Born | |
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Died | 29 January 1892 84) | (aged
Occupation | civil servant |
Sir Thomas Pycroft KCSI (4 December 1807 – 29 January 1892) was a British administrator and civil servant who served as a member of the Madras Legislative Council from 1862 to 1867.
Thomas Pycroft was born in the parish of St John, Hampstead, Middlesex to barrister Thomas Pycroft and his wife Mary Pycroft on 4 December 1807. He was the elder brother of British writer James Pycroft. He was schooled privately and at Bath Grammar School and graduated M.A. from Trinity College, Oxford in 1829. [1] On completion of his education, he was offered a "writership" by the President of the Board of Control of the British East India Company.
Pycroft arrived in Madras in August 1829 and served, initially, as a writer and then, in the revenue and judicial departments in South Arcot from 1829 to 1839 when he returned to the United Kingdom. In 1843, Pycroft came back to India after a three-year hiatus and was transferred to the Madras secretariat.
Pycroft was initially appointed Sub-Secretary and then, promoted to Secretary of the Revenue Department in 1845. The very same year, he was appointed acting Tamil translator to the Madras government. Pycroft became Chief Secretary in 1855 and served from 1855 till 1862 when he nominated to the Madras Legislative Council. Pycroft served as a member of the council for five terms from 1862 to 1867.
Pycroft died at Folkestone on 29 January 1892 at the age of 84. His eldest son, Henry Thomas Pycroft (1842–1909), [2] was the father of Auckland ornithologist Arthur Pycroft (1875–1971). [3]
In the 1866 Birthday Honours, Pycroft was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Star of India. In Madras, the street in which he lived was named Pycroft's Road in his honour.
Sir Walter Elliot, KCSI was a British civil servant in colonial India. He was also an eminent orientalist, linguist, archaeologist, naturalist and ethnologist who worked mainly in the Presidency of Madras. Born in Edinburgh, he studied at the East India Company College at Haileybury and joined the East India Company's civil service at Madras in 1820 and worked on until 1860. He was invested Knight Commander of the Order of the Star of India (KCSI) in 1866.
Sir William Thomas Denison was Lieutenant Governor of Van Diemen's Land from 1847 to 1855, Governor of New South Wales from 1855 to 1861, and Governor of Madras from 1861 to 1866.
Sir Alexander John Arbuthnot was a British official and writer.
Sir Mountstuart Elphinstone Grant Duff, known as M. E. Grant Duff before 1887 and as Sir Mountstuart Grant Duff thereafter, was a Scottish politician, administrator and author. He served as the Under-Secretary of State for India from 1868 to 1874, Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies from 1880 to 1881 and the Governor of Madras from 1881 to 1886.
Robert Needham Cust was a British administrator and judge in colonial India apart from being an Anglican evangelist and linguist. He was part of the Orientalism movement and active within the British and Foreign Bible Society. He was a prolific writer and wrote on a range of subjects.
The Imperial Legislative Council (ILC) was the legislature of British India from 1861 to 1947. It was established under the Charter Act of 1853 by providing for the addition of 6 additional members to the Governor General Council for legislative purposes. Thus, the act separated the legislative and executive functions of the council and it was this body within the Governor General's Council which came to known as the Indian/Central Legislative Council. In 1861 it was renamed as Imperial Legislative Council and the strength was increased.
Field Marshal Sir Frederick Paul Haines was a British Army officer. He fought in the First Anglo-Sikh War, in the Second Anglo-Sikh War and then in the Crimean War: during the latter conflict at the Battle of Inkerman, he held an important barrier on the post road guarding the approach to the 2nd Division camp for six hours. He served in India during the Indian Rebellion before becoming Commanding Officer of the 8th Regiment of Foot in the United Kingdom and then Commander of a Brigade in Ireland. He went on to be General Officer Commanding the Mysore Division of the Madras Army and then Quartermaster-General to the Forces in the United Kingdom. He returned to India to become Commander-in-Chief of the Madras Army in May 1871 and then Commander-in-Chief, India in April 1876: he commanded the forces in India during the Second Anglo-Afghan War and successfully argued for a large force being made available before mobilisation occurred, but once the war started the Governor-General of India, Lord Lytton, was inclined to by-pass Haines and deal direct with commanders in the field, causing friction between the two men.
Sir Edward Ryan PC FRS was an English lawyer, judge, reformer of the British Civil Service and patron of science. He served as Chief Justice of Bengal from 1833–43.
Vembaukum RamiengarCSI was an Indian civil servant and administrator who served as the Diwan of Travancore from 1880 to 1887.
Gazulu Lakshminarasu ChettyCSI was an Indian merchant and political activist who founded the Madras Native Association, one of the earliest Indian political associations, and the first Indian-owned newspaper in Madras, The Crescent. He was also the second Indian to be appointed a member of the Madras Legislative Council, succeeding V. Sadagopacharlu on his death. Lakshminarasu Chetty was born in 1806 to a wealthy indigo merchant Sidhulu Chetty in Madras. On completion of his initial education, Chetty entered the family trade and succeeded as a businessman. He entered politics and devoted money for social and philanthropic causes.
Sir Alexander Gordon Cardew was an Indian civil servant of British origin who served as the acting Governor of Madras from 29 March 1919 to 10 April 1919.
Lieutenant-General Sir Richard Hieram Sankey was an officer in the Royal (Madras) Engineers in the East India Company's army in British India, later transferring to the British Army after the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and the assumption of Crown rule in India. Sankey Tank which he constructed to meet the water demands of Bangalore is named after him. The high court building in Bangalore, Attara Kacheri, was designed by him and built by Arcot Narrainswamy Mudaliar.
John Young, 1st Baron Lisgar was a British diplomat and politician. He served as Governor General of Canada (1869–72), Governor of New South Wales (1861–67) and as Chief Secretary for Ireland (1853–55). From 1848 to 1870 he was known as Sir John Young, 2nd Baronet.
Charles Pelly was a British civil servant of the Indian Civil Service who served as the revenue member of the Madras Legislative Council from 1862 to 1866. He was reappointed as an additional Member in 1866.
Sir Henry William BlissKCIE was a British civil servant of the Indian civil service who served as a member of the Imperial Legislative Council of India from 1890 to 1892 and Madras Legislative Council from 1893 to 1898.
Sir Daniel Eliott was a Scottish civil servant in British India and governor of Madras.
Sir Thomas Eyebron MoirKCIE CSI (1874-1932) was an Indian civil servant of British origin. He served as the Revenue member of the executive council of the Governor of Madras from 1925 to 1930.
The 1892 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 24 May 1892 and in The Times on 25 May 1892.
Arthur Thomas Pycroft was a New Zealand naturalist and collector, known especially for his ornithological work. Pycroft worked for the New Zealand Railways Department and became a senior manager, but he retired young after receiving a large inheritance. This gave him more time for his real passion as a naturalist and ornithologist. He organised expeditions, mostly to islands off the coast of the North Island, with a focus on birds and plants. He grew rare plants at his large property in the Auckland suburb of Saint Heliers. Another of his interests was collecting rare books. When his library was put up for sale 40 years after his death, it was dubbed the "last great private library" in New Zealand. Pycroft held membership with the Auckland Institute at Auckland Museum for 75 years and was the organisation's president in 1935–36.