Richard James Wilkinson

Richard James Wilkinson CMG (* May 29, 1867 in Thessaloniki, Greece, † December 5, 1941 in Izmir, Turkey) was a British scholar and colonial officials with special knowledge of British Malaya.

Early life and education

Richard James Wilkinson was born on 29 May 1867 as the son of a British diplomat Richard Wilkinson and his wife Jane in Thessaloniki. Due to the activities of his father, he spent his early years in Greece and in Malage. He received his school education at Felsted School, Essex and his academic training at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he won several awards. [Note 1] His intention to enter as an officer in the colonial service in India, but failed due to rider class, which he did not exist. Instead, he entered in 1889 in the service of the public administration of the Federated Malay States. The tasks entrusted to satisfy him little and as he passed in 1895 a transfer to China. To move the talented young man to stay, the Governor William Maxwell offered him the post of Secretary of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society.

In 1896, he was Acting Director of Education in Penang, ie head of the school board. From 1898 to 1900 he held the office of the Acting Inspector General of Schools of the Straits Settlements in Singapore. After spending a year as District Officer of Dindings, Perak (1902-1903), he was appointed inspector of schools for the Federated Malay States. In 1905 he began his one-year furlough. Back in Malaya, he was from 1906 to 1910 Secretary General of the British Resident in Perak, EWBirch.

Future career

After a brief stint as a British resident in Negeri Sembilan in the years 1910-1911 he was Colonial Secretary of the Straits Settlements in Singapore. Although this does not correspond to its core competencies, he proved himself in his new role as a capable head of agency. In 1911 and again in 1914 he was acting governor. After Great Britain declared war on Germany hatt, he kept public order and organized the food supply and the tin industry.

In 1912 he married Edith Baird.

On March 9, 1916, he took over the post of the Governor of Sierra Leone and left Malaya, a decision that he was very sorry later. On 4 May 1922 he retired and moved to Mytilene on the island of Lesbos with his wife. When the troops of the German Reich marched into Greece, he fled to Izmir in Turkey, where he died on 5 December 1941.

Achievements

Although Wilkinson excelled by his special abilities in the colonial secretary and as a school inspector, his outstanding performance remains the creation of the classic, is still valid today Malay - English dictionaries and his contributions to the ethnology of Malaya.

Wilkinson was in 1900 initiated the construction of the Malay Training College in Malacca, which is considered as a precursor of 1922 inaugurated Sultan Idris Training College (SITC ) in Tanjung Malim, Perak.

In 1905 he founded the Malay Residential School, which later became known as Malay College Kuala Kangsar ( MCKK ) known

For his achievements, he was inducted into the Order of Saint Michael and George in 1912.

Selected Works

  • Wilkinson: A vocabulary of central Sakai, J. Brown, Federated Malay States Govt. Press, 1915
  • Wilkinson, Winstedt: Malay grammar, The Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1913
  • Wilkinson, Hurgronje, O'Sullivan: The Achehnese, EJ Brill, 1906
  • Wilkinson: Malay beliefs, Luzac & Co, 1906
  • Wilkinson: A history of the peninsular Malays, with chapters on Perak & Selangor, Kelly & Walsh 1920
  • Wilkinson, Winstedt: An English - Malay dictionary: roman characters, 1932, republished by Kelly & Walsh, 1939
  • Wilkinson: An Abridged Malay - English Dictionary ( romanised ), FMS Government Press, 1908
  • Wilkinson: Notes on the Negri Sembilan, FMS Government Press, 1911
  • Wilkinson, Winstedt, Maxwell: A history of Perak, Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1974
  • Wilkinson: The incidents of Malay life, J. Russell, FMS Govt. Press, 1908
  • Wilkinson: Malay literature, FMS Government Press, 1907
  • Wilkinson: Life and Customs, Part 1: The Incidents of Malay Life (1908 )
  • Wilkinson: Papers on Malay Subjects, Part I- V
  • Wilkinson: Papers on Malay Subjects: Law, Part 1-2: Introductory Sketch and the Ninety-Nine Laws of Perak, 1907-1908
  • Wilkinson: The education of Asiatics, 1901
  • Wilkinson, Winstedt: Pantun Melayu, 1914
  • Wilkinson: Kesah pĕlayaran Abdullah, ( The Travels of Munshi Abdullah ), 1907
  • Wilkinson: Code for grant- in -aid schools and departmental instruction to inspecting officers, 1905
  • Wilkinson: Malay literature part III: Malay proverbs on Malay character, 1907
İzmir Trinity College (Cambridge)
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