Terence O'Brien
Deceased Person
1830 – 1903
Who was Terence O'Brien?
Sir John Terence Nicholls O'Brien was a surveyor, engineer and colonial governor, born in Manchester, England and died in London, England.
He 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.
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.
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- Born
- Apr 23, 1830
Manchester - Nationality
- United Kingdom
- Education
- Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
- Elizabeth College, Guernsey
- Died
- Feb 28, 1903
London
Submitted
on July 23, 2013
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