Henry Dundas Campbell
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Colonel Henry Dundas Campbell (8 July 1798 – 1 April 1872) was a British professional soldier, Governor of Sierra Leone from 1835 to 1837.[1] Campbell's mona monkey (Cercopithecus campbelli) was named after him, in 1838, by George Robert Waterhouse.[2]
Campbell was born in Cape Town, Cape Colony[3] to Rear-Admiral Donald Campbell[4] (Commander-in-chief to the Leeward Islands, died 1819, as Captain of HMS Salisbury), and his wife Margaret Harriet (who died 1831, at Hampton House, Portsea, Henry Dundas Campbell's residence).[5][6] He was a lieutenant in the 63rd Foot, in 1820.[7] It is said that he was an officer in the 8th Dragoons, when in 1822 he had his portrait painted by William Beechey;[8][9] but his exchange into the Dragoons was dated 3 July 1823.[10] In 1827 he was an unattached major on half pay.[11]
Campbell was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Sierra Leone in 1834.[12] He then replaced Octavius Temple as Governor.[13] He placed emphasis on education, including female education.[14] He went to Magbele on the Rokel River to negotiate a commercial treaty with Dala Modu Dumbuya.[15] This mission took on the nature of a peace conference, with a number of groups attending who wanted an end to ongoing threats of instability in the region.[16] In 1838 he sent the Zoological Society the type specimen of the primate named after him.[17]
During Ralph Randolph Gurley's visit to London in 1840, Campbell spoke in support of the American Colonization Society at the Egyptian Hall.[18] In the same year he resolved a public quarrel between Sir Duncan Macdougall, a friend, and the Marquess of Londonderry.[19][20]
In later life, Campbell became a director of the British Empire Life Assurance Company, founded 1839.[21] He was also a director of the Direct Western Railway.[22] In the 1847 general election, he was a candidate for Christchurch, held by Edward Harris, as a Liberal and free trader.[23][24] He died in Peckham on 1 April 1872, at age 74.[1]