Mitford Hospital was established in 1820, named after Sir Robert Mitford, Collector of Dhaka and also a long serving judge of the Provincial Court of Appeal. During his time there was an alarming cholera epidemic and at the height of it 150 to 200 persons died daily in Dhaka. Medical facilities were inadequate. Sir Mitford was distressed to see the suffering of the people. Before his death in England in 1836, he bequeathed the bulk of his property to the government of Bengal for benevolent works in Dhaka including building of a hospital.