imported>Dawnseeker2000: date format audit, minor formatting

2021-08-12T01:40:55Z

date format audit, minor formatting

New page

{{other people||Robert Montgomery (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}

{{Infobox officeholder
|honorific_prefix =
| name = Sir Robert Montgomery
| image = File:Felice Beato (British, born Italy - (Portrait of Sir Robert Montgomery, Esq., B.C.S, Chief Commissioner in Oude) - Google Art Project.jpg
|honorific_suffix =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1809|12|02|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Moville]], Ireland, United Kingdom
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1887|12|28|1809|12|02|df=y}}
| death_place = [[London]], England, United Kingdom
|order1 = [[List of governors of Punjab (British India)|Lieutenant Governor of Punjab]]
|term_start1 = 25 February 1859
|term_end1 = 10 January 1865
|governor_general1= [[Charles Canning, 1st Earl Canning|The Earl Canning]] [[James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin|The Earl of Elgin]] [[John Lawrence, 1st Baron Lawrence|Sir John Lawrence, Bt]]
|predecessor1 = [[John Lawrence, 1st Baron Lawrence|Sir John Lawrence, Bt]]
|successor1 = [[Donald Friell McLeod|Sir Donald McLeod]]
| nationality = [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|British]]
| spouse = {{marriage|Frances Thomason |1842}}
| other_names =
| occupation = [[Civil servant]]
| alma_mater = [[Addiscombe Military Seminary]]
| years_active =
| known_for =
| notable_works =
}}

'''Sir Robert Montgomery''' [[Order of the Star of India|GCSI]], [[Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath|KCB]] (2 December 1809 – 28 December 1887), was a British administrator and civil servant who served as [[List of governors of Punjab (British India)|Lieutenant Governor of Punjab]] between 1859 and 1865.

==Biography==
===Early life===
Montgomery was born at the family seat at New Park in [[Moville]], a small town in [[Inishowen]] in the north of [[County Donegal]] in [[Ulster]], [[Ireland]]. He was educated at [[Foyle and Londonderry College|Foyle College]], [[Derry]]; Wraxall Hall School, Wiltshire; and, from 1823 to 1825, at [[Addiscombe Military Seminary]], Croydon, Surrey.<ref>Vibart 1894, pp. 403–405.</ref>

===Career===
In 1826 he entered the civil service of the [[East India Company]].<ref>Dod, Robert P.. The Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage of Great Britáin and Ireland for 1863 Including All the Titled Classes Twenty - Third Year. United Kingdom, Whittaker and Company Ave Maria Lane, 1863.</ref> His first notable position was as a commissioner in [[Cawnpore]].

In 1849, Montgomery was made a Commissioner at [[Lahore]]. The following year he replaced [[Charles Grenville Mansel]] on the [[List of governors of Punjab (British India)|Board of Administration]], the body responsible for governing the [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab]].<ref name="Montgomery-2010">{{cite book |last=Montgomery |first=Brian |date=22 November 2010 |title=A Field Marshal in the Family |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cSTOAwAAQBAJ&q=Sir+Robert+Montgomery+judicial+commissioner&pg=PA29 |page=31 |publisher=Pen and Sword |isbn=978-1848844254 |access-date=22 September 2018}}</ref> His two colleagues in the Board of Administration, [[Henry Montgomery Lawrence|Henry Lawrence]] and [[John Lawrence, 1st Baron Lawrence|John Lawrence]] were both, like Montgomery, alumni of Foyle College.<ref name="Montgomery-2010"/> Following a re-organisation in 1853, the Board of Administration was replaced with John Lawrence as Chief Commissioner, and Montgomery was made both his Deputy and Judicial Commissioner. Over the next four years, he was the Chief Judge of Appeal in the Punjab, head of the police force, superintendent of roads, controller of local and municipal funds and responsible for education.<ref name="Montgomery-2010"/>

In May 1857, at the start of the [[Indian Rebellion]], he was in Lahore.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.worldstatesmen.org/India_BrProvinces.htm |title=Provinces of British India: Punjab |publisher=WorldStatesmen.org |access-date=3 February 2017 }}</ref> He immediately had the native garrison disarmed, which prevented them from taking any action in the rebellion. He was awarded with a knighthood for this action. During the period of 3 April 1858 to 15 February 1859, he was [[List of Chief Commissioners of Oudh|Chief Commissioner of Oudh]].

He returned to the Punjab in 1859 to succeed John Lawrence as Lieutenant-Governor.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Imperial Gazetteer of India |volume=20 |place=Oxford |publisher=Clarendon Press |edition=new |year=1908 |page=331 |url=https://archive.org/stream/imperialgazettee20grea#page/330/mode/2up }}</ref> He was made a [[Order of the Bath|K.C.B.]] on 19 May 1859. On 1 March 1862 he opened the first section of the [[Punjab Railway]], connecting Lahore with [[Amritsar]], to much fanfare.<ref>James H Siddons, A familiar history of British India, 1865, p. 239</ref> His tenure as Lieutenant-Governor ended in 1865 and he was succeeded by his son-in-law [[Donald Friell McLeod]].<ref>Chesson & Woodhall, 1861, Bombay Miscellany, Volume 1, p. 237</ref> On 20 February 1866 he was made a [[Order of the Star of India|G.C.S.I.]]

===Death===
He died on 28 December 1887 in London of bronchitis, aged 79, and was interred in the family vault in [[St Columb's Cathedral]], [[Derry|Londonderry]] on 3 January 1888.<ref name="odnb">Hamilton and Penner 2004.</ref> There is a memorial to him in [[St Paul's Cathedral]].<ref>"Memorials of St Paul's Cathedral" [[William Sinclair (Archdeacon of London)|Sinclair, W.]] p. 463: London; Chapman & Hall, Ltd; 1909.</ref>

==Family==
He married Frances Thomason, a sister of [[James Thomason]] whilst in India; she died of smallpox at [[Allahabad]] in 1842.<ref name="odnb"/> His second son was [[Henry Montgomery (bishop)|Henry Hutchinson Montgomery]], father of [[Field Marshal (United Kingdom)|Field Marshal]] [[Bernard Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein|The 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein]]. Henry inherited the family estate in Ireland after his father's death.<ref name=rob>{{cite book |first=Alan |last=Moorehead |title=Montgomery |page=13 |publisher=Four Square |place=London |year=1958 }}</ref>

==Eponyms==
* The city of [[Sahiwal]], Pakistan, founded in 1865, was formerly named "Montgomery", after Sir Robert Montgomery.<ref>''Encyclopaedia Britannica''</ref>
* The district of [[Montgomery District|Montgomery]] in Punjab.

==References==
{{reflist}}
;Attribution
*{{DNB|wstitle=Montgomery, Robert (1809-1887)|first=John Andrew |last=Hamilton|volume=38}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite ODNB|id=19075|title=Montgomery, Sir Robert (1809–1887)|first1=J. A. |last1=Hamilton |first2=Peter (rev.) |last2=Penner |year=2004 }}
*{{Cite book |first=Brian |last=Montgomery |title=Monty's Grandfather: Sir Robert Montgomery, GCSI, KCB, LLD 1809-1887: a life's service for the Raj |publisher=Blandford Press |place=Poole |year=1984 |isbn=0713714018 }}
*{{Cite book |first=H. M. |last=Vibart |title=Addiscombe: its heroes and men of note |place=Westminster |publisher=Archibald Constable |year=1894 |pages=403–405 |url=https://www.archive.org/stream/addiscombeitsher00viba?ref=ol#page/402/mode/2up }}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Montgomery, Robert (colonial administrator)}}
[[Category:Administrators in British India]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India]]
[[Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath]]
[[Category:People from County Donegal]]
[[Category:People from Kanpur]]
[[Category:1809 births]]
[[Category:1887 deaths]]
[[Category:Alumni of Addiscombe Military Seminary]]
[[Category:Governors of Punjab (British India)]]
[[Category:Indian Civil Service (British India) officers]]
[[Category:Clan Montgomery]]

Robert Montgomery (colonial administrator) - Revision history

imported>Dawnseeker2000: date format audit, minor formatting