Sir Gabriel Stokes (7 July 184922 October 1920) was an Irish civil servant and colonial administrator 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 ...

. He acted as the Governor of Madras between February–March 1906.

Family

Gabriel Stokes was born on 7July 1849 at Ballyard,

Tralee Tralee ( ; , ; formerly , meaning 'strand of the River Lee') is the county town of County Kerry in the south-west of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is on the northern side of the neck of the Dingle Peninsula, and is the largest town in ...

, County Kerry, Ireland and was educated at

Kilkenny College Kilkenny College is a Church of Ireland co-educational day and boarding secondary school located in Kilkenny, in the South-East of Ireland. It is the largest co-educational boarding school in Ireland. In 2013 it transferred to the state/public se ...

Armagh Armagh ( ; , , " Macha's height") is a city and the county town of County Armagh, in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Primates of All ...

and

Trinity College, Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Univ ...

. The son of Henry Stokes, the county surveyor of Kerry, Stokes was born into a prominent family of academics which had been associated for

for several generations. His grandfather was Whitley Stokes, a Regius Professor of Physic at Trinity College, Dublin, his great-grandfather Gabriel Stokes (1732-1806), a Professor of Mathematics at

Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, thr ...

and his great-great-grandfather, also Gabriel Stokes, a Deputy Surveyor General of Ireland. His older brother Henry Stokes was also a prominent member of the Indian civil service. His great grand-uncle was the mathematician John Stokes.

Indian civil service

Stokes cleared the Indian civil service examinations and qualified for the civil service in 1871. In India, he served as a member of the executive council of the Governor of Madras from 1896 to 1906 and from 1906 to 1907.

Governor of Madras

Gabriel Stokes acted as the Governor of Madras from 15February 1906 to 28March 1906. During his tenure, the Asian Petroleum Company began its work in Madras.

Death

He died at his home, 72 Morehampton Road in Dublin, on 22October 1920.

Honours

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) in the 1903 Durbar Honours, and in the 1909 New Year Honours, Stokes was made a Knight Commander of the same order (KCSI) for his services to the Crown.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stokes, Gabriel 1849 births 1920 deaths People educated at Kilkenny College Knights Commander of the Order of the Star of India Members of the Madras Legislative Council Governors of Madras