John Spencer Login

Sir John Spencer Login (9 November 1809 – 18 October 1863) was a Scottish surgeon in British India, best remembered as the guardian of Maharajah Duleep Singh and the Koh-i-Noor diamond following the annexation of Punjab and Last Treaty of Lahore.

Born in the seaport of Stromness, Orkney, in 1809, Login went on to study medicine at the University of Edinburgh and was, within a few years, offered the post of assistant surgeon for the East India Company. Arriving in Calcutta in 1832, he initially had appointments with the Bengal establishment and the Nizam's army. Later roles included, amongst others, a medical charge of the horse artillery in the Afghan campaign, residency surgeoncy at Lucknow, action in the Second Anglo-Sikh War and in 1849, the appointment as the Governor of Lahore.

It was under Login and his wife's guidance that Duleep Singh converted to Christianity and was escorted to England in 1854. After a final trip to India, Login died shortly after his return to England in 1863.

Early life and family

John Spencer Login was born in Stromness, Orkney, on 9 November 1809, to John Login of the merchant navy and his wife Margaret Spence, from Kirbuster, Birsay. He was ten years older than his brother, the Reverend William S. Login and there were at least two other brothers, Tom and James. With frequent travellers in town, the Login family would often have short-term lodgers who would share their travel stories. Login, perhaps, became inspired by these stories of the sea.

In 1834, he was appointed to the Nizam's army and in 1836, to the staff of Lord Metcalfe, Lieutenant-Governor of the North-Western Provinces. Login was appointed to the Resident Surgeon at Lucknow in 1838 as well as physician to the court of Oudh and Postmaster General of Oudh. one of whom was Spencer Login, an early rugby union international who represented England in 1875 and also had a career in the Royal Navy, rising to the rank of rear admiral.

As physician to the Court of Oudh, Login was barred from directly examining women in the zenana.

Following the death of Maharajah Ranjit Singh in 1839 and the ensuing decade of power struggles, civil war and First Anglo-Sikh War, the East India Company army defeated the Sikhs in 1849, resulting in the inducement of the ten year old Maharajah Duleep Singh to sign the Last Treaty of Lahore with the consequential annexation of Punjab. Subsequently, Login was entrusted with the company's two most significant possessions, the guardianship of Maharajah Duleep Singh and the protection of the Koh-i-Noor diamond.

In addition, Login was put in charge of cataloguing the newly acquired treasures of the Sikh government's toshakhana (treasury). who saw Login as a significant figure in his life, calling him "MaBap", a collective appellation for mother and father.

The Koh-i-Noor was eventually handed over to Governor-General Dalhousie at the end of 1849 by Login, whilst still set in the armlet that Maharajah Ranjeet Singh had once worn.