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 Weld O’Connor and Georgina O’Reilly. Educated 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 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; worldcat.org.
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