Sir Chaloner Grenville Alabaster (1838–1898) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

administrator in China.

Early life

He was born in

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 English ...

and was the son of Mr. J.C. Alabaster. He attended King's College London and matriculated at

London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...

in 1852.

Career in China

In 1855, he went to China as a

student interpreter Student interpreter was, historically, an entry-level position in the British and American diplomatic and consular service, principally in China, Japan, Siam and, in the case of the United States, Turkey. It is no longer used as a title. A number o ...

, remaining there during the Second Opium War and the

Taiping Rebellion The Taiping Rebellion, also known as the Taiping Civil War or the Taiping Revolution, was a massive rebellion and civil war that was waged in China between the Manchu-led Qing dynasty and the Han, Hakka-led Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. It last ...

. Between 1869 and 1873, he was British

Vice-Consul A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

and subsequently became

Consul General A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

Hankow Hankou, alternately romanized as Hankow (), was one of the three towns (the other two were Wuchang and Hanyang) merged to become modern-day Wuhan city, the capital of the Hubei province, China. It stands north of the Han and Yangtze Rivers wh ...

Wuhan Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei Province in the People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the ninth-most populous Chinese city a ...

from 1880 to 1886 then at Canton from 1886 until 1891. He retired in 1892 was made knight commander in the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in hono ...

Marriage and family

In 1875, Chaloner married Laura, daughter of Dr. D. J. MacGowan of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

. He was also a freemason. His son, also called Chaloner Grenville Alabaster became

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

from 1930 to 1945. His son went by the first name Grenville. Chaloner Alabaster's elder brother,

Henry Alabaster Henry Alabaster (22 May 1836 – 9 August 1884) was a British-born diplomat who became an advisor to King Chulalongkorn of Siam. Early life and family Henry Alabaster was born in 1836, the son of James Chaloner Alabaster and Harriet Woodman. H ...

, also entered the consular service, serving as acting consul in

Siam Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

before leaving his position to act as an advisor to King Chulalongkorn."Personal Correspondence of Henry Alabaster and Palacia Alabaster"
from the archives of the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degre ...

Death

Alabaster died on 28 June 1898 at

Boscombe Boscombe is a suburb of Bournemouth, England. Historically in Hampshire, but today in Dorset, it is located to the east of Bournemouth town centre and west of Southbourne. Originally a sparsely inhabited area of heathland, from around 1865 B ...

, England. He was buried in East Cemetery, Bournemouth, England. Papers relating to his official work in China are held at SOAS Archives.SOAS Archives
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References

1838 births 1898 deaths British diplomats in China People from Bournemouth Alumni of King's College London Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Consuls-General of the United Kingdom in Guangzhou {{England-diplomat-stub