John Frederick Adolphus McNair (23 October 1828 – 17 May 1910) was a British Indian and colonial official.

Early life and family

McNair was born in

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

. He married firstly Sarah Desgranges Paine in 1849. They had seven children. He married secondly Madalena Williamson, ''née'' Vallance.

Career

McNair was educated at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

and at the

School of Mines A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of ...

. He was a multi-talented civil servant in the service of the

Straits Settlements The Straits Settlements () were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia. Originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Company, the Straits Settlements came under control of the ...

. He was an engineer, superintendent of convicts, manager of public works and a member of the commission for the pacification of Larut following the signing of a peace treaty, in 1874. McNair's childhood was filled with the study of geology. Over time he amassed a large collection of metals. He later had this transported to

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

where he was to begin his first job. In 1846, at the age of 17, McNair left

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

to take up employment with the

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

, (E. I. C.) at

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. McNair studied and was fluent in Hindustani, a skill that would stand him in good stead. From

, McNair was transferred to

Malacca Malacca (), officially the Historic State of Malacca (), is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state in Malaysia located in the Peninsular Malaysia#Other features, southern region of the Malay Peninsula, facing the Strait of Malacca ...

(part of

in 1853 to be responsible for the Madras Native Artillery reporting to J. B. Westerhout, then the advisor to the government of the

. He was then posted to

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

, where he took up an appointment as private secretary and aide-de-camp to the Governor of Straits Settlements. In 1857, McNair was appointed Executive Engineer and Superintendent of Convicts in the

(

Penang Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia along the Strait of Malacca. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. Th ...

and

) and he was also in responsible for Public Works and the Oriental Gaol in

Contributions

His strong command of the Hindustani language meant he could easily converse with

n convicts which was particularly useful since he had only one assistant, a European warden, the petty officers being selected among the convicts themselves. McNair employed the

n convicts in the construction of roads all over

and buildings like the

St Andrew's Cathedral, Singapore Saint Andrew's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Singapore. It is located near City Hall, Singapore, City Hall, Downtown Core, within the Central Area, Singapore, Central Area in Singapore's central business district. It is the cathedral chur ...

and Government House (known as

The Istana The Istana (from the Malay word for "palace") is the official residence and office of the president of Singapore. The palace is open to the public during scheduled public holidays and is where the president receives and entertains state guests ...

). In 1867, he accompanied Sir

Harry Ord Sir Harry St. George Ord (17 June 1819 – 20 August 1885) was a British colonial administrator who served as Governor of Bermuda between 1861 and 1864, Governor of the Straits Settlements between 1867 and 1873, and Governor of Western Austral ...

the new governor of

back to

, when control of the

was transferred from the

India Office The India Office was a British government department in London established in 1858 to oversee the administration of the Provinces of India, through the British viceroy and other officials. The administered territories comprised most of the mo ...

to the

Colonial Office The Colonial Office was a government department of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, first created in 1768 from the Southern Department to deal with colonial affairs in North America (particularly the Thirteen Colo ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. He was appointed Colonial Engineer and through his efforts, the building of the water works which had been plagued with failures, was successfully completed. In 1874, though not a commissioner himself, he was involved with the Commission for the Pacification of Larut in

Perak Perak (; Perak Malay: ''Peghok'') is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kel ...

comprising then Captain Samuel Dunlop, F. A. Swettenham,

Chung Keng Quee Kapitan China Chung Keng Quee (; Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: Chhang Kín-kui, 182713 December1901) was the founder and administrator of modern Taiping in Perak, Malaysia. Appointed "Capitan China" by the British in 1877, he was a millionaire philanthropi ...

and Chin Seng Yam. Sir Andrew Clarke started the title "Empress of India," and asked Major McNair to translate this. Of the several versions he provided, "Kaisar-i-Hind" was selected and officially used for the first time in Sir Andrew's proclamation, which was at once sent home to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, the Earl of Carnavon. In 1875, Following the murder of J. W. W. Birch and the Perak War it started, he was appointed

Chief Commissioner A chief commissioner is a commissioner of high rank, usually in chief of several commissioners or similarly styled officers. Colonial In British India the gubernatorial style was chief commissioner in various (not all) provinces (often after bein ...

inquiring into the complicity of the Chiefs of Perak, 1875-1876. In 1882, he was appointed Acting Resident Councillor to the Governor of

. McNair Street in George Town is named after him. He resigned his position in 1884 on medical grounds after a distinguished career in the

spanning many different positions (he had acted as Colonial Secretary in

at one time) and locations (he was once in charge of artillery in

Labuan Labuan (), officially the Federal Territory of Labuan (), is an island federal territory of Malaysia. It includes and six smaller islands off the coast of the state of Sabah in East Malaysia. Labuan's capital is Victoria, which is best kno ...

). His several missions to

Siam Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

(now

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

) gained him familiarity with its

King of Thailand The monarchy of Thailand is the constitutional monarchy, constitutional form of government of Thailand (formerly ''Siam''). The king of Thailand (, historically, ''king of Siam''; ) is the head of state and head of the ruling Chakri dynasty. ...

and was conferred with the

Order of the White Elephant __NOTOC__ The Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant (; ) is an order (decoration), order of Thailand. It was established in 1861 by King Mongkut, Rama IV of the Thailand, Kingdom of Siam. Along with the Order of the Crown of Thailand, it is r ...

by his majesty King of Siam. On 24 May 1879, he was appointed a Companion of 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, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

.Twentieth Century impressions of British Malaya: its history, people, commerce, industries, and resources, by Arnold Wright, Published 1908

References

Notes

Bibliography

Perak and the Malays
(1878) by Major Fred. McNair
Prisoners their own warders
(1899) by Major J.F.A.McNair

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:McNair, John Frederick Adolphus 1828 births 1910 deaths Alumni of King's College London History of Penang Governors of Penang Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Fellows of the Linnean Society of London Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society Royal Academicians British East India Company people