Sir William Duff Gibbon (18 July 1837 – 19 March 1919) was a British Ceylonese tea planter and politician.

Biography

William Duff Gibbon was born 18 July 1837 in Aberdeen, Scotland, the youngest of nine children to Rev. Charles Gibbon (1789–1871), the minister at Lonmay, and Ann née Duff (1787-1867). He received his education at

Banff Academy Banff Academy is a S1–S6 secondary school in Banff, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It serves the towns of Banff, Macduff, Whitehills, Portsoy, Aberchirder, Gardenstown, Ordiquhill, Fordyce and surrounding communities. The school does not teac ...

and Aberdeen Grammar School from 1848-1851, before studying at Marischal College and then at the University of Aberdeen. In 1855, at the age of eighteen, he left Scotland to grow coffee in

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

under the tutelage of his brother-in-law, Robert Boyd Tytler, Tytler married Gibbon's older sister, Annie Grace (1830-1904). He commenced his planting career on the Madulkelle estate in the Kelebokka district. He then took over the management of the Oonoonagalla estate followed by the Madulkelle estate. In 1858 he took charge of the Hoolankanda estate. In 1863 Gibbon returned to Scotland, where on 15 September, he married Katherine Murray (1842–1916), the daughter of Andrew Murray, an advocate in Aberdeen. They had six children: James, a successful banker in Germany; John Murray (1875-1952), a Canadian author; Jessie Eyre Duff (1877-1955) who married Colonel Douglas Edward Cayley; and youngest son, William Duff (1880-1955), who served as Lieutenant Colonel in the

Worcestershire Regiment The Worcestershire Regiment was a line infantry regiment in the British Army, formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 29th (Worcestershire) Regiment of Foot and the 36th (Herefordshire) Regiment of Foot. The regimen ...

, was severely wounded in the battle of Sari Bair and went on to serve as the headmaster of Campbell College. Gibbon was elected to the Kandy Municipal Council for a number of years and was a fellow of the

Royal Colonial Institute The Royal Commonwealth Society (RCS) is a non-governmental organisation with a mission to promote the value of the Commonwealth and the values upon which it is based. The Society upholds the values of the Commonwealth Charter, promoting confli ...

. In May 1907 he was appointed as an unofficial member of the

Legislative Council of Ceylon The Legislative Council of Ceylon was the legislative body of British Ceylon, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) established in 1833, along with the Executive Council of Ceylon, on the recommendations of the Colebrooke-Cameron Commission. It was the first f ...

, replacing Edward Rosling. Gibbon was a tea-planter and was knighted in March 1912 for his 56 years developing the tea industry in Ceylon and for his services on the

.''The London Gazette''
8 March 1912 (Issue 28588), pp. 1745–1746. He also served as the Chairman of the Planters' Association of Ceylon in 1878 and was the organisation's first life member. He retired to England c.1911 and died on 19 March 1919 at Hathaway Cottage,

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...

, Hampshire at the age of 81. Gibbon was buried at the family plot in the Lonmay churchyard,

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially differe ...

, Scotland.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibbon, William Duff 1837 births 1919 deaths People from Aberdeen People educated at Aberdeen Grammar School Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Members of the Legislative Council of Ceylon People from British Ceylon Sri Lankan people of English descent Ceylonese Knights Bachelor 19th-century British businesspeople Planters of British Ceylon People from Lonmay