Major George William Stewart (25 September 1793 - 20 April 1841), was the third Postmaster General of Ceylon, serving from 1826 to 1833. Stewart was a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in the

19th Regiment of Foot 19 (nineteen) is the natural number following 18 and preceding 20. It is a prime number. Mathematics 19 is the eighth prime number, and forms a sexy prime with 13, a twin prime with 17, and a cousin prime with 23. It is the third full re ...

, who were stationed in

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

between 1796 and 1820, during which time they were involved in the Kandyan Wars. In 1810 he was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. He was appointed as the Postmaster General of Ceylon in 1826. During his tenure he was instrumental in extending the postal services to major towns in the

colony In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the ''metropole, metropolit ...

. He went on to be commissioned in 1830 as a major in the Ceylon Rifle Regiment. After his retirement he became an oil merchant and had a chekku mill, and was known as 'Vanniya Stewart'. On 9 February 1807 Stewart married Maria Wilhelmina Sophia Tranchell (1791-1867), the daughter of Carl Jonas Tranchell (1754-1807), the Consul for Sweden in Ceylon. They had one daughter, Sophia (1824-1906). Stewart died on 20 April 1841 in

Boulogne-sur-Mer Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the ...

, France, at the age of 48.

References

External links

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Sri Lanka Post
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, George William 1793 births 1841 deaths Postmasters General of Sri Lanka People from British Ceylon Sri Lankan people of British descent British civil servants in Ceylon