William Thomas Mercer
William Thomas Mercer (Chinese: 孖沙; Sidney Lau: Ma1 Sa1) (17 October 1821 – 23 May 1879) was a British colonial administrator who served in Hong Kong from 1844 to 1866.
Early life[edit]
Mercer was the third son of George Dempster Mercer, a trader born in India, and Frances Charlotte Reid, then of Edinburgh, Scotland.[1] His parents emigrated to Tasmania and purchased land there in 1835, leaving the young Mercer behind in England. He matriculated from Exeter College, Oxford, on 30 May 1839. He became a student at the Inner Temple in 1842 and went on to earn BA and MA degrees from the University of Oxford in 1843 and 1851, respectively.[2]
Colonial service[edit]
Mercer arrived in Hong Kong in 1844 as Private Secretary to Sir John Davis, the second Governor of Hong Kong (1844–1848). Davis, his uncle, then appointed the 23-year-old Mercer acting colonial secretary.[3]: 176 On 24 February 1847, he was appointed Chief Magistrate of Police.[4]
Mercer rose through the administration, becoming Colonial Treasurer (1845–1854), Auditor General (1854–1858),[5] Colonial Secretary (1854–1868),[6] and, ultimately, Administrator, during a hiatus between Governors from 15 March 1865 to 11 March 1866. He was succeeded by Sir Richard Graves MacDonnell, who became the 6th Governor of Hong Kong.
Personal life[edit]
Mercer married Mary Phillips Nind, born in Hargrave, Berkshire, in September 1862.[1]
Published works[edit]
In 1869, Mercer's Under the Peak; or, Jottings in Verse was published.[7]
Legacy[edit]
Mercer Street, a short and narrow road in Sheung Wan running from Jervois Street to Bonham Strand, is named after him.
References[edit]
- ^ a b "Mercer Millions, About Mercer Families of Scotland". Mercer Millions. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
- ^ Alumni Oxoniensis, The Members of the University of Oxford. London: James Parker & Co. 1891. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
- ^ Bowring, Philip (2014). Free Trade's First Missionary: Sir John Bowring in Europe and Asia. Hong Kong University Press. ISBN 9789888208722.
- ^ "The Gazette" (PDF) (20709). United Kingdom Government. 1847: 834. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ Audit Commission: Directors of Audit to date
- ^ "No. 21635". The London Gazette. 1 December 1854. p. 3909.
- ^ Mercer, William T (1869). Under the Peak; Or, Jottings in Verse, Written During a Lengthened Residence in the Colony of HongKong. John Camden Hotten.
Further reading[edit]
- Endacott, G. B. (2005) [1962]. A biographical sketch-book of early Hong Kong. Hong Kong University Press. ISBN 978-962-209-742-1.
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