Tan Tock Seng (; 1798 – 24 February 1850) was a

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 ...

-born merchant and philanthropist from

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

Early life and business

Tan Tock Seng was born in

in 1798 to a Chinese Fujianese immigrant father and local Peranakan mother. He left for Singapore in 1819 at the age of 21, the same year Stamford Raffles established a trading base on the island under the

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

. Tan made a living by selling vegetables, fruits, fish and other produce in the newly-built city center and eventually earned enough to open a store at Boat Quay in 1827. The store was situated at the mouth of the Singapore River. He then invested in the J. H. Whitehead of Shaw, Whitehead & Company and engaged in property

speculation In finance, speculation is the purchase of an asset (a commodity, good (economics), goods, or real estate) with the hope that it will become more valuable shortly. (It can also refer to short sales in which the speculator hopes for a decline i ...

, becoming wealthy in the process and acquiring large tracts of prime land. Tan owned 50 acres (200,000 m²) near the

Tanjong Pagar railway station Tanjong Pagar railway station ( ms, Stesen Keretapi Tanjong Pagar; ; ta, தஞ்சோங் பகார் ரயில் நிலையம்), also called Singapore railway station ( ms, Stesen Keretapi Singapura; ; ta, சிங்� ...

, disjointed land parcels from the Padang leading up to High Street and Tank Road, several Ellenborough Building shophouses, and even a fruit plantation.

Philanthropist

Tan became an influential Chinese leader and was the first

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

to be appointed

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

by Governor William John Butterworth. He was also granted the title of Kapitan Cina (Captain of the Chinese) for settling feuds and assisting new Chinese immigrants upon their arrival to Singapore. The founding of

Thian Hock Keng Thian Hock Keng. & ( or the Tianfu Temple, literally "Palace of Heavenly Happiness"), is a temple built for the worship of Mazu, a Chinese sea goddess, located in Singapore. It is the oldest and most important temple of the Hokkien (Hoklo) p ...

temple was led by Tan for the Hokkien community and still exists at

Telok Ayer Street Telok Ayer Street is a street located in Singapore's Chinatown within the Outram district, linking Church Street to Cecil Street. Telok Ayer MRT station is located at the junction of Cross Street and this road. Etymology Telok Ayer Street ...

today. His most famous donation was a $5,000 contribution to the construction of the Chinese Pauper Hospital in 1844, which was named after its benefactor on its opening and referred to colloquially as "Tan Tock Seng hospital". The hospital later relocated to the corner of

Serangoon Road ''Serangoon Road'' is an Australian-Singaporean television drama series which premiered on 22 September 2013 on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and HBO Asia. It is a detective noir drama set in the 1960s, revolving around Serango ...

and

Balestier Road Balestier () is a sub zone located in the planning area of Novena in the Central Region of Singapore. The main road, Balestier Road, links Thomson Road to Serangoon Road and the road continues on as Lavender Street. The area is home to rows ...

in 1860, and a female wing was funded by Tan's widow Lee Seo Neo in 1867.

Death and legacy

Tan died on 24 February 1850 at the age of 52 after falling ill, leaving behind his wife, three sons and three daughters. His initial burial location is unknown but his remains were re-interred at Outram Hill around 1882. The modern day Tan Tock Seng Hospital and adjacent road Jalan Tan Tock Seng still bears his name.

References

Works cited

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External links

National Library Board article on Tan Tock Seng
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tan, Tock Seng 1798 births 1850 deaths Hokkien businesspeople Malaysian emigrants to Singapore Peranakan people in Malaysia Singaporean people of Hokkien descent Singaporean businesspeople Singaporean philanthropists Kapitan Cina 19th-century philanthropists