G. D. (George Dromgold) Coleman (b. 1795, Drogheda, County Louth, Ireland–d. 27 March 1844, Singapore) was Singapore’s pioneer colonial architect. He became the first Government Superintendent of Public Works when he was appointed in 1833. Coleman planned, surveyed ...

William Henry Macleod Read, K.C.N.L., C.M.G., affectionately known as WH, (b. 7 February 1819, Scotland–d. 10 May 1909, England) was an established businessman and an active contributor to political and social interests during the almost 46 years of his life in ...

Cecil Clementi (Sir) (b. 1 September 1875, Cawnpore, India–d. 5 April 1947, Buckinghamshire, England, United Kingdom) was Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Straits Settlements as well as High Commissioner for the Federated Malay States from 1930 to 1934. Proficient ...

Walter John Napier (b. 10 July 1857, Alderly Lodge, Cheshire, England-d. 14 February 1945) was joint founder of the law firm Drew & Napier, and Attorney-General of the Straits Settlements from 1907 to 1909, during which he was responsible for introducing a new ...

Richard James Wilkinson (b. 29 May 1867, Salonika, Greece–d. 5 December 1941, Izmir, Turkey) was a colonial administrator and scholar. In addition to being the schools inspector for the Federated Malay States (FMS) and the colonial secretary, Wilkinson was also ...

Cecil Clementi Smith (Sir), (b. 23 December 1840, London–d. 7 February 1916, London) was the governor and commander-in-chief of the Straits Settlements from 1887 to 1893, and the honorary Colonel of the Singapore Volunteer Artillery. A forceful and efficient administrator, ...

Shenton Thomas Whitelegge Thomas (Sir) (b. 10 October 1879, London, England–d. 15 January 1962, London, England), more popularly known as Sir Shenton Thomas, was the last Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Straits Settlements and High Commissioner of the Federated ...

Thomas Stamford Raffles (Sir) (b. 6 July 1781, off Port Morant, Jamaica–d. 5 July 1826, Middlesex, England), known as the founder of modern Singapore, was born at sea off Jamaica on 6 July 1781 on board the West Indiaman Ann. The Ann was the ship captained by his ...

Mount Pleasant is an area located in the central region of Singapore bounded by Thomson Road, the Pan Island Expressway (PIE), Bukit Brown Cemetery and Andrew Road. It is named after a hill located within its boundaries. The colonial government acquired the area ...

Jonas Daniel Vaughan (b. 27 June 1825–d. 17 October 1891, at sea) was a sailor, public official and prominent lawyer in colonial Singapore. He contributed to many community organisations and activities, promoted scientific observation, wrote on local history and ...

Roland St John Braddell (Dato) (Sir) (b. 20 December 1880, Singapore–d. 15 November 1966, London, United Kingdom), a prominent lawyer in the region, was the author of numerous legal and historical publications. He was also joint editor of and a contributor to Singapore’s ...

Talma, Edwy Lyonet, commonly known as E. L. Talma, (b. 1 March 1874, Barbados – d. 6 July 1930, Singapore) first came to Malaya in November 1896 and held various appointments in the Malayan Civil Service.

William Alexander Pickering (b. 9 June 1840, Eastwood, Nottinghamshire, England–d. January 1907, San Remo, Italy) was the first Protector of Chinese in Singapore. He joined the British colonial administration in 1877 and was the first British officer who could ...

Thomas Shelford (b. 23 November 1839, Cosford, Suffolk, England–d. 12 January 1900, Guildford, Surrey, England), CMG, was a long serving member of the Legislative Council of the Straits Settlements and a municipal commissioner. Although he often opposed government ...

John Fearns Nicoll (Sir) (b. 1899–d. 12 January 1981, Scio House, Putney, United Kingdom) was the British colonial governor of Singapore from 1952 to 1955. During his tenure, Singapore took steps towards self-government with the establishment of the Rendel Constitution ...

For much of the early 19th to mid-20th century, technical and vocational education in Singapore was underdeveloped due to the nature of the economy and the colonial government’s noninterference in education. Technical and vocational education gained importance ...

In Singapore, vernacular education refers to education conducted in the native languages of the main resident communities, namely Malay, Chinese and Tamil. From the early 19th to the mid-20th centuries, formal vernacular education was started by philanthropists, ...

The Post Office Savings Bank (POSB) was established by the British colonial government in 1877 to provide banking facilities for lower-income groups. Following Singapore’s separation from Malaysia in 1965, control of the POSB was transferred to the Postmaster-General ...

Lieutenant Philip Jackson (b. 24 September 1802, Durham, England–d. 1879) was an officer in the Bengal Regiment Artillery, and served as assistant engineer, executive officer and surveyor of public lands in colonial Singapore. An accomplished surveyor and draughtsman, ...

John Edwin Tessensohn (b. 8 April 1855, Malacca–d. 26 September 1926, Singapore), better known as Edwin Tessensohn, was a prominent citizen in colonial Singapore. He was the president of the Singapore Recreation Club for 25 years (non-consecutively between the ...