Frederick Wilson (Raja)

Frederick Wilson (black cap and crossed legs) with Colonel Markham hunting a bear in the Himalayas as depicted by Sir Edward Campbell, 2nd Baronet

Frederick Wilson (21 January 1817 – 21/22 July 1883) also known as Raja of Harsil, Pahari Wilson or Shikari Wilson was a British sportsman, army deserter, and settler in the Himalayas. He was a keen hunter and naturalist who wrote in sporting magazines under the pen-name "Mountaineer". He obtained the rights to lands around Harsil from the local rule and was involved in cutting down trees in to supply the early railways in India with sleepers. He was treated as a local king in the Harsil region, and even minted a currency of his own. It has been claimed that Rudyard Kipling's story The Man Who Would Be King was based on him.