COTTON, SIR ARTHUR THOMAS

born May 15, 1803, Woodcote, Oxfordshire, Eng. died July 14, 1899, Dorking, Surrey British irrigation engineer whose projects averted famines and stimulated the economy of southern India. Cotton entered the Madras engineers in 1820, served in the First Burmese War (182426), and began his irrigation work in 1828. He constructed works on the Cauvery, Coleroon, and Godavari rivers. His dams on the Coleroon (1836) and the Godavari (184752) rivers irrigated wide areas. Before Cotton began his work on the Godavari River, Tanjore (now Thanjavur) and the adjoining districts were threatened with ruin from lack of water. After his project's completion these areas became the richest part of Madras (now the state of Tamil Nadu), and Tanjore returned a larger revenue than any other district in India. Cotton also founded an Indian school of hydraulic engineering. He was knighted in 1861 and retired from government service in 1862.