Sir Alexander John Arbuthnot (11 October 1822 – 10 June 1907) was a British official and writer.

Early life

He was born at Farmhill,

County Mayo County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the Taxus baccata, yew trees") is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Conn ...

, the third son of Alexander Arbuthnot and his second wife Margaret Phoebe Bingham, daughter of George Bingham.

Charles George Arbuthnot Lieutenant General Sir Charles George Arbuthnot (19 May 1824 – 14 April 1899) was a British Army officer. He served in the Royal Artillery in the Crimean War and rose to become a senior officer in British India. Early life Arbuthnot was b ...

was his brother and Major-General George Bingham Arbuthnot a half-brother. He was uncle of Brigadier-general

Alexander George Arbuthnot The Arbuthnot and Ambrister incident occurred in 1818 during the First Seminole War. American General Andrew Jackson invaded Spanish Florida and captured and executed Alexander George Arbuthnot and Robert C. Ambrister, two British citizens charge ...

. Arbuthnot was educated at Rugby School.

Career

Arbuthnot served in

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 ...

(now Chennai) as the director of Public Instruction (1855); he was a key force in the incorporation of Madras University (1857) where he served as the Vice Chancellor from 1871 to 1872; he was the chief secretary to the Madras Government (1862–67); he was a member of the Legislative Council (1867–72); he was a member of the Madras Executive Council; he served on the

Viceroy's Executive Council The Viceroy's Executive Council was the cabinet of the government of British India headed by the Viceroy of India. It is also known as the Council of the Governor-General of India. It was transformed from an advisory council into a cabinet consistin ...

(1875–80); he was acting

Governor of Madras This is a list of the governors, agents, and presidents of colonial Madras, initially of the English East India Company, up to the end of British colonial rule in 1947. English Agents In 1639, the grant of Madras to the English was finalized be ...

, India, for about three months, from 19 February 1872 to 15 May 1872. He later served as a member of the Council of the Secretary of State for India from 1888 to 1893. Arbuthnot was honoured by the Crown with the titles of Knight Commander of The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India (1873) and Companion of The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire (CIE).

Later life

In 1880 Arbuthnot returned to England, his term on the Executive Council having come to an end. He settled at Newtown House, near Newbury. He lived there from 1881. The property, owned to 1879 by Edmund Arbuthnot, then came to him through a family connection, on the death in 1889 of William Chatteris of Sandleford Priory, whose first wife Anne was Arbuthnot's sister. Arbuthnot contributed to the ''

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'' from its inception in 1885. He was a noted amateur rose grower.

Family

Arbuthnot married, firstly, Frederica Eliza Fearon (died 1898), daughter of Robert Bryce Fearon (died 1851) of the

40th Foot The 40th (the 2nd Somersetshire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1717 in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 82nd Regiment of Foot (Prince of Wales's Volunteers ...

. They had no children. His second wife, married in 1899, was Constance Angelena Milman (died 1936), daughter of Sir William Milman, 3rd Baronet. She was a novelist.

Publications

* ''Select reports of criminal cases determined in the Court of Foujdaree Udalat of Madras'' (1851) * ''Papers Relating to Public Instruction in the Madras Presidency'' (1855) * ''Sir Thomas Munro, bart., governor of Madras: selections of his minutes and other official writings'' (1881) * ''Lord Clive; the foundation of British rule in India'' (1899), with Henry Francis Wilson, Builders of Greater Britain series * ''Memories of Rugby & India'' (1910), with Constance Arbuthnot

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Arbuthnot, Alexander John 1822 births 1907 deaths Arbuthnot family Indian Civil Service (British India) officers Indian Education Service officers British non-fiction writers Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire Knights Commander of the Order of the Star of India People educated at Rugby School People from County Clare Vice Chancellors of the University of Calcutta Vice Chancellors of the University of Madras British male writers Male non-fiction writers Members of the Council of the Governor General of India