Stephen Popham (5 July 1745 – 13 June 1795) was a British politician and solicitor who is remembered for improving the residential locality of Georgetown in the city of

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and reforming the civic and police administration.

Early life

Popham was born on 5 July 1745, the fourth son of Joseph Popham of

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

and Mary Riggs. Popham's younger brother was the British naval officer Admiral

Sir Home Riggs Popham Rear Admiral Sir Home Riggs Popham, KCB, KCH (12 October 1762 – 20 September 1820), was a Royal Navy commander who saw service against the French during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He is remembered for his scientific accomplishme ...

. He had his education at King's School and matriculated from

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

in 1764. He graduated as 4th Wrangler in 1767 and obtained a Master of Arts degree in 1774. Popham was admitted to the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

on 14 April 1762. Popham entered politics in 1776 and was elected to the

Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, but on a highly restrictive fra ...

in June 1776 as MP for

Castlebar Castlebar () is the county town of County Mayo, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Developing around a 13th century castle of the de Barry family, de Barry family, from which the town got its name, the town now acts as a social and economic focal poi ...

. Popham and was succeeded as MP by James Browne.

In India

Popham's fortunes began to decline in the late 1770s and he faced a financial crisis. He arrived in India about this time and was worked in

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

as Secretary to Sir John Day, the Advocate-General of

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 ...

. In 1778, he travelled along with Day to the city of Madras for an official inquiry. At Madras, a violent argument broke out between Day and Popham forcing the two to break up. Popham stayed on in Madras and purchased a plot in

Blacktown Blacktown is a suburb in the City of Blacktown, in Greater Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Blacktown is located west of the Sydney central business district. It is one of the most multicultural places within Grea ...

and settled down in the city. Popham purchased the adjacent plot and constructed a drainage channel in the area. He then constructed a wide thoroughfare through Blacktown. The road was named "Popham's Broadway" and presently, it is known simply as

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

. Popham was critical of the power and influence of the ''dubashes'' Popham recommended the construction of direct and cross drains in every street, the lighting of streets, registration of births and deaths and licensing of liquor shops and outlets. In 1782, Popham submitted a plan for the creation of a regular police force in Madras city.

Pophams Broadway, Madras

The Pophams Broadway at

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

was once a fine road bisecting George Town into Peddanaickenpet and Muthialpet. Before, it was a road, it was a ditch in the suburb called Atta Pallam, and was owned by Stephen Popham, former MP of the

British Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative supremacy ...

and later Advocate General at

, who moved to

in 1778. Popham is credited with setting up the Madras Police in 1782. At that time, the lands of the present Madras United Club,

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the list of longest-running television shows by category, longest-running American soap opera in pro ...

and Park Town Post Office was a hill called Hoggs Hill (called as Narimedu or 'mound of foxes' by the natives). Hoggs Hill was considered to be a security threat to the

Fort St. George Fort St. George (or historically, White Town) is a fortress in the coastal city of Chennai, India. Founded in 1639, it was the first English (later British) fortress in India. The construction of the fort provided the impetus for further ...

and a decision was taken to level the hill. Popham's negotiated with the

Government of Madras A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

to use the earth removed from Hoggs Hill to fill up the ditch. The road which came through after filling the ditch came to be known as Popham's Broadway.

Death

Popham died in Conjeevaram on 13 June 1795 as a result of injuries suffered during a fall from his

curricle A curricle was a smart, light, two-wheeled chaise or "chariot", large enough for the driver and a passenger and—most unusually for a vehicle with a single axle—usually drawn by a carefully matched pair of horses. It was popular in t ...

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Popham, Stephen 1745 births 1795 deaths Irish MPs 1776–1783 Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Members of the Middle Temple Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Mayo constituencies