page_title: John Spencer Login
section_title: Early life and family
hierarchical_section_title: John Spencer Login / Early life and family
caption_attribution_description: English: Stromness, Orkney by William Daniell (1769-1837)
context_page_description: Sir John Spencer Login was a Scottish surgeon in British India, best remembered as the guardian of Maharajah Duleep Singh and the Koh-i-Noor diamond following the annexation of Punjab and Last Treaty of Lahore.
  Born in the seaport of Stromness, Orkney, in 1809, Login went on to study medicine at the University of Edinburgh and was, within a few years, offered the post of assistant surgeon for the East India Company. Arriving in Calcutta in 1832, he initially had appointments with the Bengal establishment and the Nizam’s army. Later roles included, amongst others, a medical charge of the horse artillery in the Afghan campaign, residency surgeoncy at Lucknow, action in the Second Anglo-Sikh War and in 1849, the appointment as the Governor of Lahore.
  It was under Login and his wife's guidance that Duleep Singh converted to Christianity and was escorted to England in 1854. After a final trip to India, Login died shortly after his return to England in 1863.
context_section_description: John Spencer Login was born in Stromness, Orkney, on 9 November 1809, to John Login of the merchant navy and his wife Margaret Spence, from Kirbuster, Birsay. He was ten years older than his brother, the Reverend William S. Login and there were at least two other brothers, Tom and James.
  Login's father had settled in Stromness after retiring from the merchant navy and set up his own shipping business, part owning shipping vessels. At the time, Stromness was a busy trading port. Login's paternal grandfather had worked for the Hudson Bay Company and was a regular visitor to Stromness, and his maternal grandfather had commanded a merchant vessel to the West Indies. His maternal grandmother was the daughter of Edward Groundwater from Orphir. With frequent travellers in town, the Login family would often have short-term lodgers who would share their travel stories. Login, perhaps, became inspired by these stories of the sea. The fear of their son going to sea led, Login's parents to send him to school in Kirkwall. Here, however, Login continued to hear sea stories from fishermen.
  Login's family encountered financial hardship when Login's father died prematurely and due to the absence of insurance, the family could no longer afford to repair the increasing number of shipwrecks. They eventually became reliant on the charity and hospitality of friends. As the Hudson Bay agent for Stromness, Margaret managed the inn, near the Login's Well.
caption: Stromness, Orkney. William Daniell, c. 1815.
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