Andrew Henderson Leith Fraser

Sir Andrew Henderson Leith Fraser KCSI (14 November 1848 – 26 February 1919) was a British officer of the Indian Civil Service and the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal between 1903 and 1908.[1][2]

Sir Andrew Fraser
The grave of Sir Andrew Fraser, Dean Cemetery, Edinburgh

Early life and education

Born in Bombay on 14 November 1848,[3] Fraser was educated at the Edinburgh Academy before being called to the Bar at the Middle Temple.[4] He was a son of Rev. Alexander Garden Fraser (1814–1904) and Joanna Maria Shaw (1823–1864).

Career

He joined the Indian Civil Service in 1871, serving in the Central Provinces for nearly thirty years. During his service he rose to be the Chief Commissioner of Central Provinces in 1899.[4]

In December 1902, Fraser was picked as the new Lieutenant Governor of Bengal, following the sudden death of Sir John Woodburn the previous month.[5][1] He did not take up the position until the middle of 1903, however, first finishing his duties as President of the Indian Police Commission.[6]

Fraser retained the position of Governor of the Western province of Bengal following the 1905 Partition of Bengal. However, his role in the planning of partition of Bengal, earned him notoriety among nationalist agitators, with a notable assassination attempt in 1907 which attempted to derail his train.[4] Another assassination attempt in November 1908 involved a pistol which failed to go off, the would-be assassin later declaring that he wanted to show Bengalis that even the Lieutenant-Governor was not invincible.[7][8]

He was succeeded in 1908 by Sir William Baker.

He was elected President of The Asiatic Society for 1905–07.

In 1897, he was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Star of India (CSI), and he was knighted with the KCSI in the 1903 Durbar Honours.[9][10]

Fraser 's published works include his memoirs Among Indian Rajahs and Ryots published in 1909, and India under Curzon and After published in 1911. He lived his final years at 22 Heriot Row in Edinburgh's Second New Town.[11]

Andrew Henderson Leith Fraser died on 26 February 1919. He is buried in Dean Cemetery in Edinburgh, on the south wall of the north section, backing onto the original cemetery. The stone is very distinctive, carrying a St Andrews Cross in red granite by McGlashan.

He is also the founder and the first principal of one of the biggest and most popular public school Rajkumar College, Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India.

Family

His wife Henrietta died in 1952. Their children included the cricketers Patrick and Charles Fraser, the soldiers Cpt Charles J. S. Fraser MC (d.1929) and Cpt Harry Lugard Fraser[12] and Professor Alec Garden Fraser, principal of Trinity College.[13]

References
  1. Christie 2005, p. 123
  2. "Sitter: Sir Andrew Henderson Leith Fraser (1848-1919)". Lafayette Negative Archive.
  3. 1851 and 1861 Scotland Census, 1871 England Census
  4. Islam, Sirajul (2012), "Fraser, Sir Andrew", in Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.), Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.), Asiatic Society of Bangladesh
  5. "Announcement". The Times. No. 36958. London. 23 December 1902. p. 7.
  6. "Court Circular". The Times. No. 36976. London. 13 January 1903. p. 7.
  7. "Sir Andrew Fraser. Attempt At Assassination". The North Western Advocate and The Emu Bay Times. Tasmania, Australia. 5 December 1908. p. 5. Retrieved 27 December 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. "People Talked About". The World's News. No. 367. New South Wales, Australia. 26 December 1908. p. 8. Retrieved 27 December 2018 – via National Library of Australia., ...Sir Andrew Henderson Leith Fraser, M.A., LL.D-, K.C.S.I.. Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal...
  9. "New Year Honours". The Times. No. 36966. London. 1 January 1903. p. 8.
  10. "No. 27511". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 1903. pp. 1–4.
  11. Edinburgh Post Office Directory 1911
  12. Grave of Sir Andrew Fraser, Dean Cemetery
  13. "India's Loyalty". The West Australian. Vol. XXXI, no. 4, 089. Western Australia. 11 May 1915. p. 8. Retrieved 27 December 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  • Christie, Stuart (2005), Worlding Forster: The Passage from Pastoral, Routledge, ISBN 0-415-97214-0.

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