Sir William Stevenson Meyer (13 February 1860 – 19 October 1922) was an Indian Civil Service officer. From 1920 until his death two years later, he served as the

first First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

High Commissioner for India.

Biography

Meyer was born to a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

minister, Theodore Jonah Meyer, and his wife Jane Ann. His younger sister was the mathematician

Margaret Meyer Margaret Theodora Meyer (September 1862 – 27 January 1924), also known as Maud Meyer was a British mathematician. She was one of the first directors of studies in mathematics, and one of the earliest members of the London Mathematical Society ...

. He attended

University College School ("Slowly but surely") , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day school , religion = , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Mark Beard , r_head_label = , r_hea ...

and

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

, before entering the Indian Civil Service in 1881. Meyer was assigned to the

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency, or the Presidency of Fort St. George, also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision (presidency) of British India. At its greatest extent, the presidency included most of southern India, including the ...

as an assistant secretary, where he rose to become Chief Secretary of the Board of Revenue in 1890. In 1895, he entered the service of the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

as a deputy secretary in the Financial Department, and was appointed a

Companion 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 ...

(CIE) on 9 November 1901. From 1902 to 1908, he was the editor of ''

The Imperial Gazetteer of India ''The Imperial Gazetteer of India'' was a gazetteer of the British Indian Empire, and is now a historical reference work. It was first published in 1881. Sir William Wilson Hunter made the original plans of the book, starting in 1869.< ...

'' along with Sir Herbert Hope Risley, Sir Richard Burn and

James Sutherland Cotton James Sutherland Cotton (born 17 July 1847 at Cooner, Madras; died 10 July 1918 at Salisbury) was a British man of letters. He edited ''The Academy'' and the wrote and compiled various books and publications on Indian life and history. Biography ...

. He subsequently served on the Royal Commission of Decentralization from 1907 to 1909 and on the Nicholson Committee on the

British Indian Army The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which co ...

in 1912-13. 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 1909 Birthday Honours list. From 1914, Meyer served as Finance Member of the Government of India, incurring some criticism concerning its perceived lack of enthusiasm for the

Mesopotamian Campaign The Mesopotamian campaign was a campaign in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I fought between the Allies represented by the British Empire, troops from Britain, Australia and the vast majority from British India, against the Central Powe ...

(1914-18) conducted by the Military Department of India. However, he was cleared of all blame by a parliamentary committee, which showed he had always released funds to the Indian military upon request. He was appointed a

Knight Commander 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 appointments ...

(KCSI) in the 1915

Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are presen ...

list. Appointed President of the Central Recruiting Board in 1917, he succeeded in attracting large numbers of recruits. He retired the following year. For his long service in India, he was appointed a

Knight Grand 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 appo ...

(GCIE) on 27 September 1918. Sir William was appointed the first High Commissioner for India on 19 September 1920,''The Age,'' (21 September 1920; archived)
/ref> with

J. W. Bhore Sir Joseph William Bhore (1878 – 15 August 1960) was an Indian people, Indian civil servant and diwan (title), diwan of the Cochin State. He is best remembered for his chairmanship of the Health Survey and Development Committee (Bhore Committ ...

as his secretary. However, Meyer did not last long in his new post; on 19 October 1922, while walking on the street in Westminster, he collapsed and died of a sudden

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

, aged 62. His secretary Bhore served as acting High Commissioner until April 1923, when

Dadiba Merwanji Dalal Sir Dadiba Merwanji Dalal CIE (12 December 1870 – 4 March 1941) was an Indian Parsi diplomat who was the second High Commissioner for India and the first of Indian origin. A justice of the peace, he was appointed a Companion of the Order of th ...

was appointed.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Meyer, William Stevenson Indian Civil Service (British India) officers Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire Knights Commander of the Order of the Star of India High Commissioners of India to the United Kingdom 1860 births 1922 deaths People educated at University College School Alumni of University College London