Stephen Rumbold Lushington was appointed as the Governor of Madras Presidency from 1827 to 1835, under the supremacy of the British Empire in the erstwhile undivided India. He was a well known British colonial administrator and an English Tory politician. Lushington was born on 6 May 1776 in Godmersham, Kent. He successfully completed his education from the Rugby School in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire, England. In the year 1792, Lushington went to British India and initially worked as a translator.
Career of Stephen Rumbold Lushington
Stephen Rumbold Lushington contested the borough of Canterbury at the general election in England in the year 1807, but remained unsuccessful. Later he was elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) for the borough of Rye in Sussex, at an uncontested by-election. Lushington was returned without a contest for Canterbury at the 1812 general election. He held the seat until the general election in 1830. He also served as the Secretary to the Treasury from the year 1814 to 1827. Lushington again contested at the 1835 general election and he held the seat until he stood down in the year 1837.
Stephen Rumbold Lushington as Governor of Madras
Stephen Rumbold Lushington was designated as the Governor of Madras Province on 18 October 1827 and succeeded Major General Sir Thomas Munro, 1st Baronet KCB. But as Thomas Munro died even before the culmination of his tenure, Henry Sullivan Graeme served as the Acting Governor in interim until Lushington arrived in Madras (now Chennai). 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.
During his tenure as the Governor of Madras Presidency, the Madras Club was established in the year 1832. Stephen Rumbold Lushington served in office until 25 October 1832 and was succeeded by General Sir Frederick Adam GCB GCMG.
Later Life of Stephen Rumbold Lushington
Stephen Rumbold Lushington wrote and published the book The Life and Services of General Lord Harris, G. C. B. The literary work was a biography of his father-in-law, George Harris, 1st Baron Harris. Lushington died on 5 August 1868.
