Black Hole Of Calcutta
The Black Hole of Calcutta was a small dungeon in the old Fort William in Calcutta, India, where troops of the Nawab of Bengal, Siraj ud-Daulah, held British prisoners of war after the capture of the fort on 20 June 1756.
One of the prisoners, John Zephaniah Holwell, claimed that following the fall of the fort, British and Anglo-Indian soldiers and civilians were held overnight in conditions so cramped that many died from suffocation, heat exhaustion and crushing. He claimed that 123 prisoners died out of 146 held. However, the precise number of deaths, and the accuracy of Holwell's claims, have been the subject of controversy.
Read more about Black Hole Of Calcutta: Background, The Holwell Account, Aftermath, Controversy, The Monument, Gallery
Famous quotes containing the words black hole, black and/or hole:
“Just like those other black holes from outer space, Hollywood is postmodern to this extent: it has no center, only a spreading dead zone of exhaustion, inertia, and brilliant decay.”
—Arthur Kroker (b. 1945)
“A black pall, you know, with a silver cross on it, or R.I.P.—requiescat in pace—you know. That seems to me the most beautiful expression—I like it much better than ‘He is a jolly good fellow,’ which is simply rowdy.”
—Thomas Mann (1875–1955)
“I used to say: “there is a God-shaped hole in me.” For a long time I stressed the absence, the hole. Now I find it is the shape which has become more important.”
—Salman Rushdie (b. 1948)