was also known for questioning the British policies in India. Other than politics, he was also a renowned ornithologist, and he founded the journal tilted ‘Stray Feathers’, wherein people recorded notes on various kinds of birds across the country. In 1894, he left India and settled in London. He passed away in 1912, at the age of eighty-three.