Sir Robert Kennaway Douglas (23 August 1838 – 20 May 1913) was a British oriental scholar.

Life

He was born at Larkbeare House, Talaton,

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

on 23 August 1838, the fourth son of the Rev. Philip William Douglas. His father was appointed to the Chapel of ease at Escot, Ottery St. Mary, Devon, by Sir John Kennaway, Bart. His paternal grandfather was Dr. Philip Douglas,

Master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. Douglas attended Blandford Grammar School. Douglas was in China with the consular service, from 1858 to 1865. He then became Professor of Chinese at

King's College, London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King G ...

. He was

vice president A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

of the

Royal Asiatic Society The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, commonly known as the Royal Asiatic Society (RAS), was established, according to its royal charter of 11 August 1824, to further "the investigation of subjects connected with and for the en ...

, and the first Keeper of the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

's new Department of Oriental Printed Books and Manuscripts when it was created in 1892. He was knighted in 1903 and died a decade later, on 20 May 1913.

Works

Douglas wrote books on China, including: * ''Catalogue of Japanese Printed Books and Manuscripts in the Library of the British Museum'', London: British Museum, 1898 * ''Catalogue of the Printed Maps, Plans, and Charts in the British Museum'', London: 1885 * ''China'', New York, P. F. Collier and Son, 1913 (The Story of Nations) *
A Chinese Manual, comprising a Condensed Grammar with Idiomatic Phrases and Dialogues
', London: W. H. Allen, 1889; London: Crosby Lockwood and Son, 1904 (Text-books, Manuals, etc. in Oriental Languages) * ''Chinese Stories. With Illustrations'', London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1893; reprinted in revised edition: Singapore: Graham Brash, 1990 *
Confucianism and Taouism, With a Map
', London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1879 (Non-Christian Religious Systems) * ''Europe and the Far East, 1506-1912 '', Cambridge: University Press, 1913; New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1913 (Cambridge Historical Series, ed. by G.W. Prothero) *''The Language and Literature of China'' (1875), Royal Institution lectures * ''The Life of Jehghiz Khan Translated from the Chinese. With an Introduction'', London: Trübner & Co., 1877 *
Li Hungchang
', London: Bliss, Sand & Foster, 1895 (Public Men of To-day) * ''Society in China : Illustrated from Photographs'', London: Ward, Lock, & Co., 1901 * ''Supplementary Catalogue of Chinese Books and Manuscripts in the British Museum'', London: Longmans & Co., 1903 During the 1890s Douglas collaborated on short stories with Elizabeth Thomasina Meade. He wrote articles for the '' Dictionary of National Biography'' and for the Nine Edition (1875-1889), Tenth Edition (1902-03) and Eleventh Edition (1911) of the ''

Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various t ...

'', the latter including a long article on "China" and articles on Chinese cities ("Peking", "Nanking", "Shanghai", "Tonkin") and an article on Genghis Khan.

Family

Douglas married Rachel Charlotte Kirkby, née Fenton, (1842–1921) in 1867. Among their children were: * Archibald Philip Douglas (1867–1953) * Robert Noel Douglas, second son, (1868–1957) * James Douglas, third son, (1870–1958) * Sholto Douglas (1873–1916) * Stuart Monro Douglas, sixth son, (born 1879)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Douglas, Robert Kennaway 1838 births 1913 deaths Academics of King's College London British orientalists Employees of the British Museum Fellows of the Royal Asiatic Society Knights Bachelor British sinologists British expatriates in China