Dhaka College is one of Bangladesh's most important as well as most earliest higher-secondary educational institutions. It was established by James Taylor (civil surgeon at Dhaka) in July 1835 as an English Seminary School (at present Dhaka Collegiate School). Taylor organized a local Committee of Public Instruction with the help of district magistrate Mr. Grant. The school building was built partly out of public donations on the grounds of an English factory. On July 18, 1841, the school got their approval of the college. On November 20, 1841, the foundation stone of the college was placed and buildings were completed in 1846, with the aid of the Bishop of Calcutta. In the first graduating class there were both Muslim and Hindu students, as well as a number of foreign students, mainly from Armenia and Portugal.