 Supported by Dakshinaranjan Mukherjee, Ramgopal Ghosh, Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar, and Madan Mohan Tarkalankar, Bethune founded the Calcutta Female School in 1849.The school started in Mukherjee's home in Baitakkhana (now known as Bowbazar), with 21 girls enrolled.The following year, enrollment rose to 80.