Robert Kennaway Douglas
Sir Robert Kennaway Douglas (23 August 1838 – 20 May 1913) was a British oriental scholar.
Early life
He was born at Larkbeare House, Talaton, Devon on 23 August 1838, the fourth son of the Rev. Philip William Douglas. His father was appointed to the Chapel of ease at Escot, Ottery St. Mary, Devon, by Sir John Kennaway, Bart. His paternal grandfather was Dr. Philip Douglas, Master of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.
Douglas attended Blandford Grammar School.[1]
Career
Douglas was in China with the consular service, from 1858 to 1865. He then became Professor of Chinese at King's College, London.[2]
He was vice president of the Royal Asiatic Society, and the first Keeper of the British Museum's new Department of Oriental Printed Books and Manuscripts when it was created in 1892. He was knighted in 1903 and died a decade later, on 20 May 1913.
During the 1890s Douglas collaborated on short stories with Elizabeth Thomasina Meade.[3] He wrote articles for the Dictionary of National Biography and for the Ninth Edition (1875-1889), Tenth Edition (1902-03) and Eleventh Edition (1911) of the Encyclopædia Britannica, the latter including a long article on "China"[4] and articles on Chinese cities ("Peking", "Nanking", "Shanghai", "Tonkin") and an article on Genghis Khan.[5]
Personal life
In August 1867 at St. Leonards, Douglas was married to Rachel Charlotte Kirkby Fenton (1842–1921), a daughter of Kirkby Fenton of Caldecott Hall, Warwickshire. Among their children were:[6]
- Archibald Philip Douglas (1867–1953), the Deputy Director of General Ordnance in India;[7] he married Helen Dunsterville, a daughter of Col. Knightley Dunsterville, in 1895.[6]
- Robert Noel Douglas (1868–1957), a cricketer;[8] he married Caroline Marie Auguste David, a daughter of Paul David of Uppingham, in 1904.[6]
- James Douglas (1870–1958),[9][10] a cricketer and headmaster of Hillside School, Godalming.[6]
- Sholto Douglas (1873–1916),[11] a cricketer who was killed in action during World War I.[6]
- Stuart Monro Douglas (b. 1879),[12] a 2nd Lieutenant with the 8th Battalion Royal Fusiliers and Headmaster of Lutterworth Grammar School; he married Hope Toulmin Smith, daughter of Toulmin Smith of The Woodlands, Dulwich Common, in 1909.[6]
- Philip William Douglas (b. 1883), who was educated at Dulwich College Preparatory School and the Britannia.[6]
Douglas died on 20 May 1913 and was buried at Acton Turville.
Works
Douglas wrote books on China, including:
- Catalogue of Japanese Printed Books and Manuscripts in the Library of the British Museum, London: British Museum, 1898
- Catalogue of the Printed Maps, Plans, and Charts in the British Museum, London: 1885
- China, New York, P. F. Collier and Son, 1913 (The Story of Nations)[13]
- A Chinese Manual, comprising a Condensed Grammar with Idiomatic Phrases and Dialogues, London: W. H. Allen, 1889; London: Crosby Lockwood and Son, 1904 (Text-books, Manuals, etc. in Oriental Languages)
- Chinese Stories. With Illustrations, London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1893; reprinted in revised edition: Singapore: Graham Brash, 1990
- Confucianism and Taouism, With a Map, London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1879 (Non-Christian Religious Systems)
- Europe and the Far East, 1506-1912 , Cambridge: University Press, 1913; New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1913 (Cambridge Historical Series, ed. by G.W. Prothero)
- The Language and Literature of China (1875), Royal Institution lectures[14]
- The Life of Jehghiz Khan Translated from the Chinese. With an Introduction, London: Trübner & Co., 1877
- Li Hungchang, London: Bliss, Sand & Foster, 1895 (Public Men of To-day)
- Society in China : Illustrated from Photographs, London: Ward, Lock, & Co., 1901
- Supplementary Catalogue of Chinese Books and Manuscripts in the British Museum, London: Longmans & Co., 1903
References
- ^ "Douglas, Sir Robert Kennaway, (23 Aug. 1838–20 May 1913), Professor of Chinese, King's College London (Fellow, 1903–08)". WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO. 2007. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U185486. ISBN 978-0-19-954089-1. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
- ^ Hart, Robert; Campbell, James Duncan (1975). The I. G. in Peking: Letters of Robert Hart, Chinese Maritime Customs, 1868-1907. Harvard University Press. pp. 804 note. ISBN 9780674443204. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
- ^ Mitchell, Sally. "Meade, Elizabeth Thomasina". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/52740. (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.)
- ^ "China", 1902encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
- ^ Important Contributors to the Britannica, 9th and 10th Editions, 1902encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g Adams, Percy Walter Lewis (1921). A History of the Douglas Family of Morton in Nithsdale (Dumfriesshire) and Fingland (Kirkcudbrightshire) & Their Descendants. Sidney Press. pp. 442–445. Retrieved 22 July 2025.
- ^ Archibald Philip Douglas
- ^ "Douglas, Robert Noel (DGLS889RN)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- ^ "Douglas, James (DGLS893J)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- ^ James Douglas at ESPNcricinfo
- ^ Sholto Douglas at ESPNcricinfo
- ^ "Douglas, Stuart Monro (DGLS898SM)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- ^ The History of the Nations (P. F. Collier and Son) - Book Series List, publishinghistory.com. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
- ^ Douglas, Sir Robert Kennaway (1875). The Language and Literature of China: Two Lectures Delivered at the Royal Institution of Great Britain in May and June, 1875. Trübner & Company. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
External links
- Works by Robert Kennaway Douglas at Project Gutenberg
- Works by or about Robert Kennaway Douglas at the Internet Archive
- Works by Robert Kennaway Douglas at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
