Henry Spencer Palmer
Encyclopedia
Major General
Henry Spencer Palmer (30 April 1838 – 10 February 1893) was a British army
military engineer
and surveyor, noted for his work in developing Yokohama harbor
in the Empire of Japan
as a foreign advisor
to the Japanese government
, British India; his father was a colonel in the Madras army. He was educated at private schools in Bath in England
and by tutors before being admitted in January 1856 to the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. He was commissioned as a lieutenant
in the Royal Engineers
in December and studied for a year at the Royal Engineers Establishment, Chatham. In October 1858, he was assigned to British Columbia
, Canada
as part of a survey mission. In addition to undertaking several exploratory surveys, he laid out trails, supervised road construction, and inspected road-works. He was commended for his efforts, and during his stay in Canada also contributed papers on British Columbia to the Royal Geographical Society
in London. In November 1863, one month after their marriage, he and his 15-year-old wife, Canadian Mary Jane Pearson, the daughter of a Canadian
archdeacon
, (17th January 1848 - 10th January 1934) sailed for England.
From 1864 and 1874 Palmer served with the Ordnance Survey
of Great Britain
. Palmer was well known not only as a soldier but also as a scientist. From 1874, he undertook various postings as a surveyor, civil engineer
, and astronomer
in New Zealand
, Barbados
, Hong Kong
, and Japan
. At some point before Palmer headed out for Japan, he and his wife parted. She returned to her native British Columbia where she lived for the rest of her life.
After retiring from the Royal Engineers in 1887, he settled in Japan, established a successful civilian practice in Yokohama
, where he was hired by the Japanese government to develop designs for the harbor
and city waterworks
. He was also a frequent contributor of letters and articles to the Japan Times, Japan Weekly Mail and other newspapers and periodicals, and was also a correspondent for the London Times
. He also wrote a profusely illustrated guidebook to Japan, “Letters from the Land of the Rising Sun”.
At some point around 1890, he remarried to a Japanese woman, Uta Saito, with whom he had a daughter.
After his death in 1893 from typhoid fever
, he was buried at the Aoyama Cemetery
in Tokyo
.
A bronze bust of Palmer was unveiled by the Yokohama Water Works in 1987 to commemorate the centennial of its foundation. The Yokohama Archives of History
also held a special exhibition in his honor the same year.
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
Henry Spencer Palmer (30 April 1838 – 10 February 1893) was a British army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
military engineer
Military engineer
In military science, engineering refers to the practice of designing, building, maintaining and dismantling military works, including offensive, defensive and logistical structures, to shape the physical operating environment in war...
and surveyor, noted for his work in developing Yokohama harbor
Port of Yokohama
The is operated by the Port and Harbor Bureau of the City of Yokohama in Japan. It opens onto Tokyo Bay. The port is located at a latitude of 35.27.–00°N and a longitude of 139.38–46°E. To the south lies the Port of Yokosuka; to the north, the ports of Kawasaki and Tokyo.-Facilities:Yokohama Port...
in the Empire of Japan
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
as a foreign advisor
O-yatoi gaikokujin
The Foreign government advisors in Meiji Japan, known in Japanese as oyatoi gaikokujin , were those foreign advisors hired by the Japanese government for their specialized knowledge to assist in the modernization of Japan at the end of the Bakufu and during the Meiji era. The term is sometimes...
to the Japanese government
Biography
Palmer was born at BangaloreBangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
, British India; his father was a colonel in the Madras army. He was educated at private schools in Bath in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and by tutors before being admitted in January 1856 to the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. He was commissioned as a lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
in the Royal Engineers
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
in December and studied for a year at the Royal Engineers Establishment, Chatham. In October 1858, he was assigned to British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
as part of a survey mission. In addition to undertaking several exploratory surveys, he laid out trails, supervised road construction, and inspected road-works. He was commended for his efforts, and during his stay in Canada also contributed papers on British Columbia to the Royal Geographical Society
Royal Geographical Society
The Royal Geographical Society is a British learned society founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical sciences...
in London. In November 1863, one month after their marriage, he and his 15-year-old wife, Canadian Mary Jane Pearson, the daughter of a Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
archdeacon
Archdeacon
An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in Anglicanism, Syrian Malabar Nasrani, Chaldean Catholic, and some other Christian denominations, above that of most clergy and below a bishop. In the High Middle Ages it was the most senior diocesan position below a bishop in the Roman Catholic Church...
, (17th January 1848 - 10th January 1934) sailed for England.
From 1864 and 1874 Palmer served with the Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey , an executive agency and non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom, is the national mapping agency for Great Britain, producing maps of Great Britain , and one of the world's largest producers of maps.The name reflects its creation together with...
of Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
. Palmer was well known not only as a soldier but also as a scientist. From 1874, he undertook various postings as a surveyor, civil engineer
Civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...
, and astronomer
Astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...
in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. At some point before Palmer headed out for Japan, he and his wife parted. She returned to her native British Columbia where she lived for the rest of her life.
After retiring from the Royal Engineers in 1887, he settled in Japan, established a successful civilian practice in Yokohama
Yokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
, where he was hired by the Japanese government to develop designs for the harbor
Harbor
A harbor or harbour , or haven, is a place where ships, boats, and barges can seek shelter from stormy weather, or else are stored for future use. Harbors can be natural or artificial...
and city waterworks
WaterWorks
WaterWorks is a water park owned by Cedar Fair, located at the back of Kings Dominion in Doswell, Virginia. When it debuted in 1992, it was originally named Hurricane Reef...
. He was also a frequent contributor of letters and articles to the Japan Times, Japan Weekly Mail and other newspapers and periodicals, and was also a correspondent for the London Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
. He also wrote a profusely illustrated guidebook to Japan, “Letters from the Land of the Rising Sun”.
At some point around 1890, he remarried to a Japanese woman, Uta Saito, with whom he had a daughter.
After his death in 1893 from typhoid fever
Typhoid fever
Typhoid fever, also known as Typhoid, is a common worldwide bacterial disease, transmitted by the ingestion of food or water contaminated with the feces of an infected person, which contain the bacterium Salmonella enterica, serovar Typhi...
, he was buried at the Aoyama Cemetery
Aoyama Cemetery
is a cemetery in Minato, Tokyo, Japan, managed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. The cemetery is also famous for its cherry blossoms, and at the season of hanami, many people visit.-History:...
in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
.
A bronze bust of Palmer was unveiled by the Yokohama Water Works in 1987 to commemorate the centennial of its foundation. The Yokohama Archives of History
Yokohama Archives of History
The in Naka ward, central Yokohama near Yamashita Park is a repository for many precious archive materials on Japan and the foreign connection with Japan since the arrival of Commodore Matthew Perry in 1853...
also held a special exhibition in his honor the same year.