Sir Charles Alexander Harris KCMG CB CVO (28 June 1855 – 26 March 1947) was a British colonial administrator,Governor of Newfoundland from 1917 to 1922.
Harris was born in Wrexham,Wales,but spent much of his first ten years in St. John's,Newfoundland,where his father,the Rev. George Poulett Harris,moved when Charles was a boy. Harris began his schooling in Newfoundland before returning to England [1] where he attended Richmond School in Yorkshire. [2]
Harris graduated from Christ's College,Cambridge,in 1878 [3] and qualified for the bar at Lincoln's Inn. He began his career as a clerk in the Colonial Office in 1879.
From 1896 to 1899,he worked on a Boundary Arbitration between British Guiana and Venezuela,for which he was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the 1900 New Year Honours list on 1 January 1900, [4] [5] and was invested by Queen Victoria at Windsor Castle on 1 March 1900. [6] From 1901 to 1904 he worked on another boundary commission between British Guiana and Brazil. [7]
Harris became Chief Clerk of the Colonial Office in 1917. The same year,he was knighted and appointed governor of Newfoundland. Harris wrote essays on the history of Newfoundland and was a contributor to the Dictionary of National Biography . He was offered the position of Governor-General of Australia but turned it down in favour of retiring from the colonial service in 1922 at the end of his term as Governor of Newfoundland. [2]
In 1928 he edited for the Hakluyt Society Robert Harcourt's A Relation of a Voyage to Guiana by Robert Harcourt 1613. [7]
Sir Charles Cavendish Boyle was a British civil servant,magistrate,and colonial administrator who served as Colonial Governor of Newfoundland,Mauritius and British Guiana. He wrote the lyrics for the anthem of the Dominion and later Province of Newfoundland,"Ode to Newfoundland".
Sir Everard Ferdinand im Thurn was an author,explorer,botanist,photographer and British colonial administrator. He was Governor of Fiji in the years 1904–1910.
Sir Robert Hermann Schomburgk was a German-born explorer for Great Britain who carried out geographical,ethnological and botanical studies in South America and the West Indies,and also fulfilled diplomatic missions for the United Kingdom in the Dominican Republic and Thailand.
The Guianas,sometimes called by the Spanish loan-word Guayanas,is a region in north-eastern South America which includes the following three territories:
Oyapoc was a short-lived English settlement in French Guiana on the Oyapock river. Charles Leigh had visited the area in 1602,and considered it suitable for a colony. On returning,he assembled a crew of 46 people and embarked on the Olive Plant. The settlers planned to look for gold in the area. They set sail on 21 March 1604,and arrived in Oyapoc on 22 May 1604 taking possession of the country "in the eyes of the Indians." Leigh gave the name Caroleigh River to the Wiapoco. He dubbed the settlement Oliveleighe,and the principal site for settlement was called Principium or Mount Howard. The Olive Plant was sent back,and thirty-five men and boys remained at the settlement. Upon begging his brother,Sir Oleph,for reinforcements,The Olive Plant returned,renamed The Phoenix,to find the settlement in "a rather critical position." The settlers experienced mutiny,and a raid by Caribs from the Cayenne River. On 31 May 1606,the remaining settlers left on the Hope.
The historical record in North America begins in the second half of the 16th century,with ongoing European exploration.
Lawrence Kemys or Keymis was an English seaman and companion of Sir Walter Raleigh in his expeditions to Guiana in 1595 and 1617–18.
George Edmundson was a clergyman of the Church of England and academic historian of the University of Oxford. He took up benefices in Northolt and Chelsea and in retirement lived in the south of France.
Robert Harcourt (1574?–1631) was an English explorer,projector of a South American colony,in what was later Guiana.
The 1904 Birthday Honours were announced on 9 November 1904,to celebrate the birthday of King Edward VII that day. The list included appointments to various orders and honours of the United Kingdom and the British Empire.
The New Year Honours 1901 were appointments to various orders and honours of the United Kingdom and British India.
The 1914 Birthday Honours were appointments in the British Empire of King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of The King,and were published on 19 June 1914.
The Queen's Birthday Honours 1899 were announced on 3 June 1899 in celebration of the birthday of Queen Victoria. The list included appointments to various orders and honours of the United Kingdom and British India.
Sir William Douglas Young was a colonial administrator from British Columbia who was Governor of the Falkland Islands from 1915 to 1920.
The 1890 Birthday Honours were appointments by Queen Victoria to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of The Queen,and were published in the London Gazette on 20 May 1890 and in The Times on 21 May 1890.
The New Year Honours 1895 were appointments by Queen Victoria to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by members of the British Empire. They were published on 1 January 1895.
The New Year Honours 1900 were appointments by Queen Victoria to various orders and honours of the United Kingdom and British India.
The 1860 Birthday Honours were appointments by Queen Victoria to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of the Queen,and were published in The London Gazette on 18 May 1860.
The 1877 Birthday Honours were appointments by Queen Victoria to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of the Queen,and were published in The London Gazette on 30 May and 2 June 1877.