Sir James Crawford Maxwell, (1869 – 1932) was a British physician and colonial administrator.

Biography

Maxwell was born in

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

in 1869. He was educated at the

High School of Dundee The High School of Dundee is an independent, co-educational, day school in Dundee, Scotland, which provides nursery, primary and secondary education to just over one thousand pupils. Its foundation has been dated to 1239, and it is the only priv ...

, before studying medicine at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

, graduating M.B., C.M. in 1893, and proceeding M.D. in 1896. He was House-Surgeon at Halifax Infirmary for a brief period before becoming a district medical officer in

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

between 1897-1900. He was awarded the East and West Africa Medal, West Africa Medal and a clasp for his role in the

Hut Tax War of 1898 The Hut Tax War of 1898 was a resistance in the newly annexed Protectorate of Sierra Leone to a new tax imposed by the colonial governor. The British had established the Protectorate to demonstrate their dominion over the territory to other Europ ...

. In 1900, he moved into political service and served first as a district commissioner in Sierra Leone. He was awarded the CMG in 1911. Between 1914-1920 he served as First Class Resident in

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. He thereafter returned to Sierra Leone as Colonial Secretary, before being promoted to a similar role in the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

. In 1927 he was appointed Governor and Commander in Chief of Northern Rhodesia. He was awarded the

KBE KBE may refer to: * Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, post-nominal letters * Knowledge-based engineering Knowledge-based engineering (KBE) is the application of knowledge-based systems technology to the domain o ...

in 1925 and on 1930.Br Med J. 24 Dec 1932; 2(3755): 1169–1170. He retired in 1932 and died later that year aged 63 whilst on voyage to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maxwell, James 1869 births 1932 deaths People from Dundee People educated at the High School of Dundee Alumni of the University of Edinburgh British expatriates in Nigeria British expatriates in Sierra Leone British expatriates in Ghana Colonial Secretaries of Sierra Leone Chief Secretaries of the Gold Coast (British colony) Governors of Northern Rhodesia Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire