honorific_prefix caption death_date death_place children birth_place article_title birth_date alt notable_works spouse image employer name occupation death_cause
lieutenant-colonel the '' annals and antiquities of rajas ` han '' frontispiece of the 1920 edition of tod 's 18 november 1835 london grant tod heatly tod-heatly edward h. m. tod mary augusta islington , london , uk james tod
 20 march 1782 portrait edition of his annals and antiquities of rajas ` han of james tod , taken from the 1920 '' ; '' travels in western india '' annals and antiquities of rajas ` han '' julia clutterbuck 1826 1835 colonel james tod.jpg east india company james tod political agent ; historian ; cartographer ; numismatist apoplectic fit
james tod

lieutenant-colonel james tod -lrb- 20 march 1782 -- 18 november 1835 -rrb- was an english-born officer of the british east india company and an oriental scholar .
he combined his official role and his amateur interests to create a series of works about the history and geography of india , and in particular the area then known as rajputana that corresponds to the present day state of rajasthan , and which tod referred to as `` rajas ` han '' .
tod was born in london and educated in scotland .
he joined the east india company as a military officer and travelled to india in 1799 as a cadet in the bengal army .
he rose quickly in rank , eventually becoming captain of an escort for an envoy in a sindian royal court .
after the third anglo-maratha war , during which tod was involved in the intelligence department , he was appointed political agent for some areas of rajputana .
his task was to help unify the region under the control of the east india company .
during this period tod conducted most of the research that he would later publish .
tod was initially successful in his official role , but his methods were questioned by other members of the east india company .
over time , his work was restricted and his areas of oversight were significantly curtailed .
in 1823 , owing to declining health and reputation , tod resigned his post as political agent and returned to england .
back home in england , tod published a number of academic works about indian history and geography , most notably `` annals and antiquities of rajas ` han '' , based on materials collected during his travels .
he retired from the military in 1826 , and married julia clutterbuck that same year .
he died in 1835 , aged 53 .
tod 's major works have been criticised as containing significant inaccuracies and bias , but he is highly regarded in some areas of india , particularly in communities whose ancestors he praised .
his accounts of the rajputs and of india in general had a significant effect on british views of the area for many years .
