John Frederick Dickson

Sir John Frederick Dickson KCMG (1835–1891), was a British colonial administrator in Singapore. He was also President of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society from 1886 to 1891.^[1] He translated and edited the Upasampadā-kammavācā and the Patimokkha.^[2]

Education and civil service career

J. Frederick Dickson graduated from Westminster School and then Christ Church Oxford with B.A. in 1859 and M.A. in 1873. He entered the Ceylon Civil Service in 1859 and served in Ceylon until 1885.^[3][4] He arrived in Singapore in 1886 to receive instruction on becoming the new Colonial Secretary in Singapore. In 1887 he formally took office in Singapore as Colonial Secretary in the Straits Settlements, as the successor to Cecil Clementi Smith, who resigned as Colonial Secretary to accept a promotion to Governor of the Straits Settlements and High Commissioner to Malaya. Dickson died in 1891 in Paddington. As Colonial Secretary, he instructed the Public Works Department to maintain the historical inscriptions, granite stones, and brick works in the cemetery on Government Hill.^[5]

Family

J. Frederick Smith was twice married. He was married to his first wife from 1859 until her death in 1866. His second wife was Emily, Lady Dickson, née Emily Ayton Lee (christened on 2 September 1842 and married in 1875 in Kensington).

Honours

Dickson was made C.M.G. in 1883^[3] and K.C.M.G. in 1888.^[4] Port Dickson (locally known as PD) is named in his honour.

Further reading

• Singapore: Days of Old. A Special Commemorative History of Singapore Published on the 10th Anniversary of Singapore Tatler, Singapore: Illustrated Magazine Pub. Co., 1992, pp. 48–49, ISBN 978-962709319-0.
• Tate, D. J. M. (1988), A Portrait Gallery of Nineteenth Century Singapore, Singapore: Antiques of the Orient, ISBN 978-981-00-0668-6.

References

1. "Annual Report of the Council of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society for the Year 1891".
2. Catalogue of Sanskrit and Pali Books in the British Museum. London. 1876. p. 170.
3. "Dickson, Frederick John, C.M.G.". Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage, and Companionage: 45. 1882.
4. "Dickson, [John] Frederick, K.C.M.G.". The Windsor Peerage for 1890–1894.
5. Buckley, Charles Burton (1902). An anecdotal history of old times in Singapore. vol. 2. Singapore: Fraser & Neave. p. 717.

External links

• Works written by or about John Frederick Dickson at Wikisource