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ALEXANDER BURNES

Sir Alexander Burnes was an English soldier. He was born in 1805 at Montrose and died in 1841. He studied at the academy at Montrose, and having obtained a cadet-ship in the Indian army arrived at Bombay in 1821. His promotion was rapid, and in 1832 he was sent on a mission to Central Asia, and visited Afghanistan, Bokhara, Merv, etc, returning by way of Persia. He was then sent to England, and published his travels, which were read with a kind of enthusiasm. In 1839 he was appointed political agent at Kabul. Here, in 1841, he was murdered on the breaking out of an insurrection.
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