Sir John Douglas (5 December 1836 – 22 August 1885) was the Irish-born son of Lt Gen Sir James Dawes Douglas (1795–1862) and Marianne Bullock.

Career

Douglas was in the Civil Service of

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

1859–1869 when he transferred to

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

where he was

Auditor-General An auditor general, also known in some countries as a comptroller general or comptroller and auditor general, is a senior civil servant charged with improving government accountability by auditing and reporting on the government's operations. Fre ...

between 1869 and 1876. He became Colonial Secretary 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 ...

on 17 February 1876 – 17 August 1878 before returning to Ceylon as Lieut.-Governor and Colonial Secretary, 1878–1880. He was appointed Acting

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

, 10 July 1883 – 3 December 1883.

Honours

Douglas was appointed Knight Commander 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 ...

(KCMG) in the

1883 Birthday Honours The 1883 Birthday Honours were appointments by Queen Victoria to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of the Queen, and wer ...

Family

Douglas had married, in 1871, Alice Anne, daughter of Right Rev. Piers Calveley Claughton (d. 1884),

Bishop of Colombo Bishop of Colombo may refer to: * Anglican Bishop of Colombo The Anglican Bishop of Colombo is the ecclesiastical head of the Anglican Diocese of Colombo, a diocese in the Church of Ceylon which is part of the Anglican Communion. The Anglican ...

, Ceylon. They had five children.

Death

Sir John Douglas died in Ceylon on 23 August 1885 and was buried at St Paul's Church,

Kandy Kandy (, ; , ) is a major city located in the Central Province, Sri Lanka, Central Province of Sri Lanka. It was the last capital of the Sinhalese monarchy from 1469 to 1818, under the Kingdom of Kandy. The city is situated in the midst of ...

.Morning Post, 26 August 1885, p. 5.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Douglas, John 1836 births 1885 deaths British expatriates in British Ceylon 19th-century British civil servants British colonial governors and administrators in Africa Chief secretaries of Ceylon Auditors general of Sri Lanka Governors of British Ceylon Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George British Mauritius people British colonial governors and administrators in Asia People from the Straits Settlements Chief secretaries of Singapore Administrators in British Singapore