[3] He started his professional life as a lawyer in England and came to India by his appointment as a law member of the Governor General's Council of Ministers.

[4] His efforts to further women's education were actively supported by Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar and other members of the Bengali Renaissance.

[4] Supported by Dakshinaranjan Mukherjee, Ramgopal Ghosh, Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar, and Madan Mohan Tarkalankar, Bethune founded the Calcutta Female School in 1849.

[8] In November, on a plot on the west side of Cornwallis Square, the cornerstone for a permanent school building was laid.

The name "Hindu Female School" was inscribed on the copper plate placed in the stone and on the ceremonial silver trowel made for the occasion.