Hoogly , a river of Bengal, British India, one of the deltoid mouths of the Ganges, formed by the junction, in lat. 23° 25' N., Ion. 88° 22' E., of three branches of the Ganges. Its course is nearly S. with many windings, and it discharges its waters into the bay of Bengal by a broad estuary about 35 m. long and 15 m. wide at its mouth. The length of the Hoogly from the junction of its parent streams to the head of the estuary is 125 m. At Calcutta it is nearly a mile wide, and there is little increase in its size until it receives the Dum-modah and Rupnarain, a short distance above its estuary. It is navigable by vessels of 1,400 tons as high as Calcutta, 100 m. from the bay, and ships of the line could formerly ascend to Chandernagore, 17 m. further. It is feared that the bed of the stream is being gradually filled up with mud and sand, and it has been proposed to construct a ship canal from Calcutta to the Mutwal, another mouth of the Ganges some distance E. The Hoogly is the only channel of the delta now frequented by large ships, though its mouth is obstructed by shoals.

The Hindoos regard it as the true course of the sacred Ganges. The tidal phenomenon called the bore is often witnessed in it.

Hoogly #1

Hoogly ,.I. A district of British India, in the province of Bengal, bounded N. by Burdwan, E. by the Hoogly, S. by the Rupnarain, and W. by Midnapore and Burdwan; area, 1,470 sq. m.; pop. in 1871, 1,491,621. The surface is low and fiat in the east and hilly in the west and northwest. The principal streams are the Hoogly and its tributaries, the Dummodah, Rupnarain, and Dalkissore. The soil of the low lands is fertile, and in some places is impregnated with salt. The most important productions are rice, sugar cane, indigo, cotton, tobacco, mustard, oil seeds, ginger, potatoes, garden vegetables, and hemp. Silkworms are reared, and silk is one of the principal articles of export. II. The principal town of the district, situated on the right bank of the river of the same name, 22 m. above Calcutta, with which it has communication by the Calcutta and Burdwan railway; pop. about 12,000. It contains a fine church built by the Jesuits in 1599, and a college erected in 1836, in which both English and oriental branches are taught.

This institution is supported by endowment from the estate of a wealthy Mohammedan. Hoogly, once an important city, is now of little note, having declined with the rise of Calcutta. The town was probably founded by the Portuguese in 1537. It was taken by Shah Jehan in 1632, when 1,000 Europeans were slaughtered and 4,400 made prisoners. The British established here in 1676 a factory, which, being fortified five years later, and furnished with a guard of 20 men, became the first military establishment of the East India company in Bengal. The first action fought by the English in Bengal took place here in 1686, when the nawaub's troops were defeated and 500 houses burned. In 1756 the town was captured by Surajah Dow-lah, but was retaken in 1757 by Clive.