John Anthony (c. 1766 – August 1805) was an interpreter and tradesman who became the first Chinese person to gain British citizenship in 1805, which was achieved through an Act of Parliament.

Biography

Anthony left China aged 11 and travelled between London and China for several years before permanently relocating in 1799. As an employee of the

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 ...

, he was stationed at Angels Gardens in East London to provide translation and accommodation for Chinese and

Lascar A lascar was a sailor or militiaman from the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, the Arab world, British Somaliland or other lands east of the Cape of Good Hope who was employed on European ships from the 16th century until the mid-20th centur ...

sailors. ''China Rhyming'' described him as "perhaps the father" of London's first

Chinatown Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...

Limehouse Limehouse is a district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London. It is east of Charing Cross, on the northern bank of the River Thames. Its proximity to the river has given it a strong maritime character, which it retains throu ...

, where the sailors were housed. As of 1804, he worked as an interpreter in the

Old Bailey The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...

court, interpreting for a Chinese prosecutor named Erpoon during a theft trial. Anthony Anglicised his name and converted to the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

from paganism; his baptism took place at Shadwell Church. He married Esther Gole, sister of Abraham Gole in 1799. With his fortune, Anthony had a country house in Hallowall Down, Essex (possibly Holloway Down) and a townhouse in

Shadwell Shadwell is an area in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London, England. It also forms part of the city's East End of London, East End. Shadwell is on the north bank of the River Thames between Wapping (to the west) and Ratcliff and ...

. He applied for British citizenship; the Act of Parliament allowing him to passed in March 1805. He passed away a few months later in August 1805 at age 39. His funeral at

St Paul's Church, Shadwell St Paul's Church, Shadwell, is a Grade II* listed Church of England church, located in Shadwell, in the East End of London, England. The church is traditionally nicknamed the ''Church of Sea Captains''. History The old parish church, tradit ...

drew over two thousand mourners. An obituary in '' The Gentlemen's Magazine'' described as having "bore a most excellent character".

Legacy

In 2018, a dim sum restaurant named after Anthony opened in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

. Anthony's story featured in a 2023 exhibit at the

London Metropolitan Archives The London Archives (previously known as the Greater London Record Office 1965–1997, and London Metropolitan Archives 1997–2024) is the principal local government archive repository for the Greater London area, including the City of London ...

(LMA) titled ''The Unforgotten Lives''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anthony, john 1760s births 1805 deaths 19th-century British translators 19th-century Chinese translators Chinese emigrants to England Chinese–English translators Converts to Anglicanism Converts to Protestantism from pagan religions Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom People from Leyton People from Limehouse People from Shadwell