Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

Thomas Bridges Boucher Skinner (22 May 1804 – 24 July 1877) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer and engineer. He was a prominent road builder in

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

(present-day

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

Career

Skinner was born in St. John's,

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

, on 22 May 1804, to William Thomas Skinner, a lieutenant-colonel in the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

, and his second wife Mary, daughter of Dr Monier of the Royal Artillery.Carlyle, E. I.; Jones, M. G. M., rev. "Skinner, Thomas Bridges Boucher (1804–1877)". ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (2004 ed.). Oxford University Press. . In 1811, he moved to England with his father and studied in

Shaftesbury Shaftesbury () is a town and civil parish in Dorset, England. It is on the A30 road, west of Salisbury, Wiltshire, Salisbury and north-northeast of Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester, near the border with Wiltshire. It is the only significant hi ...

, Dorsetshire. Dissatisfied with education, he went to Ceylon in 1819 to visit his father who was stationed in

Trincomalee Trincomalee (; , ; , ), historically known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee District and major resort port city of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, Eastern Province, Sri Lanka. Located on the east coast o ...

. There he was commissioned in

Ceylon Rifle Regiment The Ceylon Rifle Regiment (CRR) was a regular native regiment formed by the United Kingdom, British in Ceylon. Its history goes back to 1795. The nucleus of the Regiment was two companies of Malays recruited from among prisoners at St Helena. In ...

as a second lieutenant. His first job was to carry a platoon of soldiers from Trincomalee to

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

, shortly after the 1818 rebellion that was not completely suppressed yet. Soon after, Skinner was appointed to the

public works Public works are a broad category of infrastructure projects, financed and procured by a government body for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include public buildings ( municipal buildings, ...

department which is responsible for building the roads in the island. He gained his lifelong lasting fame for constructing the Colombo–

Kandy Kandy (, ; , ) is a major city located in the Central Province, Sri Lanka, Central Province of Sri Lanka. It was the last capital of the Sinhalese monarchy from 1469 to 1818, under the Kingdom of Kandy. The city is situated in the midst of ...

highway. He was appointed as head of the Colombo defence guard in 1825, lieutenant quartermaster general and surveyor general in 1833, and commissioner of highways in 1841. He is also noted for mapping previously uncharted parts of Ceylon. On 19 December 1838, he married Georgina, daughter of Lieutenant-General George Burrell. In 1848, Skinner gave a testimony before a Special Working Committee of the British

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

on the Matale Rebellion. His statement exposed the maladministration of the British that led to the rebellion and how British policies altered traditional ways of life of the native Sinhalese. In 1857, Skinner designed the Holy Emmanuel Church in

Moratuwa Moratuwa () is a large municipality on the southwestern coast of Sri Lanka, near Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia. It is situated on the Galle–Colombo (Galle road) main highway, south of the centre of Colombo. Moratuwa is surrounded on three sides ...

for Mudaliyar

Jeronis de Soysa Gate Mudaliyar Jeronis de Soysa (19 April 1797 – 28 May 1862) was a pioneering Ceylonese entrepreneur and philanthropist. He was a pioneer coffee planter and an industrialist who became the wealthiest Ceylonese of the 19th century by establish ...

. He retired from civil service in 1867, and was celebrated for his achievements by the British administration, planters, newspapers as well as local Mudaliyars. He went to England and received a CMG from

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

in the

1869 Birthday Honours The 1869 Birthday Honours were appointments by Queen Victoria to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of the Queen, and we ...

. Skinner wrote an autobiography, ''Fifty Years in Ceylon'', edited by his daughter Annie and published in 1891. Skinner had six children: Marianne Theresa (1839–1901); Thomas Edward Burnes (c.1842-1902) who served as the Postmaster General of Ceylon, between 1871 and 1896; George Burrell (c.1844-1883) a captain in the 15th Regiment; William Graham (C.1846-?) joined the Oriental Bank, and died after falling from his horse in Bombay; Henry Peareth (c.1848-?); Monier Williams (1849–1928) a Commander in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

; and Anne Harriet Barbara (1852-?).

Bibliography

Notes

References

* * http://www.divaina.com/2009/11/01/siya03.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Skinner, Thomas 1804 births 1877 deaths British civil servants in British Ceylon British colonial army officers Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Newfoundland Colony people People from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador Elephant hunters

Career

Bibliography

See also

Notes

References