Henry Yule - Early Life

Early Life

Henry was born at Inveresk, Scotland, near Edinburgh and was the youngest son of Major William Yule (1764–1839), translator of the Apothegms of Ali the son of Abu Talib. The Yules were farmers at Dirleton in East Lothian and the name may be of Scandinavian origin. Henry's mother was Elizabeth Paterson (d. c.1827) of Braehead in Ayrshire. An older brother was (later Sir) George Udny Yule (1813–1886) who was father of the statistician Udny Yule (1871 –1951). Another brother Robert (1817–1857) died in the 1857 uprising in Delhi. Henry Yule was educated at Edinburgh, and later studied under Henry Parr Hamilton and James Challis. His fellow students were John Mason Neale and Harvey Goodwin. After a brief period at University College London, Yule joined Addiscombe Military Seminary, and Chatham, and joined the Bengal Engineers in 1840.