Early Life of Jim Corbett

Edward James Corbett was born of Irish ancestry in the town of Naini Tal near the Kumaon foothills of the Himalayas, in the United Provinces (now in the Indian state of Uttarakhand). Jim was the eighth child of Christopher and Mary Jane Corbett. His parents had moved to Naini Tal in 1862, after Christopher Corbett had been appointed postmaster of the town. In winters, the family used to move to the foothills—where they owned a cottage near Kaladhungi. After the death of Christopher (when Jim was still very young), his eldest brother Tom took over as the postmaster of Nainital. From a very young age, Jim was fascinated by the forests and the wildlife around his home in Kaladhungi. At a young age he learnt to identify most animals and birds by their calls - owing to his frequent excursions. Over time he became a good tracker and hunter. Jim studied at the Oak Openings School (later renamed Philander Smith College) and Sherwood College, Naini Tal. Soon thereafter, he joined the Bengal and North Western Railway, initially working as a fuel inspector at Manakpur in the Punjab, and subsequently as a contractor for the trans-shipment of goods across the Ganges at Mokameh Ghat in Bihar.