Major-General William Farquhar (icon ; 26 February 1774 – 13 May 1839) was an employee of the East India Company

British East India Company

The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...

, and the first Resident of colonial Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

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Farquhar was born at Newhall, Aberdeenshire, near Aberdeen

Aberdeen

Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....

 in 1774, and joined the East India Company as a cadet when he was 17. Arrived in Madras on 19 June 1791, and shortly after on 22 June 1791, was promoted to a low-rank commissioned officer of the Madras Engineers.