Sir Edward Arthur Henry Blunt, ICS (14 March 1877 – 29 May 1941), was a British civil servant in India during the British Raj and a scholarly writer.
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Early life and education
Blunt was born in Curepipe on 14 March 1877, the son of Frances Theophilus Blunt, who later became the colonial Commissioner of the Seychelles. His younger brother was Alfred Walter Frank Blunt, an Anglican bishop. Blunt studied at Marlborough College, and then at Corpus Christi College, Oxford and University College London. He passed at the top of the list for the Indian Civil Service competitive examination after his fourth year at Oxford. He was one year at University College London, and proceeded to India to join the Indian Civil Service in 1901.
Career
Blunt was appointed to the United Provinces, with his first service as Assistant Commissioner, Lucknow, and afterwards at Rae Bareli in the same capacity before officiating as Deputy Commissioner for a brief period. In 1904 he was transferred to Benares as Joint Magistrate. In 1905, he joined the Secretariat, having been appointed Under-Secretary in the Judicial Department. From 1910 to 1912, he served as Superintendent Census Operations for the 1911 Census of India and from 1918 to 1919 as Director of Civil Supplies in Cawnpore. Then he was Financial Secretary to Government in the United Provinces for eleven years (1920–1931). From 1931 to 1935, he served as a Member of the Executive Council of the Governor of the United Provinces, before he stepped down due to poor health.