MAHOMED, Sake Dean
Culture
At the age of 11, Mahomed joined the East India Company Army and rose to the rank of captain. He served as a trainee surgeon and fought in a number of campaigns until 1782 when he resigned from the army, arriving in Britain two years later. Whilst staying in Ireland he wrote and published his book, The Travels of Dean Mahomet and was the first Indian writer to be published in English.
In 1810 Sake Dean Mahomed established the Hindoostane Coffee House in George Street, Portman Square serving authentic Indian dishes. These premises are now called Carlton House where a green plaque has been placed in his remembrance. Mahomed overcame bankruptcy in 1812, by introducing 'shampooing' known today as a vapour bath.
A few years later he opened special treatment baths on the seafront at East Cliff, Brighton. His second book, published in 1820, was called Shampooing; or benefits resulting from the use of the Indian Medicated Vapour Bath, and went into three editions. He was appointed Shampooing Surgeon to both George IV and William IV. He died in 1851 and was buried in St Nicholas’ churchyard in Brighton.
Oil Painting of Sake Dean Mahomed by Thomas Mann Baynes c1810
Further reading: The First Indian Author in English, Dean Mahomed (1759-1851) in India, Ireland and England, by Michael H. Fisher (OUP;1996).