Charles Justin MacCarthy
12th Governor of British Ceylon
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Sir Charles Justin MacCarthy (1811–1864)[1] was the 12th Governor of British Ceylon and the 12th Accountant General and Controller of Revenue. He was appointed on 22 October 1860 and was Governor until 1 December 1863. He also served as acting governor on two separate occasions. He was first appointed in 1850.[2][3]
(Acting governor)
(Acting governor)
Sir Charles Justin MacCarthy | |
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| 12th Governor of British Ceylon | |
| In office 22 October 1860 – 1 December 1863 | |
| Monarch | Queen Victoria |
| Preceded by | Charles Edmund Wilkinson (Acting governor) |
| Succeeded by | Terence O'Brien (Acting governor) |
| Acting 18 January 1855 – 11 May 1855 | |
| Monarch | Queen Victoria |
| Preceded by | George William Anderson |
| Succeeded by | Henry George Ward |
| Acting 18 October 1850 – 27 November 1850 | |
| Monarch | Queen Victoria |
| Preceded by | The Viscount Torrington |
| Succeeded by | George William Anderson |
| 12th Accountant General and Controller of Revenue | |
| In office 28 May 1847 – 1 October 1851 | |
| Preceded by | Henry Wright |
| Succeeded by | W. C. Gibson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1811 Brighton, England |
| Died | 15 August 1864 (aged 52–53) Spa, Belgium |
Life
His parents were Donough and Mary MacCarthy, and he was born in Brighton.[4][5] He was a relation of Nicholas Wiseman, and in the early 1830s was in Rome, with a view to entering the Roman Catholic priesthood. Under the influence of the ideas of Lamennais, however, he ceased theological studies. In Rome through Wiseman he met Monckton Milnes, who became a lifelong friend. Milnes then helped him into a colonial career.[1][6]
MacCarthy was knighted in 1857.[1] In office he adopted a policy of financial retrenchment. His main aim was to promote railway construction.[7] He left Ceylon in December 1863, in poor health.[8] He died at Spa, Belgium, on 15 August 1864.[9]
