John Houston Sinclair (1871 – 17 August 1961) was the

British Resident A resident minister, or resident for short, is a government official required to take up permanent residence in another country. A representative of his government, he officially has diplomatic functions which are often seen as a form of in ...

civil servant in Zanzibar and chief secretary to the Government of the Zanzibar Protectorate.

Early life and family

John Houston Sinclair was born in 1871, the son of William Houston Sinclair. He married Muriel Cockburn on 29 April 1902 and they had a daughter, Katherine Theodosia Sinclair (died 2001).

Career

Sinclair held various official posts in Zanzibar (1899-1924), rising to become British Resident and chief secretary to the Government of the Zanzibar Protectorate. He played a pivotal role in the creation of Zanzibar Stone Town. On his retirement as British Resident at Zanzibar, Sinclair was conferred with the

Order of the Brilliant Star of Zanzibar The Order of the Brilliant Star of Zanzibar (Wisam al-Kawkab al-Durri al-Zanzibari) is a decoration awarded by the Sultan of Zanzibar for meritorious services and since The Order of Independence was created in 1963 it is reserved for the persons ...

(first class) by the

Sultan of Zanzibar The sultans of Zanzibar (; ) were the rulers of the Sultanate of Zanzibar, which was created on 19 October 1856 after the death of Said bin Sultan. He had ruled Oman and Zanzibar as the sultan of Oman since 1804. The sultans of Zanzibar were of ...

Later life

In later life, Sinclair lived in

Tangier Tangier ( ; , , ) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is the capital city, capital of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, as well as the Tangier-Assilah Prefecture of Moroc ...

, Morocco. He died on 17 August 1961. His reminiscences of his life in England, Kenya, Zanzibar and Tangier, ''Senex Africanus'' in 177 pages, are held by

Cambridge University Library Cambridge University Library is the main research library of the University of Cambridge. It is the largest of over 100 libraries Libraries of the University of Cambridge, within the university. The library is a major scholarly resource for me ...

and the Royal Commonwealth Society Library.Senex Africanus.
Cambridge University Library. Retrieved 21 September 2016.

References

External links

* 1871 births 1961 deaths British civil servants 1900s in Zanzibar 1910s in Zanzibar Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Chief secretaries (British Empire) Resident ministers of the Sultanate of Zanzibar British expatriates in the Sultanate of Zanzibar {{UK-gov-bio-stub