Bowen, George Ferguson (1821-1899)

Bowen, George Ferguson

COLONIAL GOVERNOR, AUTHOR (ENGLAND)

BORN 2 Nov 1821, Taughboyne, Donegal - DIED 21 Feb 1899, Brighton, East Sussex
CAUSE OF DEATH bronchitis
GRAVE LOCATION London: Kensal Green Cemetery, Harrow Road, Kensal Green (165/2 (34408) (no trace of monument (?)))

George Bowen was the son of Rev. Edward Bowen (1779-1867), who was Rector of Taughboyne, Ulster for the Church of Ireland. He studied at Trinity College in Oxford and was twice President of the Oxford Union. In 1847 he became the president of the Ionian Academy in Corfu. In 1850 he published "Ithaca in 1850". He held his position until 1851 and in 1854 he became chief secretary to the government of the Ionian Islands. He married Contessa Diamantina di Roma on 28 April 1856.

In 1859 he became the first Governor of Queensland after if separated from New South Wales. He served there until he succeeded Sir George Grey as Governor of New Zealand in 1868. Many places in Queensland were named after his wife who was probably more popular there than he was. His next station was Victoria where he was appointed Governor in March 1873. In 1877 he ran into constitutional problems, but his decisions were afterwards supported by several British parliamentarians including Gladstone. In 1879 he was transferred to Mauritius where he was governor until 1880. In 1883 he became the Governor of Hong Kong.

In 1887 his health forced him to retire, and he returned to live in England with his wife and two of their children. Diamantina died in 1893 and he married Letitia Florence White (1847-1916) in Chelsea, London in 1896. She was the daughter of the mathematician Thomas Luby. Bowen died in 1899 in Brighton.

Family
• Wife: Bowen, Diamantina (1856-1893, Corfu: Palace of St Michael and St George)

Images

The grave of George Ferguson Bowen and Diamantina Bowen at Kensal Green Cemetery, Kensal Green, London.
Picture by Androom (18 Apr 2024)