William Linehan CMG (6 August 1892 – 19 October 1955) was a scholar and colonial administrator who served his career in

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

. He was a member of the committee which drafted the Federation of Malaya agreement which established the

Federation of Malaya Malaya, officially the Federation of Malaya, was a country in Southeast Asia from 1948 to 1963. It succeeded the Malayan Union and, before that, British Malaya. It comprised eleven states – nine Malay states and two of the Straits Settleme ...

in 1948.

Early life and education

Linehan was born in

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

on 6 August 1892, the son of Senator Thomas Linehan. He was educated at

Christian Brothers College, Cork Christian Brothers College, Cork (CBC Cork, colloquially known as Christians) is a fee-paying school under the trusteeship of the Edmund Rice Schools Trust in Cork City, Ireland. As of 2024, the secondary school had over 900 pupils enrolled. T ...

and at

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) () is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork (city), Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of three Queen's Universit ...

Career

Linhan joined the Malayan civil service as a cadet in 1916 and served in various posts including District Officer,

Pekan Pekan is a town in Pekan District, Pahang, Malaysia. It is also the royal capital of the state. Its name comes from a flower, the '' Bunga Pekan''. Pekan is also the name of the district the town is situated in, and a parliamentary constituen ...

(1925); acting British Adviser,

Kelantan Kelantan (; Kelantan-Pattani Malay, Kelantanese Malay: ''Klate''; ) is a state in Malaysia. The capital, Kota Bharu, includes the royal seat of Kubang Kerian. The honorific, honorific name of the state is ''Darul Naim'' ("The Blissful Abode"). ...

(1931–1933); Assistant Adviser,

Johore Johor, also spelled Johore,'' is a state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. It borders with Pahang, Malacca and Negeri Sembilan to the north. Johor has maritime borders with Singapore to the south and Indonesia to the east and ...

(1934); and Secretary to the British Resident,

Perak Perak (; Perak Malay: ''Peghok'') is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kel ...

(1937). In 1938, he was appointed Director of Education 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 ...

and Adviser of Education of the Malay States. After being interned in Singapore as a

POW POW is "prisoner of war", a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. POW or pow may also refer to: Music * P.O.W (Bullet for My Valentine song), "P.O.W" (Bull ...

(1942–1945), he returned to office in 1945 as Director of Education of the Malay States. In 1946, he was appointed constitutional adviser to the government and played a considerable part as a member of the working committee which drafted the Federation of Malaya agreement which established the Federation of Malaya in 1948. In 1948, he retired from the Malayan civil service and became Director of Museums of the Federation of Malaya (1949–1951).

Writer

In 1955, after returning to England, Linehan was appointed Assistant Director of Research in Oriental Studies at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. He was one of the best known scholars in Malaya and his work on Malay history, archaeology and language was considerable. In 1938, he was president of the International Congress of Prehistorians of the Far East in Singapore. In addition to his MA, he was awarded a degree of Doctor of Literature (D.Litt) by

Dublin University The University of Dublin (), corporately named as The Chancellor, Doctors and Masters of the University of Dublin, is a research university located in Dublin, Republic of Ireland. It is the degree-awarding body for Trinity College Dublin, whi ...

. His publications included: ''The History of Pahang'' (1936), and numerous papers for the Malaysian branch of

Royal Asiatic Society The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, commonly known as the Royal Asiatic Society, was established, according to its royal charter of 11 August 1824, to further "the investigation of subjects connected with and for the encourag ...

Personal life and death

Linehan married Mary O'Sullivan in 1921 and they had three sons and a daughter. He died on 19 October 1955, aged 63, in Dublin.

Honours

Linehan was appointed Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George ( CMG) in the

1947 New Year Honours The 1947 New Year Honours were appointments by many of the Commonwealth Realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were published on 31 December 1946.Operational ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Linehan, William 1892 births 1955 deaths Administrators in British Malaya Colonial Administrative Service officers Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George People educated at Christian Brothers College, Cork Alumni of University College Cork People from Cork (city)