Richard Olaf Winstedt

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Sir Richard Olaf Winstedt KBE , CMG , (born August 2, 1878 in Oxford , † June 2, 1966 in Putney , London ), more commonly known as RO Winstedt , was a British orientalist and colonial administrator with special knowledge of British Malaya .

Early life and education

Richard Olaf Winstedt was born in Oxford and received his education at Magdalen College School and his academic education at New College in Oxford , which he completed with a Magister Artium (MA) . In 1902 he was hired as a cadet in the public administration of the Federated Malay States and transferred to Perak , where he studied the Malay language and culture. In 1913 he was appointed district officer in Kuala Pilah in the Malay state of Negeri Sembilan and in 1916 transferred to the education authority. In 1920 he was awarded the degree "DLitt" (Doctor of Letters) by the University of Oxford .

In 1921 he married the Irish Sara O'Flynn. His brother was Eric Otto Winstedt, a Latinist and tsiganologist .

Later professional life

Winstedt was the first president of Raffles College in Singapore from 1928 to 1931 . During his presidency in 1923 he was acting Secretary to the High Commissioner , from 1924 to 1931 Director of Education for Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States (FMS) and from 1927 to 1931 a member of the Council of the FMS.

After serving as advisor to the government of the Sultanate of Johore in 1931–1935, Winstedt retired from public administration and became a lecturer , lecturer and finally Honorary Fellow for Malay at the School of Oriental Studies , where he also served from 1939–1959 sat on the board of directors. During the Second World War he was responsible for broadcasting radio programs in Malay in Malaya, which was occupied by Japanese. In 1946 he retired from active teaching.

Winstedt worked in numerous committees and advisory bodies, particularly noteworthy is the Royal Asiatic Society, in which he repeatedly held the presidency and from which he received the gold medal in 1947. In addition, the Association of British Malaya , of which he was President in 1938, the Colonial Office Advisory Committee on Education from 1936 to 1939 and the Royal India Society . He was a fellow of the British Academy and an honorary member of the Southeast Asia Institute , the Royal Batavian Society and the Kon Instituut voor TaalLanden Volkenkunde .

Winstedt died on June 2, 1966 in Putney, London. The Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman , was also among the condolers . He wrote to the widow of the deceased:

“My friend, Sir Richard, has done so much throughout his lifetime for the Malays, whom he has always loved. May his soul rest in peace. "

Achievements

The preservation of some works of Malay literature, including The Malay Annals , is thanks to Winstedt. He created important works on the Malay people and their language such as the books A History of Malaya and A Dictionary of Malay Language . The Australian Journal of Politics and History writes about him: "Winstedt was the first British scholar who carried out a systematic study of the existing Malay documents for historical purposes and thus laid the actual basis for a scientific approach to the writing of the history of Malaysia."

Winstedt also played a major role in the development of the Malaya and Singapore educational systems . In particular, he was interested in the education of the Malays. Based on his suggestion, the Sultan Idris Training College was founded in 1922 , the purpose of which was to train Malay teachers. In 1997 the Malaysian government elevated the institution to a university. For his achievements he was accepted as an officer in the Order of the British Empire and in 1926 as a companion in the Order of St. Michael and St. George .

In 1935 he became Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire and was allowed to prefix his name with the "Sir". In 1951 he received the Malaysian honorary doctorate LLD .

His estate is archived at the School of Oriental and African Studies .

Selected Works

History and society

  • Arts and Crafts (Papers on Malay Subjects; Malay industries, pt. 1), Kuala Lumpur: FMS Government Press, 1909.
  • Britain and Malaya, 1786-1941 , London, 1944.
  • The Circumstances of Malay Life: The kampong. The House. Furniture. Dress. Food (Papers on Malay Subjects; no.2), Kuala Lumpur: FMS Government Press, 1909.
  • Fishing, Hunting and Trapping (Papers on Malay Subjects; Malay industries, pt. 2), Kuala Lumpur: FMS Government Press, 1911.
  • A History of Perak , Singapore, 1934.
  • A History of Malaya , Singapore, 1935.
  • A Malay History of Riau and Johore, etc. (Malay text of the Tuḣfat al-nafīs ), Singapore, 1932.
  • Malaya: the Straits Settlements and the Federated and Unfederated Malay States , London: Constable, 1923.
  • Malayan Memories , Singapore: Kelly & Walsh, 1916.
  • The Malays: a cultural history , Singapore: Kelly & Walsh, 1947.
  • Shaman, Saiva and Sufi: a study of the evolution of Malay magic , London: Constable, 1925.
  • A History of Johore , Singapore, 1932.
  • Right Thinking and Right Living: a primer on moral & social topics, etc. , Singapore: Malaya Publishing House, 1933.

Language and textbooks

  • Malay Grammar , Oxford, The Clarendon Press, 1913
  • Cherita jenaka: ya-itu Pa Kadok, Pa Pandir, Lebai Malang, Pa Belalang, Si Lunchai , Singapore: Methodist Publishing House, 1908 (folk tales, written down by Raja Haji Yahya; joint editor with AJ Sturrock).
    • --do .-- New ed. Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press, 1963
  • Colloquial Malay: a simple grammar with conversations , Singapore: Kelly & Walsh, 1916 (later editions: 2nd 1920, 3rd 1929, 4th 1938, revised 1945)
  • Dictionary of Colloquial Malay: Malay-English & English-Malay , Singapore: Kelly & Walsh, 1920 (reissued several times until 1951).
  • An English-Malay Dictionary , 2 vols. Singapore: Kelly & Walsh , 1914-15 (2nd ed. 1922, 3rd ed. 1939).
  • Hikayat Anggun Che Tunggal , Singapore: Methodist Publishing House, 1914 (folk tale; joint editor with AJ Sturrock).
  • A Malay History of Riau and Johore, etc. (Malay text of the Tuḣfat al-nafīs ), Singapore, 1932.
  • A Malay Reader , Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1917.
  • Misa Melayu ; by Raja Chulan , Singapore: Methodist Publishing House, 1919 (editor; reissued in 1966 by Pustaka Antara, Kuala Lumpur).
  • A Simple Malay Reader , London: Kegan Paul & Co., 1944.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c d e E. CG Barrett: Obituary: Sir Richard Winstedt
  2. ^ SOAS: Previous Staff Members ; Accessed January 28, 2013
  3. ^ The Kenya Gazette, Nov. 22, 1966, p. 1423, Gazette Notice No. 4331

literature

  • ECG Barrett: Obituary: Sir Richard Winstedt , in: Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies , University of London, Vol. 30, No. 1, 1967, pp. 272-275.
  • ECG Barrett: Winstedt, Sir Richard Olof (1878–1966) , in: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography . 2004 ( online )
  • John Bastin: Richard Olaf Winstedt, 1878–1966 . In: Proceedings of the British Academy . tape 65 , 1980, pp. 845-852 ( thebritishacademy.ac.uk [PDF]).

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ The Doctor of Letters is an academic degree above the PhD, which is rarely awarded and only on the basis of many years of research.
personal data
SURNAME Winstedt, Richard Olaf
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Winstedt, RO
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British orientalist and colonial administrator
DATE OF BIRTH August 2, 1878
PLACE OF BIRTH Oxford , England
DATE OF DEATH June 2, 1966
Place of death Putney , London