George Turnour Jnr,
CCS (1799–1843) was a
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
colonial administrator, scholar and a historian. A member of the
Ceylon Civil Service
The Ceylon Civil Service, popularly known by its acronym CCS, was the premier civil service of the Government of Ceylon under British colonial rule and in the immediate post-independence period. Established in 1833, it functioned as part of the ...
, he served as a Government Agent, Assistant Colonial Secretary and Treasurer of the Colony. He is known for his translation of the
Mahavamsa, the Great Chronicle of Sri Lankan history which was published in 1837. Along with
James Prinsep
James Prinsep FRS (20 August 1799 – 22 April 1840) was an English scholar, orientalist and antiquary. He was the founding editor of the ''Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal'' and is best remembered for deciphering the Kharosthi and B ...
and Captain Edward Smith, he began to decipher the inscriptions on the first discovered
Pillar of Ashoka
The pillars of Ashoka are a series of monolithic columns dispersed throughout the Indian subcontinent, erected or at least inscribed with edicts by the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka during his reign from c. 268 to 232 BCE. Ashoka used the expressi ...
.
Early life
Born in Ceylon on 11 March 1799, his father was the Honorable George Turnour Snr, the son of the British politician
Edward Garth-Turnour, 1st Earl Winterton
Edward Garth-Turnour, 1st Earl Winterton FRS (1734 – 10 August 1788) was a British politician.
Life
Born Edward Garth, he was the son of Joseph Garth and his wife Sarah (née Gee). On his mother's side he was a great-great-grandson of Sir E ...
. George Turnour Snr came to India joining the
Bengal Native Infantry
The regiments of Bengal Native Infantry, alongside the regiments of Bengal European Infantry, were the regular infantry components of the East India Company's Bengal Army from the raising of the first Native battalion in 1757 to the passing int ...
as an
ensign
An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...
. He landed in Ceylon in 1783 with the
73rd Regiment. In 1795, he was appointed
Fort Adjutant of the
Jaffna Fort
Jaffna Fort ( ta, யாழ்ப்பாணக் கோட்டை, translit=Yāḻppāṇak Kōṭṭai; si, යාපනය බලකොටුව ''Yapanaya Balakotuwa'') is a fort built by the Portuguese at Jaffna, Sri Lanka in 1618 under ...
and later made
Commandant
Commandant ( or ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ran ...
of the
Mannar Fort in 1797. He married Emilie de Beaussett, niece of Cardinal Duc de Beaussett. In 1799, Lieutenant Turnour was dismissed from command following an inquiry instituted by the Governor on irregularities in the Mannar Pearl Fishery which found "gross and incalculable fraud". Thereafter, Turnour Snr tried his hand in trading business between Indian and Ceylon which failed, prompting him to return to Jaffna insolvent in 1807. He was able to gain appointment as Revenue Agent of the Wanni, Assistant Collector of Jaffna in 1813 and served as Sitting Magistrate and Fiscal. He died in April 1813.
George Turnour Jnr was the eldest of six siblings, he had one younger brother Edward Archer and four sisters Anne Emily, Frances, Elizabeth and Jane. In 1811, he was sent to England for education under the patronage of
Sir Thomas Maitland
Lieutenant General The Right Honourable Sir Thomas Maitland (10 March 1760 – 17 January 1824) was a British soldier and British colonial governor. He also served as a Member of Parliament for Haddington from 1790 to 1796, 1802–06 and 1812 ...
.
Civil service career
On his return in 1820, he was appointed to the Ceylon Civil Service as Assistant to the Commissioner of Revenue. Thereafter he was made Assistant to the Chief Secretary. In 1822 he was appointed the Collector of
Kalutara
Kalutara ( si, කළුතර, ta, களுத்துறை) or Kalutota is a major city in Kalutara District, Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is also the administrative capital of Kalutara District. It is located approximately south o ...
. In 1825 he was appointed
Government Agent of
Sabaragamuwa Province
The Sabaragamuwa Province ( si, සබරගමුව පළාත ''Sabaragamuwa Paḷāta'', ta, சபரகமுவ மாகாணம் ''Sabaragamuwa Mākāṇam'') is one of the nine provinces of Sri Lanka, the first level administrati ...
based in
Ratnapura
Ratnapura (; ) ("City of Gems" in Sinhala and Tamil) is a major city in Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of Sabaragamuwa Province, as well as the Ratnapura District, and is a traditional centre for the Sri Lankan gem trade. It is located ...
until he was transferred to
Kandy
Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka located in the Central Province. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills ...
as Revenue Commissioner in 1828. In 1833, he was appointed as the first Government Agent of the
Central Province. In 1841, he was transferred to Colombo as Assistant Colonial Secretary and was appointed Treasurer. Due to ill health he retired early and returned to England and set out to Italy where he died in Naples on the 10 April 1843 aged 44 years.
Honors
He was elected an honorary member of the
Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland
The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, commonly known as the Royal Asiatic Society (RAS), was established, according to its royal charter of 11 August 1824, to further "the investigation of subjects connected with and for the en ...
. Following his death, a fund was raised which erected a tablet at St. Pauls Church, Kandy. The remaining funds were used to start the
Turnour Prize at the Royal College, Colombo.
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 8
/ref>
Works
* ''History of Ceylon''
* ''The Mahawanso in Roman Characters with the Translation Subjoined, and an Introductory Essay on Pali Buddhistical Literature. '' Cotto 1837.
* ''Eleven Years in Ceylon''
See also
* Mahavamsa
*James Prinsep
James Prinsep FRS (20 August 1799 – 22 April 1840) was an English scholar, orientalist and antiquary. He was the founding editor of the ''Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal'' and is best remembered for deciphering the Kharosthi and B ...
*Pillars of Ashoka
The pillars of Ashoka are a series of monolithic columns dispersed throughout the Indian subcontinent, erected or at least inscribed with edicts by the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka during his reign from c. 268 to 232 BCE. Ashoka used the expressi ...
* Turnour Prize
References
*
Notes
External links
Mulkirigala (Mulgirigala) Raja Maha Viharaya
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turnour, George
1799 births
1843 deaths
British civil servants in Ceylon
Government Agents (Sri Lanka)
19th-century English historians
People of British Ceylon