William Ambrose Morehead

William Ambrose Morehead (17 October 1805 – 1 December 1863) was a British civil servant of the Indian civil service who acted as the Governor of Madras for two terms in 1860 and 1860–61.

William Ambrose Morehead
Governor of Madras Presidency (acting)
In office
8 June 1860 – 5 July 1860
Preceded bySir Charles Trevelyan
Succeeded bySir Henry George Ward
In office
4 August 1860 – 18 February 1861
Preceded bySir Henry George Ward
Succeeded bySir William Thomas Denison
Personal details
Born17 October 1805[1]
Edinburgh, Scotland
Died1 December 1863 (age 58)
Edinburgh, Scotland
NationalityBritish
The grave of William Ambrose Morehead, Dean Cemetery
Morehead Memorial, Dean Cemetery

Early life and education

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Morehead was born in the United Kingdom in 1805 to Rev Robert Morehead.[2] Ambrose was also the brother of Charles Morehead who served as Governor of Bombay.[2] Morehead had his education in United Kingdom and qualified for the Indian civil service.

Career

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Morehead arrived in Madras in 1825.[2] He attained renown for his actions against a rebellion caused by the murder of Macdonald of the Indian civil service in 1832.[2] Morehead was made a judge of the sadr court in 1846 and in 1850, was appointed to a committee which inquired into the activities of Lord Trevelyan's administration in Ceylon.[2]

Morehead served as a member of the Madras Legislative Council from 1857 to 1862.[2] During this time, he acted as the Governor of Madras for two terms, once in 1860 and another time, in 1860–61.[2] He also served as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Madras from 1860 to 1862.[2][3]

Death

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Morehead retired in October 1862 and died at Edinburgh on 1 December 1863.[2] He is buried in the south-west spur of Dean Cemetery. The grave is heavily damaged (2014). However, a huge red granite memorial stands to his memory in front of the grave, erected by "friends" around 1880 and sculpted by Stewart McGlashen. His brother Charles lies in a separate grave in the cemetery.[4]

Notes

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  1. ^ Boase, Frederic (1897). Modern English Biography: Containing Many Thousand Concise Memoirs of Persons who Have Died Since the Year 1850. Netherton and Worth. p. 961.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Arbuthnot, Alexander John (1894). "Morehead, William Ambrose" . In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 39. London: Smith, Elder & Co. p. 2.
  3. ^ "The Vice Chancellors". University of Madras.
  4. ^ "Charles Morehead grave monument details at Dean 2e Cemetery, Edinburgh, Lothian,Scotland".

References

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Government offices
Preceded by Governor of Madras
1860–1861
Succeeded by