Sir John Ware Edgar (16 September 1839 - 4 June 1902EDGAR, Sir John Ware’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2016; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014) was a British colonial administrator in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

Biography

Edgar was born in 1839, the son of John Peard Edgar, Kensington and Jane Gibbings, daughter of B. Gibbings. He joined the Bengal Civil Service in 1862, and served as an assistant magistrate and collector in

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

, and as deputy-commissioner in

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

. Edgar, while Deputy Commissioner of Cachar, set out on 20 December 1869 with the Inspector of Police, twenty one constables, three sepoys, three native officials and a few Lushai guides to engage with the Suakpuilala. He succeeded in making friendly terms with the Suakpuilala. During 1870-71, Edgar revisited the Lushai Hills. Suakpuilala executed with Edgar the only Sanad which any Lushai chief ever negotiated with the British Government, on 16 January 1871. In 1872 he was appointed political officer with the

Lushai Expedition The British Indian Army Lushai Expedition of 1871 to 1872 was a punitive incursion under the command of Generals Brownlow and Bourchier. The objectives of the expedition were to rescue British subjects who had been captured by the Lushais in ...

, for which he was appointed a Companion 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 ...

(CSI) in the 1873 Birthday Honours. Following further district work he became Commissioner of Chittagong in late 1885. Two years later he was appointed Financial and Chief Secretary to the Government of Bengal, serving as such until 1892. For some months before his retirement that year, he also occupied a seat as an additional member of the

Viceroy's Executive Council The Viceroy's Executive Council was the cabinet of the government of British India headed by the Viceroy of India. It is also known as the Council of the Governor-General of India. It was transformed from an advisory council into a cabinet consistin ...

. He was knighted as a Knight 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 appoi ...

(KCIE) in the

1889 Birthday Honours The 1889 Birthday Honours were appointments by Queen Victoria to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of The Queen, and we ...

list. In later years he devoted his time to historical studies. He died at his villa in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

, on 4 June 1902.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edgars, John Ware 1839 births 1902 deaths Indian Civil Service (British India) officers Knights Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire Companions of the Order of the Star of India Members of the Council of the Governor General of India