Sir George Frederick Stanley (14 October 1872 – 1 July 1938) was a British soldier and Conservative Party politician who served as a member of the UK Parliament for Preston and later, Willesden East. He also served the Governor of Madras from 1929 to 1934 and as Acting Viceroy of India in 1934.

Life

The sixth son of Frederick Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby, Stanley was educated at

Wellington College Wellington College may refer to: *Wellington College, Berkshire, an independent school in Crowthorne, Berkshire, England ** Wellington College International Shanghai ** Wellington College International Tianjin *Wellington College, Wellington, New Z ...

and at the

Royal Military Academy, Woolwich The Royal Military Academy (RMA) at Woolwich, in south-east London, was a British Army military academy for the training of commissioned officers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. It later also trained officers of the Royal Corps of Sig ...

. In 1903 he married Lady Beatrix Taylour, youngest daughter of the 3rd Marquess of Headfort. He was the grandson of Edward Smith-Stanley, the former British Prime Minister. He entered the Royal Horse Artillery in 1893 and was promoted to Captain in 1900. He served in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

in 1899–1900 and was Adjutant with the

Honourable Artillery Company The Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) is a reserve regiment in the British Army. Incorporated by royal charter in 1537 by King Henry VIII, it is the oldest regiment in the British Army and is considered the second-oldest military unit in the w ...

from 1904 to 1909. He later served in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and was mentioned in despatches and awarded the CMG in 1916. He was Conservative Member of Parliament for

Preston Preston is a place name, surname and given name that may refer to: Places England *Preston, Lancashire, an urban settlement **The City of Preston, Lancashire, a borough and non-metropolitan district which contains the settlement **County Boro ...

from 1910 to 1922 and for Willesden East from 1924 to 1929. He held office as

Comptroller of the Household The Comptroller of the Household is an ancient position in the British royal household, nominally the second-ranking member of the Lord Steward's department after the Treasurer of the Household. The Comptroller was an ''ex officio'' member of t ...

from 1919 until 1921, as Financial Secretary to the War Office from 1921 to 1922, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department from 1922 to 1923, Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Pensions from 1924 to 1929. He was

Governor of Madras This is a list of the governors, agents, and presidents of colonial Madras, initially of the English East India Company, up to the end of British colonial rule in 1947. English Agents In 1639, the grant of Madras to the English was finalized be ...

from 1929 to 1934. He was appointed a Privy Counsellor in 1927 and made a

Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria on 1 January 1878. The Order includes members of three classes: #Knight Grand Commander (GCIE) #Knight Commander ( KCIE) #Companion ( CIE) No appo ...

(GCIE) in 1929 and a

Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes: # Knight Grand Commander (GCSI) # Knight Commander ( KCSI) # Companion ( CSI) No appointmen ...

in 1934.

As Governor of Madras

Stanley was appointed Governor of Madras on 26October 1929 at an annual salary of 1,20,000. He arrived in India and took over as governor on 12November 1929. Stanley assumed the governorate at a critical juncture. The

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

had just begun and the economy was deteriorating. The Premier

P. Subbarayan Paramasiva Subbarayan (11 September 1889 – 6 October 1962) was an Indian politician, freedom fighter and diplomat and was the Chief Minister of Madras Presidency, India's ambassador to Indonesia and Union Minister of Transport and Communic ...

resigned after the 1930 elections when his party was voted out. The

Swaraj Party The Swaraj Party, established as the ''Congress-Khilafat Swaraj Party'', was a political party formed in India on 1 January 1923 after the Gaya annual conference in December 1922 of the National Congress, that sought greater self-government and ...

boycotted the elections as a part of the

Civil Disobedience Movement The Salt March, also known as the Salt Satyagraha, Dandi March and the Dandi Satyagraha, was an act of nonviolent civil disobedience in colonial India led by Mahatma Gandhi. The twenty-four day march lasted from 12 March to 6 April 1930 as a di ...

and the Justice Party was voted to power in the 1930 and 1934 elections. B. Munuswamy Naidu served as Premier from 1930 to 1932 but he had to resign in 1932 due to the strong opposition of landowning elements in the party. Naidu was succeeded by

Ramakrishna Ranga Rao of Bobbili Raja Sri Ravu Svetachalapati Sir Ramakrishna Ranga Rao KCIE (20 February 1901 – 10 March 1978) was an Indian politician and ''zamindar'' who served as the Chief Minister of Madras Presidency from 5 November 1932 to 4 April 1936 and 24 ...

whose administration soon became notorious for mis-governance. During his tenure as governor, Stanley was responsible for implementing the Mettur Dam across the

Kaveri River The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery, the anglicized name) is one of the major Indian rivers flowing through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Kaveri river rises at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri range in the Western Ghats, Kodagu dist ...

. Mettur Project, pp 151 Mettur Project, pp 153 Mettur Project, pp 479 The project's inauguration on 21August 1934, was attended by people from all parts of the Presidency. The reservoir created by the Dam was named Stanley Reservoir in his honour. On 17January 1930, Stanley laid the foundation stone of a Gaudiya Math and a temple at Royapettah,

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

. The first service of the Madras sub-urban line of the South Indian Railway Company was flagged off by Stanley from

Chennai Beach Chennai Beach (formerly known as Madras Beach) (station code: MSB) is a railway terminus of the Southern Railway network in Parry's Corner, Chennai, India. Built on reclaimed land, the station serves the suburban services of the Chennai Suburb ...

railway station on 2April 1931.

Muthiah Deshabandu Muttiah Muralitharan ( si, මුත්තයියා මුරලිදරන්, ta, முத்தையா முரளிதரன், also spelt Muralidaran; born 1972) is a Sri Lankan cricket coach, former professional c ...

, pp 322 In 1933, Stanley inaugurated the five-year medicine and surgery diploma course at the Royapuram Medical College. On 2July 1938, the school was renamed Stanley Medical College in his honour. In 1931, he had received Ignatius Elias III, the Patriarch of Antioch on his way to Malankara.

Commemoration

The Government Stanley Medical College in Chennai (Madras), Tamil Nadu, India is named in memory of Stanley. The Diploma in Medicine and Surgery program was inaugurated here in 1933 by Stanley when he was the Governor of Madras. The college formerly known as Royapuram Medical School was renamed Stanley Medical School on 27 March 1934 in his honour. It was renamed to Stanley Medical College in 1938.

Notes

References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stanley, George Frederick 1872 births 1938 deaths Younger sons of earls Honourable Artillery Company officers British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British Army personnel of World War I Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1910 UK MPs 1910–1918 UK MPs 1918–1922 UK MPs 1924–1929 People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...