Louis Dane
Louis Dane | |
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Born | Louis William Dane 21 March 1856 Chichester, England |
Died | 22 February 1946 South Kensington, England | (aged 89)
Resting place | Southampton Old Cemetery |
Occupation | Colonial administrator |
Sir Louis William Dane GCIE CSI (21 March 1856 – 22 February 1946) was an administrator during the time of the British Raj.[1]
Early life[]
He was born on 21 March 1856 at Chichester, Sussex the fifth son of Richard Martin Dane, an army staff surgeon, and Sophia Eliza, the daughter of Colonel Charles Griffiths who had served in the First Anglo-Afghan War. Richard Morris Dane, was his brother.[2] He was educated at in Kingstown, Dublin and passed his examinations for the Indian Civil Service in 1874. He was married to Edith Norman on 3 March 1882.
Civil service[]
In 1876 he was posted to the Punjab as assistant commissioner in Dera Ghazi Khan. In 1879 he became private secretary to Sir Robert Egerton, Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab. In 1904, the Dane Mission, named for his leadership, was sent by the British to Afghanistan to negotiate the friendship agreement with the country's new Amir, Habibullah Khan. The mission resulted in a reinforcement of the agreements between the British and Abdur Rahman Khan, Habibullah's father and predecessor as Amir.[3] Afghanistan was a key player in The Great Game, and Dane's mission confirmed Britain's control over Afghanistan's foreign policy, and therefore gave the British the upper hand over the Russians. In 1908 he was appointed Lieutenant-governor in the Punjab, a post from which he retired in 1913.
Football[]
In 1928, Dane lead a consortium of businessmen to found Thames A.F.C, following the construction of West Ham Stadium in the same year. In an interview with the Stratford Express, published on 1 August 1928, Dane believed West Ham Stadium, which had a capacity of 120,000, was "a wonderful stadium – one of the finest in the Country". Despite Thames' facilities and the signing of former First Division players, such as Jimmy Dimmock and Henry White, the club never caught the imagination of the public, with the club setting a record low Football League attendance of 469 for a game against Luton Town on 6 December 1930. By 1932, following repeated poor finishes in the Third Division South, financial pressure and low attendances, Thames were wound up.[4]
Caxton Hall assassination[]
On 13 March 1940, Dane was one of four victims of a shooting at the Caxton Hall by Indian nationalist Udham Singh. Dane's successor (in 1913) as lieutenant-governor of the Punjab, Michael O'Dwyer, was killed instantly. Dane's arm was broken by a bullet; Lawrence Dundas, formerly secretary of state for India and Charles Cochrane, formerly governor of the Bombay presidency were slightly injured.[5][6]
Death[]
He died at his home in South Kensington, London, on 22 February 1946. He is buried[7] at Southampton Old Cemetery .
References[]
- ^ "Sir Louis Dane". The Times. London (50384): 6. 23 February 1946.
- ^ Fox-Davies, Arthur Charles (1929–30). Armorial Families. 2 (7th ed.). London: Hurst & Blackett. pp. 492–3.
- ^ Ludwig Adamec, Afghanistan, 1900-1923, A Diplomatic History.
- ^ "'Thames AFC and the Football League's lowest-ever attendance". The 1888 Letter. 30 November 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
- ^ "Sir Michael O'Dwyer Shot Dead". Glasgow Herald. Glasgow. 13 March 1940. p. 23.
- ^ "The Caxton Hall Tragedy". Glasgow Herald. Glasgow. 19 March 1940. p. 4.
- ^ "Louis William Dane (1856-1946) - Find a Grave".
External links[]
- Alexander Thom and Son Ltd. 1923. p. – via Wikisource. . . Dublin:
- 1856 births
- 1946 deaths
- Administrators in British India
- Companions of the Order of the Star of India
- Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire
- People from Chichester
- Thames A.F.C.
- English football chairmen and investors