Dhaka College (Bengali: ঢাকা কলেজ Ðhaka Kôlej), located in Dhaka, is one of Bangladesh's most important and earliest higher educational institutions. It offers HSC, three years bachelor's and four years honour's course in various majors. The college is affiliated with the National University. Several thousand students study here, it has a number of student halls and many students participate in politics.

Dhaka College started as an English school at dhaka in 1835. Dr. James Taylor (Civil Surgeon at Dhaka and a well-known historian) sponsored the school and organised a local Committee of Public Instruction with the help of district magistrate Mr. Grant. The school building was erected partly out of public donations on the grounds of an English factory. The Bishop of calcutta laid the foundation stone in 1841, when the school was raised to the status of a college, and the buildings were completed in 1946. Among the first batch of students were Muslims, Hindus, Armenians and Portuguese. In order to accommodate physics and chemistry laboratories, the college was removed in 1873 to a commodious building to the east of victoria park. From there it was shifted in 1908 to the curzon hall while the science departments were housed in the chemistry building of the university of dhaka. On the establishment of Dhaka University, the college was shifted to the present High Court Building. During the Second World War it was shifted to Siddique Bazar.



At present, it has its own commodious premises near Dhaka new market. The college can boast of having had many eminent educationists as its principal, amongst whom were Dr. T Wise, W Brennad, W Booth, F C Turner, A J Archibald, and Dr. P K Roy. The college was affiliated to the university of calcutta as soon as it was started in 1858. Early graduates of Dhaka College included Bazlur Rahim (later Khan Bahadur), Abdul Aziz (later Inspector of Schools, Chittagong Division), Zahedur Rahman Zahid (later Judge of High Court and father of the late huseyn shaheed suhrawardy), Anisuzzaman Khan (later Additional Chief Presidency Magistrate in Calcutta), Naziruddin Ahmed (later Deputy Magistrate and the first Registrar of Dhaka University) and many others eminent personalities.







Alumni



Notable alumni include:



* Abdul Gaffar Chowdhury, renowned writer, columnist, philosopher, and lyricist of the famous bangla song "Amar Bhaiyer Rokte Rangano Ekushey February")

* Abul Kalam Shamsuddin, journalist, author

* Humayun Ahmed, famous writer

* Meghnad Saha, FRS, physicist

* Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, President of the Maldives

* Muhammed Zafar Iqbal, scientist, writer

* Mushfiqul Alam, scientist, author, world famous fine art photographer, musician

* Naziruddin Ahmed, first Registrar of University of Dhaka

* Rezaul Haque, cricketer

* Shamsur Rahman, poet





Faculty



Notable faculty include:



* Dr.P.K.Roy (first Indian principal of Presidency College, Kolkata)

* Abdullah Abu Sayeed, educator, social worker, winner of 2004 Ramon Magsaysay Award.

* Shaukat Osman, Bangladeshi novelist and short story write and the winner of various awards for his outstanding achievements.

* Akhtaruzzaman Elias , a notable Bangladeshi author. Though he wrote only two novels, it has been enough for him to be considered by many critics among the pantheon of great Bengali novelists