Talk:Pestonjee Bomanjee (1834 ship)

Origin of Name

I am reluctant to put this into the main article without a little further research, but the ship's name 'Pestonjee Bomanjee' appears to be named to honour the family name of a Parsee trader, to whom the ship may have been intended.

One of these Parsees, Pestonjee Bomanjee, appears to have been immortalised in one of Kipling's Just So Stories “How the Rhinoceros Got his Skin” [Page 28, line 14] Pestonjee Bomonjee This was the name of a real Parsee who was one of Kipling’s father’s students at the Bombay School of Art, afterwards a well-known artist (Kipling Journal, 45, March 1938, p. 24). However, I'm not totally convinced that the dates match sufficiently to state that the ship was named after the exact same person recognised by Kipling. Perhaps someone else can help here? Parkywiki (talk) 01:37, 7 February 2015 (UTC)

Further research suggests it is more likely that the ship was named after the Parsee merchant, Pestonjee Bomanjee (died Aug 21st 1816, aged 68) This reference suggests that he had a relative, Jamsetjee Bomanjee, a well-respected naval architect and head of the Wadia family who contributed much to the success of the British Empire in India. It seems plausible - though I cannot cite any reference to prove - that the naval architect may have designed or commissioned the Pestonjee Bomanjee, or that it was named in honour of his family's contribution to the Empire. Can anyone take this further?Parkywiki (talk) 15:56, 7 February 2015 (UTC)

References