[1] John Shakespear was born in Lount, Leicestershire, in August 1774, the son of a poor farmer.
Lord Rawdon sent young Shakespeare to London to study Arabic under John Richardson.
In 1809 he was appointed professor of Hindustani at Addiscombe Military Seminary and held the professorship until his retirement in 1829 with a pension of £300 per annum.
He died unmarried in 1858 and his estate was inherited by his nephew, Charles Bowles, who took the surname Shakespear.
[1] His memorial is on the north wall of the chancel at St Michael and All Angels' Church, Diseworth.