O’CONNOR, William Frederick Travers. Longford, Ireland 30.7.1870 — Chelsea, London 14.12.1943. Sir. British (Irish) Officer and Diplomat in British Service in India. Son of land agent Matthew Richard Weld O’Connor (1828?–1902) and Harriet Georgina O’Reilly. Educated 1884-87 at Charterhouse School in Surrey. After Royal Military Academy joined Royal Artillery in 1890. Lieutenant 1893, Captain 1899, Major 1908, Lieutenant-Colonel 1916. Served mainly in the North-West India, in 1903-04 participated in Younghusband’s Tibetan expedition, then the first British Trade Agent in Gyantse, Tibet. In 1907 imported the first two motor cars to Tibet. Accompanying a Sikkimese prince on world tour met the 13th Dalai Lama in 1908. From 1910 Concul-General in Mashad, 1912 in Shiraz, 1915-16 captive of Persian army. From 1918 Resident in Vladivostok, 1921 briefly Political Officer in Sikkim. Retired 1925. C.I.E. 1904, O.S.I. 1924, knighted 1925. Apparently unmarried.
Publications: Routes in Sikkim. 90 p. Calcutta 1900; Report on Tibet. Calcutta 1903.
– With C. A. Bell: Rules for the Phonetic Transcription into English of Tibetan Words. Darjeeling 1904.
– With P. Landon & H. J. Walton: Lhasa: an account of the country and people of Central Tibet. 1-2. L. 1905.
– Folk Tales from Tibet with Illustrations by a Tibetan Artist and Some Verses from Tibetan Love Songs. 8+176 p. 13 pl. L. 1906.
– On the frontier and beyond: a record of thirty years’ service. 14+355 p. ill. L. 1931.
– Things mortal. 256 p. L. 1940 (memoirs).
Sources: Wikipedia with photo; parents in WikiTree; worldcat.org.
Last Updated on 3 days by Admin
