After being educated at King's College, Old Aberdeen, he went to India as assistant professor of Persian and Arabic in the college of Fort William, and in 1808 succeeded to the professorship.
In 1812 he was appointed secretary to the Calcutta Madrasa, and superintended translations of English works into Persian then in progress.
From 1814 until 1817 he had charge of the company's press at Calcutta, and in 1818 he became secretary to the stationery committee.
From King's College, Old Aberdeen, to which he presented his own and many other oriental works, he received in 1808 the degree of LL.D.
[1] Lumsden published:[1] He also edited Firdausī's Shah Namu, Calcutta, 1811, with a revised text and an English preface.