Sir Louis William Dane (21 March 1856 – 22 February 1946) was an administrator during the time of the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

Early life

He was born on 21 March 1856 at Chichester, Sussex, the fifth son of Richard Martin Dane, an army staff surgeon, and Sophia Eliza, the daughter of Colonel Charles Griffiths who had served in the

First Anglo-Afghan War The First Anglo-Afghan War ( fa, جنگ اول افغان و انگلیس) was fought between the British Empire and the Emirate of Afghanistan, Emirate of Kabul from 1838 to 1842. The British initially successfully invaded the country taking si ...

Richard Morris Dane Sir Richard Morris Dane (1854–1940) was a British administrator in India and China. Life He was the son of Richard Martin Dane M.D. (1813–1901) and his wife Sophia Eliza Griffiths; Louis William Dane, Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab, was h ...

, was his brother. He was educated at Dr Stackpole's school in Kingstown, Dublin and passed his examinations for the

Indian Civil Service The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 300 million ...

in 1874. He married Edith Norman on 3 March 1882.

Civil service

In 1876, he was posted to the

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

as assistant commissioner in

Dera Ghazi Khan Dera Ghazi Khan (), abbreviated as D.G. Khan, is a city in the southwestern part of Punjab, Pakistan. It is the 19th largest city of Pakistan by population. Lying west of the Indus River, it is the headquarters of Dera Ghazi Khan District and ...

. In 1879, he became private secretary to Sir Robert Egerton, Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab. He became Foreign Secretary to the Government of India in 1903. In 1904, the Dane Mission, named for his leadership, was sent by the British to

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

to negotiate the friendship agreement with the country's new

Amir Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cerem ...

Habibullah Khan Habibullah Khan (Pashto/Dari: ; 3 June 1872 – 20 February 1919) was the Emir of Afghanistan from 1901 until his death in 1919. He was the eldest son of the Emir Abdur Rahman Khan, whom he succeeded by right of primogeniture in October 1901. ...

. The mission resulted in a reinforcement of the agreements between the British and

Abdur Rahman Khan Abdur Rahman Khan GCSI (Pashto/Dari: ) (between 1840 and 1844 – 1 October 1901) was Emir of Afghanistan from 1880 to his death in 1901. He is known for uniting the country after years of internal fighting and negotiation of the Durand Line Ag ...

, Habibullah's father and predecessor as Amir. Afghanistan was a key player in

The Great Game The Great Game is the name for a set of political, diplomatic and military confrontations that occurred through most of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century – involving the rivalry of the British Empire and the Russian Empi ...

, and Dane's mission confirmed Britain's control over Afghanistan's foreign policy, and therefore gave the British the upper hand over the Russians. In 1908, he was appointed Lieutenant-governor in the Punjab, a post from which he retired in 1913.

Football

In 1928, Dane led a consortium of businessmen to found Thames A.F.C, following the construction of

West Ham Stadium West Ham Stadium was a stadium that existed between 1928 and 1972 in Custom House, in East London (it was in the County Borough of West Ham, in the county of Essex, at the time of the stadium's construction). The stadium was built in 1928 on Pri ...

in the same year. In an interview with the ''Stratford Express'', published on 1 August 1928, Dane said he believed West Ham Stadium, which had a capacity of 120,000, was "a wonderful stadium – one of the finest in the Country". Despite the Thames' facilities and the signing of former First Division players, such as Jimmy Dimmock and Henry White, the club never caught the imagination of the public, with the club setting a record low

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

attendance of 469 for a game against

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...

on 6 December 1930. By 1932, following repeated poor finishes in the

Third Division South The Third Division South of The Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to on ...

, financial pressure and low attendances, Thames were wound up.

Caxton Hall assassination

On 13 March 1940, Dane was one of four victims of a shooting at the

Caxton Hall Caxton Hall is a building on the corner of Caxton Street and Palmer Street, in Westminster, London, England. It is a Grade II listed building primarily noted for its historical associations. It hosted many mainstream and fringe political and art ...

Indian nationalist Indian nationalism is an instance of territorial nationalism, which is inclusive of all of the people of India, despite their diverse ethnic, linguistic and religious backgrounds. Indian nationalism can trace roots to pre-colonial India, b ...

Udham Singh Udham Singh (born Sher Singh; 26 December 1899 — 31 July 1940) was an Indian revolutionary belonging to Ghadar Party and HSRA, best known for assassinating Michael O'Dwyer, the former lieutenant governor of the Punjab in India, on 13 Mar ...

. Dane's successor (in 1913) as lieutenant-governor of the Punjab,

Michael O'Dwyer Michael Francis O'Dwyer (28 April 1864 – 13 March 1940) was an Irish Indian Civil Service (ICS) officer and later the Lieutenant Governor of Punjab, British India, between 1913 and 1919. During O'Dwyer's tenure as Punjab's Lieutenant Gove ...

, was killed instantly. Dane's arm was broken by a bullet; Lawrence Dundas, formerly

Secretary of State for India His (or Her) Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for India, known for short as the India Secretary or the Indian Secretary, was the British Cabinet minister and the political head of the India Office responsible for the governance of th ...

and Charles Cochrane, formerly governor of the Bombay presidency were slightly injured.

Death

Dane died at his home in South Kensington, London, on 22 February 1946. He is buried at

Southampton Old Cemetery The cemetery has had various titles including The Cemetery by the Common, Hill Lane Cemetery and is currently known as Southampton Old Cemetery. An Act of Parliament was required in 1843 to acquire the land from Southampton Common. It covers an ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dane, Louis 1856 births 1946 deaths Indian Civil Service (British India) officers Companions of the Order of the Star of India Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire People from Chichester Thames A.F.C. English football chairmen and investors