Sir Andrew Henderson Leith Fraser (14 November 1848 – 26 February 1919) was a British officer of the

Indian Civil Service The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British Raj, British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 3 ...

and the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal between 1903 and 1908.

Early life and education

Born in Bombay on 14 November 1848, Fraser was educated at the

Edinburgh Academy The Edinburgh Academy is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, which was opened in 1824. The original building, on Henderson Row in Stockbridge, Edinburgh, Stockbridge, is now part of the Senior Scho ...

before being called to the Bar at the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

. He was a son of Rev. Alexander Garden Fraser (1814–1904) and Joanna Maria Shaw (1823–1864).

Career

He joined the

in 1871, serving in the

Central Provinces The Central Provinces was a province of British India. It comprised British conquests from the Mughals and Marathas in central India, and covered parts of present-day Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra states. Nagpur was the primary ...

for nearly thirty years. During his service he rose to be the Chief Commissioner of Central Provinces in 1899. In December 1902, Fraser was picked as the new Lieutenant Governor of Bengal, following the sudden death of Sir John Woodburn the previous month. He did not take up the position until the middle of 1903, however, first finishing his duties as President of the Indian Police Commission. Fraser retained the position of Governor of the Western province of Bengal following the

1905 Partition of Bengal The Partition of Bengal in 1905, also known as the First Partition of Bengal, was a territorial reorganization of the Bengal Presidency implemented by the authorities of the British Raj. The reorganization separated the largely Muslim eastern ...

. However, his role in the planning of partition of Bengal, earned him notoriety among nationalist agitators, with a notable assassination attempt in 1907 which attempted to derail his train. Another assassination attempt in November 1908 involved a pistol which failed to go off, the would-be assassin later declaring that he wanted to show Bengalis that even the Lieutenant-Governor was not invincible. He was succeeded in 1908 by Sir William Baker. He was elected President of

The Asiatic Society The Asiatic Society is an organisation founded during the Company rule in India to enhance and further the cause of " Oriental research" (in this case, research into India and the surrounding regions). It was founded by the philologist Will ...

for 1905–07. In 1897, he was appointed a Companion of the

Order of the Star of India The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes: # Knight Grand Commander ( GCSI) # Knight Commander ( KCSI) # Companion ( CSI) No appointments ...

(CSI), and he was knighted with the KCSI in the

1903 Durbar Honours The 1903 New Year Honours, announced at the time as the Durbar Honours, were appointments to various orders and honours of the United Kingdom and British India. The list was announced on the day of the 1903 Delhi Durbar held to celebrate the suc ...

. Fraser 's published works include his memoirs ''Among Indian Rajahs and Ryots'' published in 1909, and ''India under Curzon and After'' published in 1911. He lived his final years at 22 Heriot Row in Edinburgh's Second New Town. Andrew Henderson Leith Fraser died on 26 February 1919. He is buried in

Dean Cemetery The Dean Cemetery is a historically important Victorian cemetery north of the Dean Village, west of Edinburgh city centre, in Scotland. It lies between Queensferry Road and the Water of Leith, bounded on its east side by Dean Path and o ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, on the south wall of the north section, backing onto the original cemetery. The stone is very distinctive, carrying a St Andrews Cross in red granite by McGlashan. He is also the founder and the first principal of one of the biggest and most popular public school

Rajkumar College, Raipur Rajkumar College (or RKC) in Raipur, Chhattisgarh, is one of the oldest K-12 foundations of India. It was founded by Sir Salman khan in the year 1882 at Jabalpur. The School functioned at Jabalpur till 1892 and thereafter, shifted to its present si ...

, Chhattisgarh, India.

Family

His wife Henrietta died in 1952. Their children included the cricketers

Patrick Patrick may refer to: *Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name * Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People *Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint * Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick ...

and Charles Fraser (d.1929) and the soldier Cpt Harry Lugard Fraser and Professor

Alec Garden Fraser Alexander Garden Fraser (6 October 1873 – 27 January 1962), , was a British educator and Anglican vicar. He served as principal at Trinity College, Kandy from 1904 to 1924. He subsequently became one of the founders of Achimota School and the ...

, principal of Trinity College.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fraser, Andrew Henderson Leith 1848 births 1919 deaths People educated at Edinburgh Academy Scottish lawyers Lieutenant-governors of Bengal Knights Commander of the Order of the Star of India Indian Civil Service (British India) officers 20th-century Scottish civil servants Presidents of The Asiatic Society Burials at the Dean Cemetery