Sir Robert Duncan Bell, KCSI, CIE (18 May 1878 – 14 January 1953) was a Scottish civil servant who was the Acting Governor of

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

during the

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

, from 30 May 1937 to 18 September 1937.

Life

Bell was the son of William Bell, a

typesetter Typesetting is the composition of Written language, text for publication, display, or distribution by means of arranging metal type, physical ''type'' (or ''sort'') in mechanical systems or ''glyphs'' in digital systems representing ''char ...

with the ''

Edinburgh Evening News The ''Edinburgh Evening News'' is a daily newspaper and website based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was founded by John Wilson (1844–1909) and first published in 1873. It is printed daily, except on Sundays. It is owned by National World, whic ...

'', and his wife, Christina Beveridge Malcolm. The family lived at 3 Gladstone Terrace in the

Grange, Edinburgh The Grange (originally St Giles' Grange) is an affluent suburb of Edinburgh, just south of the city centre, with Morningside and Greenhill to the west, Newington to the east, The Meadows park and Marchmont to the north, and Blackford Hi ...

, close to The Meadows. In 1905, Bell moved to India as a junior civil servant. He was a member of the

Bombay Legislative Council Bombay Legislative Council was the legislature of the Bombay Province and later the upper house of the bicameral legislature of Bombay Province in British India and the Indian state of Bombay. History The Indian Councils Act 1861 set up the B ...

in the 1920s and present during the Bombay Riots of 1928/29.State Violence and Punishment in India, Taylor Sherman Bell became Acting Governor of Bombay on 30 May 1936, after Governor

Lord Brabourne Baron Brabourne, of Brabourne in the County of Kent, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1880 for the Liberal politician Edward Knatchbull-Hugessen, the second son of Sir Edward Knatchbull, 9th Baronet, of Mersh ...

went on leave with his wife, Lady Brabourne. Bell was sworn in with a 17-gun salute."Social and Personal"
''Great Britain and the East''
(1936), p746. Accessed 2 May 2018. Bell is buried with his parents in

Grange Cemetery The Grange (originally St Giles' Grange) is an affluent suburb of Edinburgh, just south of the city centre, with Morningside and Greenhill to the west, Newington to the east, The Meadows park and Marchmont to the north, and Blackford Hi ...

in south Edinburgh. The grave lies just to the west of the north face of the central vaults.

References

External

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Robert Duncan Governors of Bombay Knights Commander of the Order of the Star of India Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire 1878 births 1953 deaths Civil servants from Edinburgh Burials at the Grange Cemetery