George Francis Joseph · Public domain
19th century · 1781–1826
Stamford Raffles
Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles · Singapore
British colonial official and founder of modern Singapore
An officer of the British East India Company and Lieutenant-Governor of British Java. In 1814, guided by local people, he made Borobudur known to the world, and described it in his History of Java (1817). In 1819 he established Singapore as a British entrepôt; that year is seen as the start of Singapore's modern history.
Where the story happened
Places connected with this person
History · Borobudur
Raffles and the 'rediscovery' of Borobudur
Borobudur is a Mahayana Buddhist stupa built by the Sailendra dynasty in the 9th century, decorated with 2,672 relief panels and originally 504 Buddha statues. After the Hindu kingdoms of Java declined in the 14th century and the population converted to Islam, the monument was gradually abandoned. In 1814 Stamford Raffles, then Lieutenant-Governor of British Java, learned its location from local people, and described 'Bóro Bódo' in his 'History of Java' published in 1817, bringing it back to the world's attention.
History · Merlion Park
The Lion City's name and the Merlion
The name 'Singapura' comes from the Sanskrit for 'lion city'; earlier, this maritime trading port was called 'Temasek'. In 1819 Raffles established a British trading port here, beginning Singapore's modern history. The Merlion is a much later symbol: in 1964 Fraser Brunner, curator of the Van Kleef Aquarium, designed this lion-headed, fish-bodied emblem for the Singapore Tourism Board; in 1971–1972 the sculptor Lim Nang Seng made the Merlion statue at the mouth of the Singapore River, unveiled by Lee Kuan Yew on 15 September 1972. In 2002 the statue was moved in one piece to its current site in Merlion Park.
