Stephen Popham (5 July 1745 – 13 June 1795) was a British politician and solicitor who is remembered for improving the residential locality of Georgetown in the city of

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of ...

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

and reforming the civic and police administration.

Early life

Popham was born on 5 July 1745, the fourth son of Joseph Popham of Gibraltar and Mary Riggs. Popham's younger brother was the British naval officer Admiral Sir Home Riggs Popham. He had his education at King's School and matriculated from

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

in 1764. He graduated as 4th Wrangler in 1767 and obtained a Master of Arts degree in 1774. Popham was admitted to the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn ...

on 14 April 1762. Popham entered politics in 1776 and was elected to the

Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, but on a highly restrictive fr ...

in June 1776 as MP for

Castlebar Castlebar () is the county town of County Mayo, Ireland. Developing around a 13th century castle of the de Barry family, from which the town got its name, the town now acts as a social and economic focal point for the surrounding hinterland. Wit ...

. Popham and was succeeded as MP by James Browne.

In India

Popham's fortunes began to decline in the late 1770s and he faced a financial crisis. He arrived in India about this time and was worked in

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comm ...

as Secretary to Sir John Day, the Advocate-General of

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

. In 1778, he travelled along with Day to the city of Madras for an official inquiry. At Madras, a violent argument broke out between Day and Popham forcing the two to break up. Popham stayed on in Madras and purchased a plot in

Blacktown Blacktown is a suburb in the City of Blacktown, in Greater Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Blacktown is located west of the Sydney central business district. It is one of the most multicultural places within Gr ...

and settled down in the city. Popham purchased the adjacent plot and constructed a drainage channel in the area. He then constructed a wide thoroughfare through Blacktown. The road was named "Popham's Broadway" and presently, it is known simply as Broadway. Popham was critical of the power and influence of the ''dubashes'' Popham recommended the construction of direct and cross drains in every street, the lighting of streets, registration of births and deaths and licensing of liquor shops and outlets. In 1782, Popham submitted a plan for the creation of a regular police force in Madras city.

Pophams Broadway, Madras

The Pophams Broadway at

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Tamil Nadu, the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and territories of India, Indian state. The largest city ...

was once a fine road bisecting George Town into Peddanaickenpet and Muthialpet. Before, it was a road, it was a ditch in the suburb called Atta Pallam, and was owned by Stephen Popham, former MP of the

British Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the Parliamentary sovereignty in the United Kingdom, supreme Legislature, legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of We ...

and later Advocate General at

, who moved to

in 1778. Popham is credited with setting up the

Madras Police Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

in 1782. At that time, the lands of the present

Madras United Club Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

, General Hospital and Park Town Post Office was a hill called Hoggs Hill (called as Narimedu or 'mound of foxes' by the natives). Hoggs Hill was considered to be a security threat to the Fort St. George and a decision was taken to level the hill. Popham's negotiated with the Government of Madras to use the earth removed from Hoggs Hill to fill up the ditch. The road which came through after filling the ditch came to be known as Popham's Broadway.

Death

Popham died in

Conjeevaram Kanchipuram ('; ) also known as ''Conjeevaram,'' is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu in the Tondaimandalam region, from Chennaithe capital of Tamil Nadu. Known as the ''City of Thousand Temples'', Kanchipuram is known for its temple ...

on 13 June 1795 as a result of injuries suffered during a fall from his curricle.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Popham, Stephen 1745 births 1795 deaths Irish MPs 1776–1783 Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Members of the Middle Temple Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Mayo constituencies