Sir William Jones (1746 –1794) was an Anglo-Welsh philologist and scholar of ancient India, particularly known for his proposition of the existence of a relationship among Indo-European languages. His third annual discourse before the Asiatic Society on the history and culture of the Hindus (1786) is often cited as the beginning of comparative linguistics and Indo-European studies. Jones’ interdisciplinary scholarship innovatively combined language and linguistic study with the traditional subjects of research to throw light on transcending questions like the origins of man and culture. This bibliography aims to provide an overview of the full width of his writings and secondary scholarship.

A major new critical biography of Sir William Jones (1746-94), the foremost Orientalist of his generation and one of the greatest intellectual navigators of all time, whose Sanskrit researches did more than any other writer to destroy Eurocentric prejudice, reshaping Western perceptions of India and the Orient.

Sir William Jones was one of the greatest polymaths in history. At the time of his early death, in 1794, he knew 13 languages thoroughly and another 28 moderately well. But languages were for him only a means of reaching a deeper understanding, in contrasting cultures, of law, history, literature, music, botany, and other disciplines. Elected at the age of 26 to Johnson's Literary Club and knighted at 37, Jones was a close friend to many leading English luminaries of his time. He was called "Oriental Jones" by some, and his study of middle-eastern cultures, his championship of American independence, and finally his appointment as high court judge in Calcutta, made him a truly universal figure. On the bicentenary of his death, several scholars met at University College, Oxford--his old college--to commemorate his outstanding career and achievements. They found representative themes in Jones's life and work, aiming to strike a balance therein, and to remember, especially, the view taken of Jones by his informed contemporaries. This collection of fascinating papers is a result of that meeting.