George Alexander Malcolm

General George Alexander Malcolm, CB (21 January 1810 – 2 June 1888), was a British Army officer. He served in the First Anglo-Chinese War and became the first Colonial Secretary of Hong Kong in 1843.

George Alexander Malcolm
Oil painting of General Malcolm
Born21 January 1810
Bombay, India
Died2 June 1888 (aged 78)
Sloane Street, London, England
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchBritish Army
RankGeneral
Battles/warsFirst Anglo-Chinese War
AwardsCompanion of the Order of the Bath
China War Medal

Career

Malcolm was born in Bombay, India, on 21 January 1810. His father, Major-General Sir John Malcolm, was Governor of Bombay. His mother, Isabella Charlotte, was daughter of Lieutenant-General Sir Alexander Campbell.[1]

In 1841, Malcolm sailed to China as Secretary of Legation with Plenipotentiary Henry Pottinger during the First Anglo-Chinese War. On 29 August 1842, British and Chinese officials signed the Treaty of Nanking, which ended the war and ceded Hong Kong to Britain. After the Daoguang Emperor's assent for the treaty arrived in Nanking on 15 September, Malcolm sailed for London the next morning on board the steamer Auckland with a copy for ratification by Queen Victoria.[2] He was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath on 24 December.[3] After Pottinger became the first Governor of Hong Kong, he appointed Malcolm as the first Colonial Secretary on 27 June 1843.[4][5] Malcolm was also a justice of the peace[4] and served there until November 1843.[6]

On 4 December 1845, Malcolm married Georgiana Harcourt, daughter of Reverend Edward Harcourt,[7] at Bishopthorpe, York, England.[8] In 1858, he was appointed Deputy Adjutant-General at Alexandria to superintend the transit of troops across Egypt to India.[6] By 21 January 1880, he was on the retired list.[9] He died on 2 June 1888 in Sloane Street, London, England. From 1881 to his death, he held the colonelcy of the 2nd Battalion of the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry.

Promotions
Signing of the Treaty of Nanking (1842). Malcolm is seated at the front row (third from right), between General Hien Ling and Captain Peter Richards.

Malcolm's promotions:[10]

References
  1. Burke, John (1845). A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire (8th ed.). London: Henry Coburn. p. 778.
  2. The Chinese Repository. Volume 11. Canton. 1842. p. 680.
  3. The London Gazette: no. 20181. p. 3863. 27 December 1842. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  4. The Indian Mail: A Monthly Register for British and Foreign India, China, and Australasia. No. 5. 10 October 1843. p. 151.
  5. The Chinese Repository. Volume 12. Canton. 1843. pp. 382–383.
  6. Hertslet, Edward (1865). The Foreign Office List. London: Harrison. p. 117.
  7. Lodge, Edmund (1858). The Peerage of the British Empire (27th ed.). London: Hurst and Blackett. p. 571.
  8. Urban, Sylvanus (1846). The Gentleman's Magazine. Volume 25. London: John Bowyer Nichols and Son. p. 88.
  9. The London Gazette: no. 24810. p. 625. 10 February 1880. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  10. Accounts and Papers of the House of Commons (1872). Volume 37. p. 484.
  11. Hart, H. G. (1875). The New Annual Army List, Militia List, and Indian Civil Service List, for 1875. London: John Murray. p. 351.
  12. The London Gazette: no. 21564. p. 1934. 22 June 1854. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  13. The London Gazette: no. 23234. p. 1982. 20 March 1867. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  14. The London Gazette: no. 24103. p. 2947. 9 June 1874. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
Government offices
New creation Colonial Secretary of Hong Kong
1843		 Succeeded by
John Morrison (acting)
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