Tan Tock Seng (; 1798 – 24 February 1850) was a

Malacca Malacca (), officially the Historic State of Malacca (), is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state in Malaysia located in the Peninsular Malaysia#Other features, southern region of the Malay Peninsula, facing the Strait of Malacca ...

-born merchant and philanthropist from

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

Early life and business

Tan Tock Seng was born in

in 1798 to a Chinese Fujianese immigrant father and local

Peranakan The Peranakan Chinese () are an ethnic group defined by their genealogical descent from the first waves of Southern Chinese settlers to maritime Southeast Asia, known as Nanyang (region), Nanyang (), namely the British Empire, British, Portugu ...

mother. He left for Singapore in 1819 at the age of 21, shortly after

Stamford Raffles Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles (5 July 1781 – 5 July 1826) was a British Colonial Office, colonial official who served as the List of governors of the Dutch East Indies, governor of the Dutch East Indies between 1811 and 1816 and lieut ...

established a trading port on the island under the

British 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 ...

. Tan made a living by selling vegetables, fruits, fish and other produce in the newly-built city center and eventually earned enough to open a store at

Boat Quay Boat Quay is a historical quay in Singapore which is situated upstream from the mouth of the Singapore River on its southern bank. It spans from the shophouses near UOB Plaza, stretching along one bank of the Singapore River, all the way till El ...

in 1827. The store was situated at the mouth of the

Singapore River The Singapore River is a river that flows parallel to Alexandra Road and feeds into the Marina Reservoir in the southern part of Singapore. The immediate upper drainage basin, watershed of the Singapore River is known as the Singapore River Plann ...

. He then invested in the J. H. Whitehead of Shaw, Whitehead & Company and engaged in property

speculation In finance, speculation is the purchase of an asset (a commodity, good (economics), goods, or real estate) with the hope that it will become more valuable in a brief amount of time. It can also refer to short sales in which the speculator hope ...

, becoming wealthy in the process and acquiring large tracts of prime land. Tan owned 50 acres (200,000 m²) near the

Tanjong Pagar railway station Tanjong Pagar railway station, also known as Singapore railway station or Keppel Road railway station, is a former railway station located at 30 Keppel Road in Singapore. The station was the southern Terminal station, terminus of the network op ...

, disjointed land parcels from the

Padang Padang () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of West Sumatra. It had a population of 833,562 at the 2010 CensusBiro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. and 909,040 at the 2020 Census;Bad ...

leading up to High Street and Tank Road, several Ellenborough Building shophouses, and even a fruit plantation.

Philanthropist

Tan became an influential Chinese leader and was the first Asian to be appointed Justice of the Peace by Governor

William John Butterworth Major-General William John Butterworth (10 June 1801 – 4 November 1856) was the governor of the Straits Settlements from August 1843 to 21 March 1855. In 1851, when the Straits Settlements were transferred from the authority of the Gov ...

. He was also granted the title of

Kapitan Cina Kapitan Cina, also spelled Kapitan China or Capitan China or Capitan Chino (; ; ; ), was a high-ranking government position in the civil administration of colonial Indonesia, Malaya, Singapore, Borneo and the Philippines. Office holders exercis ...

(Captain of the Chinese) for settling feuds and assisting new Chinese immigrants upon their arrival to Singapore. The founding of

Thian Hock Keng Thian Hock Keng. & ( or the Tianfu Temple, literally "Palace of Heavenly Happiness"), is a Chinese temple, temple built for the worship of Mazu (goddess), Mazu, a Chinese folk religion, Chinese sea goddess, located in Singapore. It is the old ...

temple was led by Tan for the Hokkien community and still exists at

Telok Ayer Street Telok Ayer Street (Singapore English pronunciation: or , ) is a street located in Singapore's Chinatown within the Outram district, linking Church Street to Cecil Street. Telok Ayer MRT station is located at the junction of Cross Street ...

today. His most famous donation was a $5,000 contribution to the construction of the Chinese Pauper Hospital in 1844, which was named after its benefactor on its opening and referred to colloquially as "Tan Tock Seng hospital". The hospital later relocated to the corner of

Serangoon Road ''Serangoon Road'' is an Australian-Singaporean drama television series that premiered on 22 September 2013 on ABC and HBO Asia. It is a detective noir drama set in Singapore in the mid-1960s. The series takes its name from the eponymous roa ...

and

Balestier Road Balestier () is a sub zone located in the planning area of Novena in the Central Region of Singapore. The main road, Balestier Road, links Thomson Road to Serangoon Road and the road continues on as Lavender Street. The area is home to rows ...

in 1860, and a female wing was funded by Tan's widow Lee Seo Neo in 1867.

Death and legacy

Tan died on 24 February 1850 at the age of 52 after falling ill, leaving behind his wife, three sons and three daughters. His initial burial location is unknown but his remains were re-interred at Outram Hill around 1882. The modern day

Tan Tock Seng Hospital Tan Tock Seng Hospital (abbreviation: TTSH) is a tertiary referral hospital in Singapore, located in Novena. Named after Tan Tock Seng, the hospital has 45 clinical and allied health departments, 16 specialist centres and is powered by more ...

and adjacent road Jalan Tan Tock Seng still bears his name.

References

Works cited

* *

External links

National Library Board article on Tan Tock Seng
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tan, Tock Seng 1798 births 1850 deaths Hokkien businesspeople Peranakan people in Malaysia Singaporean people of Hokkien descent Singaporean businesspeople Singaporean philanthropists Kapitan Cina 19th-century philanthropists