C. Hayavadana Rao

Rao Bahadur Conjeevaram Hayavadana Rao
Born	(1865-07-10)July 10, 1865 Hosur, Salem District, British India
Died	January 27, 1946(1946-01-27) (aged 80) Bangalore, Mysore kingdom
Occupation	Historian, anthropologist, economist

Rao Bahadur Conjeevaram Hayavadana Rao (Tamil: காஞ்சிபுரம் ஹயவதன ராவ், Kannada: ಕಾಂಜೀವರಂ ಹಯವದನರಾವ್) (10 July 1865 - 27 January 1946) was an Indian historian, museologist, anthropologist, economist and polyglot. He was a member of the Royal Anthropological Institute, Indian Historical Records Commission and a fellow of the Royal Society of Economics.

Early life

Hayavadana Rao was born on July 10, 1865 in the town of Hosur in the then Salem district of Madras Presidency in a Kannada-speaking Madhwa Deshastha Brahmin family. After graduating in history, Rao studied law and economics and joined the Government Museum, Madras as a curator. Rao worked as a curator till his retirement and compiled "The Indian Biographical Dictionary". Rao was a polyglot and was fluent in English, Latin, French, German, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi and Sanskrit.

Mysore Kingdom

In 1924, Rao was appointed the head of a committee formed to revise the Mysore Gazetteer written by B. L. Rice. The revised version comprising seven volumes was published in 1927. Rao followed this with a three-volume History of Mysore (1399-1799) chronicling the Wodeyar Dynasty.

Later life and death

Rao died on January 27, 1946 in Bangalore. He was the editor of the Journal of Oriental Research at the time of his death. After his death, his son-in-law, C. Thirumala Rao succeeded him.

Works

• Rao, C. Hayavadana (1910). New Indian tales: nineteen amusing and instructive tales. G. A. Natesan. 
• Rao, C. Hayavadana (1915). The Indian Biographical Dictionary. 
• Rao, C. Hayavadana (1931). Indian caste system: A study. 
• Rao, C. Hayavadana (1948). History of Mysore (1399-1799 A.D.). Government Press. 

References

• "HAYAVADANA RAO C., 1865-1946". classicalkannada.org.