Raffles, Sir Stamford

Raffles, Sir Stamford ( Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles ) ( 1781 – 1826 )
British colonial administrator. Born in Jamaica, he joined the East India Company in 1795 , becoming Lieutenant General of Java in 1811 . He later served as Lieutenant General of Sumatra ( 1818 – 23 ), during which time he persuaded the company to purchase the undeveloped island of Singapore ( 1819 ) and undertook much of the preliminary work for transforming it into an international port and centre of commerce.