Samuel Turner Fearon (1819 – 18 January 1854) was the first Chinese professor at the King's College, London. He was an interpreter in the

First Opium War The First Opium War (), also known as the Opium War or the Anglo-Sino War was a series of military engagements fought between Britain and the Qing dynasty of China between 1839 and 1842. The immediate issue was the Chinese enforcement of the ...

and a colonial servant and senior government official in

British Hong Kong Hong Kong was a colony and later a dependent territory of the British Empire from 1841 to 1997, apart from a period of occupation under the Japanese Empire from 1941 to 1945 during the Pacific War. The colonial period began with the Briti ...

. He was born in

Chiswick Chiswick ( ) is a district of west London, England. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist William Hogarth; Chiswick House, a neo-Palladian villa regarded as one of the finest in England; and Full ...

, London in 1819. He was baptised in 1820 and first went to China in 1826 with his father, Christopher Fearon. He went to the Anglo-Chinese College in

Malacca Malacca ( ms, Melaka) is a state in Malaysia located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, next to the Strait of Malacca. Its capital is Malacca City, dubbed the Historic City, which has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site si ...

and was fluent in local tongue and became an interpreter in the

from 1839 to 1842. He was awarded China War Medal. After the war, he went to Hong Kong and became a civil servant in the British colony. He was a clerk and interpreter of the Magistrate Court and also a public notary and coroner. He later became the first Registral General and Collector of Chinese Revenue in 1846. He became the first Chinese professor at the King's College, London when the Chinese program was institutionalised at the invitation of

George Thomas Staunton Sir George Thomas Staunton, 2nd Baronet (26 May 1781 – 10 August 1859) was an English traveller and Orientalist. Early life Born at Milford House near Salisbury, he was the son of Sir George Leonard Staunton (1737–1801), first baronet, dip ...

in 1847, despite he was not a Sinologist. He did not give lectures and translate any classics or other works of Chinese language. At the end, the Chinese education at the King's College failed.Kwan, Uganda Sze Pui, Translation and Resolving Conflict: The First Opium War Interpreter of the British Empire, Samuel T. Fearon (1819-1854) Bulletin of the Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica, (2012) Vol. 76, pp. 41-80 He died in

St. Pancras, London St Pancras () is a district in north London. It was originally a medieval ancient parish and subsequently became a metropolitan borough. The metropolitan borough then merged with neighbouring boroughs and the area it covered now forms around ...

on 18 January 1854. He was son of Christopher and Elizabeth Fearon. He married Caroline Libery in 1846 and had children Charles and Kate.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fearon, Samuel Turner 1819 births 1854 deaths Hong Kong civil servants Government officials of Hong Kong People from Chiswick Professorships at King's College London Interpreters 19th-century translators