La Martinière College : is a premiere educational institution located in Lucknow, the capital of the Indian State of Uttar Pradesh. The College consists of two schools on different campus for boys and girls. La Martinière Boys' College was founded in 1845 and La Martinière Girls' College was established in 1869. The Boys' College is one of the only two schools in the world to have been awarded a royal battle honour. The other being Montreal's McGill University. The two Lucknow colleges are part of the La Martinière family of schools founded by the French adventurer Major General Claude Martin (1735-1800) who was an officer in the East India Company’s army. There are two La Martinière Colleges in Kolkata and three in Lyon. La Martinière provides a liberal education and the medium of instruction is in English language. The schools cater for pupils from the ages of five through to 17 or 18 and is open to children of all religion. The schools have both day scholars and boarders.
Martin acquired his large fortune while serving Asaf-ud-Daula, the nawab wazir of Awadh, and was reputedly the richest Frenchman in India. Constantia, the palatial building which now houses the Boys' College, was built in 1785 as Martin's country residence but was not completed until 1802, two years after Martin's death on 13 September 1800. Historians believe that the house takes its name from the school motto Labore et Constantia (Work and Constancy) which represents Martin's personal philosophy. There is a more romantic, though unproven, notion that the building was named after Constance, a young French girl who was supposedly Martin’s first love.
At the time of his death Martin's estate was valued at approximately £500,000 (forty lakhs of rupees). Martin never married and he had no heirs. In his will, dated 1 January 1800, he left the bulk of his substantial estate to provide for the establishment of three schools to be named La Martinière in his memory. The schools were to be located in Lucknow, Calcutta and at Lyon, his birth place in France. The residue of his estate after certain bequests had been made was to be used for the maintenance of these schools. He directed that the school in Lucknow should be established at Constantia and that the house should be kept as a "school or College for learning young men the English language and Christian religion if they found themselves inclined".
