Background
He was born in 1846 the son of Khwaja Abdul Ghani and Ismatun Nesa.
He was born in 1846 the son of Khwaja Abdul Ghani and Ismatun Nesa.
He was a renowned Urdu litterateur. As a young child he learned Urdu, Arabic and Persian in addition to his native Bengali. He was noted as being a very gifted child, and mastered the Koran at a young age.
By age 22, he handled the maintenance and expansion of the family estates.
Ahsanullah was a noted philanthropist. He donated over 5 million rupees to various charitable projects.
He spent over 50,000 rupees on famine relief in Barisal District, Mymensingh District and Dhaka District in 1896. He also was one of the chief backers for the building of Comilla.
Many hospitals were funded and constructed by him, including: the Patuankali Begam Hospital, Lady Dufferin Women"s Hospital, and the Mitford Hospital.
He also spend 40 thousand rupees on creating an Engineering College in Dhaka, which is now Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology. Islamic activities He created a number of mosques and madrassahs including the Madaripur and Begambari mosques and madrassas. He also restored and rebuilt over 15 dargahs and mosques.
Khwaja Ahsanullah died on 16 December 1901 of heart failure.
The Nawab was buried in the family plot in Begumbazar.