Henry Foley Knight, officially addressed as Sir Henry Foley Knight KCSI CIE, served as the Acting Governor of Madras Presidency in the year 1946, in the former undivided India under the rule of the British Empire. He was also a British colonial administrator. Knight also served as one of the members of the British Indian Civil Service, which was the civil service of the Government of India during the era of the rule of British Empire in India. The members of the civil service were appointed under Section XXXII of the Government of India Act, 1858 of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. After the year 1886, the Indian Civil Service was officially known as Imperial Civil Service.
Early Life of Henry Foley Knight
Henry Foley Knight was born on 19 January 1886 in Farnham, United Kingdom, to the parents John Henry Knight and Elizabeth Bligh Foley. He completed his graduation from Caius College in Cambridge. Later in the year 1909, Knight passed the entrance examinations for the Indian Civil Service examinations.
Career Life of Henry Foley Knight
Sir Henry Foley Knight KCSI CIE came to British dominated India in the year 1910 as an Assistant Collector and Magistrate in Bombay Presidency, which was one of the Presidencies and provinces of British India. It was first founded in the 17th century at Surat as a trading post for the British East India Company. He served in the British Indian army during the World War I and later acted as a British Indian Army Reserve Officer from the year 1916 to 1919. Henry Foley Knight was appointed as an Under Secretary and served in the position from 1919 and 1920. He later served as the Deputy Secretary of the Revenue and Financial Department of the British Government of Bombay.
Sir Henry Foley Knight was appointed as the Acting Governor of Madras Presidency on 26 February 1946 and was preceded by Arthur Oswald James Hope, 2nd Baron Rankeillour GCIE MC. The Madras Presidency, also known as the Presidency of Fort St. George and Madras Province, was an administrative sub division of British dominated India. The territory included most of southern India, such as the modern states of Tamil Nadu, the Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions of Andhra Pradesh, Lakshadweep Islands, the Malabar region of North Kerala, Koraput, Malkangiri, Nabarangapur and Gajapati districts of southern Orissa and the Bellary, Ganjam, Dakshina Kannada, Rayagada and Udupi districts of Karnataka. Henry Foley Knight served in office until 5 May 1946 and was succeeded by Lieutenant General Sir Archibald Edward Nye, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, KCB, KBE, MC.
Personal Life of Henry Foley Knight
Sir Henry Foley Knight KCSI CIE was married with Jesse Spence Duncan in the year 1926. The couple had one daughter and one son. He died in the year 1960 in United Kingdom.
Honours of Henry Foley Knight
Henry Foley Knight was knighted with Knight Commander of the Most Exalted Order of the Star of India (KCSI) and Companion of the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire (CIE).