Major General
Sir Terence O'Brien
Acting Governor of British Ceylon
In office
1 December 1863 – 21 March 1865
MonarchQueen Victoria
Preceded byCharles Justin MacCarthy
Succeeded byHercules Robinson
22nd General Officer Commanding, Ceylon
In office
1860–?
Preceded byHenry Frederick Lockyer
Succeeded byStudholme John Hodson
Personal details
Born
John Terence Nicholls O'Brien

23 April 1830
Manchester, Lancashire, England
Died25 February 1903(1903-02-25) (aged 72)
London, England
Military service
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Branch/serviceBritish Army
RankMajor general
CommandsGeneral Officer Commanding, Ceylon

Major General Sir John Terence Nicholls O'Brien KCMG (23 April 1830 – 25 February 1903[1]) was a surveyor, engineer and colonial governor.

Born in Manchester, England, O'Brien studied at Elizabeth College, Guernsey, and then attended the Royal Military College, Sandhurst.

O'Brien, a British Army officer, received a medal of honour for his service in the Indian Mutiny War. He was appointed acting Governor of British Ceylon in 1863 and held the office for two years, succeeding Charles Justin MacCarthy.[2]

In 1881, he was appointed governor of Heligoland, knighted in 1888 and became governor of Newfoundland in 1889.

O'Brien as governor of Newfoundland helped precipitate the 1894 bank crash by his many dispatches to London noting that Newfoundland politicians under Premier William Whiteway's Liberal Government were uniquely corrupt and incompetent. He resigned from office in 1895 and returned to London.

The Newfoundland community of Terenceville was so named in his honour. O'Brien's son, Sir Charles O'Brien, also became a colonial governor.

O'Brien died in 1903 in London, England.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Sir J. Terence O'brien, K.C.M.G.". The Times. No. 37014. 26 February 1903. p. 8.
  2. ↑ "Sri Lanka". Rulers.org. Retrieved 20 June 2013.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.