Sir John, G.C.B., the son of a farmer, was born in May 1769, in the parish of Westerkirk in Dumfriesshire. At the age of twelve he received a cadetship in the Indian army; and in April 1783 landed at Madras, and joined his regiment at Vellore. For some time he was noted among his comrades for little else than a youthful light-heartedness, which gained for him the epithet of the "Boy Malcolm." But when a war with Tipoo Saib broke out in 1790, Malcolm, ambitious of obtaining a diplomatic office, began to improve his imperfect education by the study of the languages, especially Persian. Accordingly, in 1792, when stationed before Serinapatanam, he was appointed to the staff in the capacity of Persian interpreter. Forced by ill health to leave for England in 1794, he employed his leisure in cultivating those literary talents which contributed in no small degree to his subsequent eminence. On his return to India in 1796, Malcolm became secretary to Sir Alured Clarke, commander-in-chief at Madras, and afterwards to his successor, General Harris. In 1798 his knowledge of the languages and political state of India induced Lord Wellesley, the governor-general, to appoint him assistant to the resident at Hyderabad. The duties of this office he was soon summoned to discharge by the rising of a mutinous spirit among the French troops in the pay of the Nizam. Displaying great coolness and decision, he surrounded the malcontents with a body of 1500 horse, and, without firing a shot, forced them to lay down their arms and disperse. In 1799, beneath the walls of Serinapatanam, began his intimacy with Arthur Wellesley, which in a short time ripened into a lasting friendship. During the same year he acted as secretary to the commission appointed to settle the Mysore government. About this period Lord Wellesley held the current opinion that Bonaparte's movements in Egypt and Palestine tended towards an invasion of the British possessions in India. Accordingly, he despatched Malcolm on an embassy to Persia for the purpose of forming an alliance with that country. Arriving at Teheran in December 1800, Malcolm so influenced the Persian courtiers by his liberality and imposing address, that a treaty was struck, in which Persia agreed to repel the French should they ever attempt to enter her boundaries. At the close of the Mahratta war in 1804, when General Arthur Wellesley had succeeded, by a rapid succession of brilliant victories, in restoring the peishwa to his ancient supremacy, Malcolm was employed in negotiating with the conquered enemy. In 1807 and 1810 respectively, he was once more sent as ambassador to Persia; but beyond the information which he afterwards incorporated in his history of that country, his missions were attended with no substantial result. Malcolm sailed for England in 1811, and shortly after his arrival in 1812 he received the honour of knighthood. His interval of leisure he devoted to the composition of the History of Persia, a work which was published in 1815 in 2 vols. 4to. No sooner had he returned to India in 1817, than he was nominated the governor-general's political agent, and brigadier-general under Sir T. Hislop. In this latter capacity he served against the Mahrattas and the Pindares, and bore so distinguished a part in the victory of Melipoor, that he shared in the thanks that were awarded to his commander by the British Parliament. With no less success did he attempt to introduce peace and prosperity into the district of Malwah, of which he had been appointed governor. In 1821 Sir John Malcolm returned once more to England; but on being appointed in 1827 governor of Bombay, he repaired again to India. The influence of this new office was directed to the promotion of cotton and silk cultivation, and to the establishment of steam communication with England. He left India for the last time in 1830; and shortly after his arrival in England became M.P. for Launceston. He died of paralysis in May 1833. Besides the work mentioned above, Sir John Malcolm wrote,— Sketch of the Political History of India since the Introduction of Mr Pitt's Bill in 1784 to the present date, Svo, London, 1811; Sketch of the Sikhs, Svo, 1812; Observations on the Disturbances in the Madras Army, Svo, 1812; Persia, a Poem, Svo, 1814; and a posthumous work, Life of Lord Clive, 1836. The Life and Correspondence of Major-General Sir John Malcolm, G.C.B., was published by John W. Kaye, 2 vols. Svo, London, 1856.