John Addis

Sir John Addis KCMG (11 June 1914 – 31 July 1983) was a British diplomat, ambassador to Laos, the Philippines and China, and a collector of Ming porcelain which he gave to the British Museum.

For the American law enforcement officer and fugitive, see John Patrick Addis.

Photo of John Addis
John Addis
Photo: Foreign & Commonwealth Office

Career

John Mansfield Addis was educated at Rugby School and Christ Church, Oxford, and joined the Foreign Office in 1938.[1] After postings at Nanking, Peking and the Foreign Office, he was ambassador to Laos 1960–62;[2] Fellow at the Harvard Center for International Affairs 1962–63; ambassador to the Philippines 1963–70;[3] Senior Civilian Instructor at the Imperial Defence College 1970–71; and ambassador to China 1972–74. After retiring from the Diplomatic Service, Addis was Senior Research Fellow in Contemporary Chinese Studies at Wolfson College, Oxford, 1975–82. He was a trustee of the British Museum.

Honours

Addis was appointed CMG in the New Year Honours of 1959[4] and knighted KCMG in the New Year Honours of 1973.[5]

Sir John Addis will be remembered with gratitude, respect and affection at the British Museum. His gift in 1975 of twenty-three pieces of early Chinese porcelain of superb quality and importance was not only one of the Museum's major benefactions this century but also a carefully thought out addition to the existing collections, every piece having been deliberately chosen in advance to fill gaps in the permanent exhibition.
— Lawrence Smith, Keeper of Oriental Antiquities, British Museum[6]

Publications
  • The India-China border question, Harvard University, 1963.[7]
  • Chinese ceramics from datable tombs, Philip Wilson Publishers, 1978. ISBN 0856670391

References
  1. "No. 34560". The London Gazette. 11 October 1938. p. 6365.
  2. "No. 42001". The London Gazette. 5 April 1960. p. 2467.
  3. "No. 43135". The London Gazette. 18 October 1963. p. 8490.
  4. "No. 41589". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 1959. p. 5.
  5. "No. 45860". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 1973. p. 4.
  6. Lawrence Smith, Sir John Addis, The Times, London, 8 August 1983, page 10
  7. https://www.worldcat.org/title/india-china-border-question/oclc/659774387

Further reading
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