Richard Morgan (Ceylonese judge)

Hon. Sir
Richard Morgan
Acting Chief Justice of Ceylon
In office
1874–1874
13th Queen's Advocate of Ceylon
In office
1 January 1863 – 1876
Preceded byHenry Byerley Thomson
Succeeded byRichard Cayley
Acting Deputy Queen's Advocate of Ceylon
In office
1 May 1862 – 1 January 1863
Acting Queen's Advocate of Ceylon
In office
16 April 1861 – 1 May 1862
In office
19 November 1857 – 1858
Judge of the District Court of Colombo
In office
6 November 1860 – 16 April 1861
In office
1858 – 21 May 1859
In office
1 October 1856 – 1 January 1857
Acting Senior Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Ceylon
In office
1 January 1860 – 6 November 1860
Acting Second Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Ceylon
In office
1 January 1857 – 19 November 1857
Personal details
Born21 February 1821
Colombo, Ceylon
Died27 January 1876 (aged 54)
Colombo, Ceylon
NationalityCeylonese (Sri Lankan)
ResidenceWhist Bungalow

Sir Richard Francis Morgan (21 February 1821 – 27 January 1876)[1] was a Ceylonese (Sri Lankan) lawyer, who served as the 13th Queen's Advocate of Ceylon and acting Chief Justice of Ceylon. He was the first Asian in the British Empire to receive a Knighthood and first Ceylonese to be a member of the Governor's Executive Council and was an unofficial (Burgher) member of the Legislative Council of Ceylon. He was the Crown Advocate who prosecuted famed bandit Saradiel.[2]

Sir Richard was the 11th and youngest child of Owen Richard Morgan, port magistrate of Colombo, and Behrana Lucretea Lourensz. He was educated at the Colombo Academy.[3][4]

Morgan was knighted in 1874, while serving as Crown Advocate of Ceylon.[5] He was made acting Chief Justice of Ceylon, after E. S. Creasy had returned to England on sick leave.[6] His son was Lieutenant Colonel Richard Hillebrand Morgan.

  1. ^ Reports of Cases Heard and Determined by the Supreme Court of Ceylon: Sitting in Appeal in the Year 1877. Columbo Print. Office. 1878. p. 291. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  2. ^ Amerasinghe, A. Ranjit B (1986), The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka : the first 185 years, Sarvodaya Book Pub. Services, ISBN 978-955-599-000-4
  3. ^ Walford, Edward (1876). The County Families of the United Kingdom Or Royal Manual of the Titled and Untitled Aristocracy of Great Britain and Ireland. p. 693. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  4. ^ "The Genealogy of the Dutch Burgher Union" (PDF). The Journal of the Dutch Burgher Union: 62–64. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  5. ^ "The London Gazette 21 July 1874". thegazette.co.uk. The London Gazette Publication date:21 July 1874. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  6. ^ India and the East, The Maitland Mercury & Hunter River General Advertiser, 22 August 1874, p.2