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| Black hole of Calcutta, the |
| On June 20,1756, Suraj-ud-daula, Nawab of Bengal, captured Calcutta and imprisoned 146 members of the British East India Company in a stifling dungeon measuring 18 feet by 14 feet 10inches, known as the Black Hole. All but 22 men suffocated overnight. The expression, "black hole of Calcutta" has come to mean any badly ventilated dark place. It is also a punishment cell in military barracks, a "solitary confinement" prison cell for recalcitrant,unmanageable prisoners. |
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