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Quitter? No Quitter!

In around 2007-08, I started a retirement hobby of researching and writing about Qing China only to give it up after a few months, because the subject was simply too vast and way beyond the limit of what I can (or wish to) manage. I then came up with a brilliant idea (at least I thought it was) to narrow down the scope to first-of-its-kind events that took place in modern China. That, didn't go well either because I found almost no connections to most of the people or events I wrote about. Once again, I quit. After a short break whilst still wanting to write, I turned my attention to an even smaller (and a more personal) subject – Hong Kong – meanwhile keeping the "first" concept, and went to work. The rest, as they say, is history. (8/20/2012)

My Favorite Period in the History of Hong Kong

I am no historian, and as I see it, I am not even qualified as a student of history -- except in a philosophical sense. If there were such a thing as a hunter-gatherer in the world of historical studies, that would be me. However unqualified I may be, I've put myself in charge of dividing the history of Hong Kong into periods so that I can prioritize my studies. And, I determine that there should be three: the "Nothing Happened" period, the "Culture Fusion" period, and the "Identity Crisis" period. Nothing Happened is the period that begins with the arrival of the first human beings, roughly in the 5th millennium BCE, and ends in 1838. The onset of the First Opium War in 1839 lift the curtain on the Culture Fusion period, which carries on for 110 years until 1948, by the time the Chinese civil war was drawing to a close. [Some said it is Colonial Hong Kong that I am referring to. Well, more and less, I added four more years at the start and cut 49 years at the end. (11/14/2015)] The Identity Crisis period begins with the 1949 establishment of PRC and is still going on today.

Deciding which is my favorite period in Hong Kong's history is a bit like eating a carrot, I cut off both ends before I do anything else. I have no need to write about the Nothing Happened period as, seriously, nothing much had happened back then. Shifting to the nearer end of the timeline, although I am a baby boomer and can unequivocally identify myself with the Identity Crisis period, I wish not to write about it, whether objectively or "biasly" because it becomes very personal and gets too close to the heart of my mind. Isn't it much better if someone would pick this up say a century from now and write a scholarly article about this period, if that's too much to hope for, a blog post will do just fine. So that's it, my choice, the Culture Fusion is a period in which the most vivid historical records of Hong Kong were generated. Striving to be as acutely observative as one could and yet staying distantly detached, I am researching and writing happenings in this period as a bystander. I like being a bystander. (8/26/2012)

Who's Who and What's What

You'll know all what I know about the first and earliest events of its kind in and of Hong Kong all the way to the year 2015 if you have the patience to read through the table below. Here are a few notes I wish to draw your attention to before you set off your journey. Enjoy! (1/19/2015)

1. The data in the table are sortable and can be arrayed according to time, names and specifics of the "first of its kind" events. To do this, use the buttons atop the table.
2. Contents of each entry are normally hidden in order to save space, to display them simply click on the title of the entry under the "First Event" column (for example, "Photo studio") and to hide them, click again on the same title. Well, if the display doesn't open, it means I haven't written anything on that particular event.
3. Almost all of the people and events tabled here are featured in other articles in this blog. The best way to look up these people or events is to make use of the "Search This Blog" box located on the sidebar on the left.
4. Selected local, regional and world events of historical significance are added to this table as references in context. They were marked by a pink star.
5. The term "dollar" and the dollar sign "$" refer to the Hong Kong dollars.
6. The country flags placed under the names of non-Chinese are for easy reference to indicate the nationalities or countries of origin of these persons. These are present days flags and some of them may not correspond with the historic period of the events in matter. Additionally, Coats of arms are used in country flags' stead where applicable.

Updated April 6, 2016; 645 entries in total.

Date (y.m.d)	Name	First Event
1845.03.06	West, [s.n.]	Photo studio Photo studio West placed the following advertisement in the March 6, 1845 issue of China Mail, "Mr. West begs leave to inform the inhabitants of Victoria that he has opened a Photographic or Daguerreotype Room in Peel Street, near Queen’s Road. His room will be open from 10am until 4pm. Single miniatures $3. $2 charged for each additional head in a group."
1920	Capell, Violet	Ballet teacher, full-time Ballet teacher, full-time Capell was still teaching in Hong Kong in 1938. She was the daughter of James Ralph Capell who had for more than 35 years worked for A.S. Watson & Co., Ltd.
1842	Bridgman, Rev. Elijah Coleman 裨治文	Protestant missionary from the United States Protestant missionary from the United States
1845	Adnams, James	Saddler Saddler Adnams' shop was situated at the Canton Bazaar. He was also Hong Kong's first harness maker and coach trimmer.
1894.05.08	Ah Hung	Plague patient Plague patient The physician was Dr. James Alfred Lowson 婁遜, acting superintendent of the Government Civil Hospital.
1842.08.10	Ah Nam	Homicide Homicide Ah Lam, the assailant, was charged in his absence of wilful murder of his partner in home decoration business, Ho Wai. Ah Lam had fled to the Mainland and was never caught.
1869.10.31	Alfred Ernest Albert	Visit by a member of the British Royal Family Visit by a member of the British Royal Family Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh and of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha; second son of Queen Victoria visited Hong Kong to officiate at the opening ceremony of Hong Kong's first City Hall. He departed on November 16.
1843.10.01	Anderson, Dr. Alexander	Colonial Surgeon Colonial Surgeon
1844.07.28	Sterling, Paul Ivy	Attorney General Attorney General
1872.0.0	Bain, William Neish	Ice-making machine Ice-making machine Bain, a Glaswegian engineer, imported the first ice machine (model #540x1) to Hong Kong. The machine was manufactured in the UK.
1874	Kyle and Bain	Ice-making plant Ice-making plant John Kyle, the holder of the patent of a kind of ice-making machine in England and Hong Kong and William Neish Bain, the importer of Hong Kong's first ice-making machine, established and ran Hong Kog's first ice-making plant at East Point (present day Causeway Bay). The plant was sold to Jardine, Matheson & Co., in 1879 and renamed Hong Kong Ice Company.
1879	Bandmann, Daniel Edward	Shakespeare's plays Shakespeare's plays The German-born Bandmann, owner and lead actor of Bandmann Opera Copmany, staged Hong Kong's first performances of Shakespeare's plays by professional actors.
1841	Belcher, Cdr. Edward 卑路乍	Survey of the Hong Kong harbor Survey of the Hong Kong harbor Canadian-born Royal Navy Commander, later admiral, conducted the first survey of the Hong Kong harbor. Belcher's Street was named in his honor.
1850.07.01	Boggs, Eli	Pirate boss, U.S. national Pirate boss, U.S. national Boggs, a renegade American sailor turned pirate, had been active in Hong Kong waters since 1854. He commanded 40 armed junks at the peak of his pirate career. He was captured in 1857, tried and sentenced on July 1 to be transported for life. He was never sent to the penal colonies and instead was set free after having been locked up in a Hong Kong jail for three years because of ill health. He was never heard of since.
1866	Hong Kong Hotel Company	Hotel company Hotel company Members of the inaugural board included: Gustav Freiherr von Overbeck (chairman)(Prussian Baron, Consul for Prussia and Austria in Hong Kong), Charles Henri Maurice Bosman 何仕文 (Dutch merchant, Dutch Consul in Hong Kong in 1867, father of Robert Ho-tung), Douglas Lapraik (photo above; watch-maker, later opium dealer, later shipowner)
1929.01.17	Braga, Jose Pedro 布力架	Legislative Council member, not Briton; not Chinese Legislative Council member, not Briton; not Chinese Braga was formerly the publisher of Hong Kong Telegraph. He later became the chairman of China Light & Power Co.
1847	Hong Kong Theatrical Company	Theatrical company Theatrical company The Hong Kong Theatrical Company was co-founded by John Cairns, editor of the Hong Kong Register; Robert Strachan, proprietor and editor of Hong Kong Register; and Edward Farncomb, solicitor. All three were Britons. Members of the company were all amateur performers.
1940.06.12	Wong Yu-lung, Dr. 黄裕綸	Medical doctor struck off the Register of Medical and Surgical Practitioner Medical doctor struck off the Register of Medical and Surgical Practitioners Wong permitted an unqualified assistant to give cholera inoculations and vaccination, and to issue relevant certificates pre-signed by him in blank, to persons he had never attended. Wong began his practice in Hong Kong in 1939.
1940.04.24	Pang Iu-ki, Dr. 彭耀基	Medical doctor censured by the Medical Board Medical doctor censured by the Medical Board Pang permitted an unqualified assistant to give cholera inoculations and vaccination, and to issue relevant certificates pre-signed by him in blank, to persons he had never attended. Pang began his practice in Hong Kong in 1935.
1888	Cantile, Dr. James 康德黎	Medical school dean Medical school dean Cantile was the first dean of Hong Kong's first medical school: Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese (HKCMC).
1974.02.15	Cater, Jack 姬達	ICAC Commissioner ICAC Commissioner Cater (b.1922-d.2006) was the founding commissioner of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC). Previous positions he held in the government before ICAC had included Secretary for Security, and Director of Government Information Services. He was made Chief Secretary after stepping down from the top ICAC post.
1921	Ho-tung, Irene 何奇姿 (after married Irene Cheng)	University [local] female students University [local] female students Irene Ho-tung was one of the first three women enrolled in HKU (women students were not admitted before then), the other two were Rachel Irving and Lai-Po-cheun. She later receive a PhD degree from the University of London and became an educator in Hong Kong. She was the daughter of Robert Ho-tung. She married Cheng Sheung-sin 鄭湘先 who was the great-great-grandson of Lin Tse-hsu (Lin Zexu) 林則徐, Ching (Qing) Imperial Commissioner famous for the suppression of opium and opiate abuse in Kwangtung (Guangdong).
1995	Cheng Kum-po, Dr. Ignatius 鄭鑑波	Organ transplantation society Organ transplantation society Hong Kong-born Cheng was the founding president of the Hong Kong Society of Transplantation. He was the Specialist in Nephrology at Queen Mary Hospital, HKU. He later became a private practitioner.
1865.03.02	Chomley, Francis 孔萊	HSBC Chairman HSBC Chairman Chomley, a partner with the opium firm Dent & Co., was elected the first chairman of the court of directors of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Company (HSBC). Chomley was a British national.
1955.04.11	Chow Tse-ming 周梓銘	Assassination attempt on a PRC premier Assassination attempt on a PRC premier Chow, a janitor with the Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Co., planted a time-bomb on chartered aircraft Kashmir Princess which would carry Premier Zhou Enlai to Jarkata. Zhou was tipped off and didn't board the plane but for his protection the plane was allowed to take off as scheduled. The plane exploded mid air over the Natuna Islands killing all 19 people on board except the flight engineer. Chow fled to Taiwan.
1890	Chung Boon-chor, Dr. 鍾本初	Hospital house surgeon, Chinese Hospital house surgeon, Chinese Chung, in fact an Eurasian (Chinese father and American mother) was the first [half] Chinese doctor appointed house surgeon at the Alice Memorial Hospital.
1896	Chung Boon-chor, Dr. 鍾本初	Tung Wah Hospital Medical Superintendent Tung Wah Hospital Medical Superintendent Chung was the first Medical Superintendent of the Tung Wah Hospital. He was a government appointee. The appointment also made him the first Western medicine doctor to work at Tung Wah, which until then provided only traditional Chinese medical consultation.
1895.10.11	Clark, Dr. Francis William	Medical Officer of Health Medical Officer of Health Read biographical sketch
1952.09.20	Clarke, Arthur Grenfell 歧樂嘉	Inland Revenue Ordinance Review Committee Chairman Inland Revenue Ordinance Review Committee Chairman Clarke, Financial Secretary at the time, created the Inland Revenue Ordinance Review Committee and took up the chairmanship of the committee.
1999.09.08	Clarkson, Adrienne Louise (nee Poy, formerly Ng Bing-tse 伍冰枝)	Canadian Governor-General Canadian Governor-General The Hong Kong-born (February 10, 1939) Clarkson immigrated to Canada with her family in 1942. She was married to university professor Stephen Clarkson until 1975 when the marriage ended in divorce. She retired from the governorship in 2005 and was made, by Queen Elizabeth II, Colonel-in-Chief of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry. Former Toronto Senator Vivienne Poy (nee Lee) 利德蕙 is married to Clarkson's brother, Neville G. Poy 伍衛權.
1843	Collinson, Lt. Thomas Bernard 歌連臣	Map of Hong Kong drawn by a Briton Map of Hong Kong drawn by a Briton Collinson (b.1821-d.1902) was at the time a lieutenant of the Royal Engineers. Cape Collinson 歌連臣角 was named in his honor.
1844	Cook, John H.	Masonic lodge master Masonic lodge master Cook, purser of HMS Minden, Hong Kong's first hospital ship, was Worshipful Master of Royal Sussex Lodge 501, Hong Kong's first Masonic lodge.
1995	Crawford, Perveen Iqbal (nee Khan) 高佩雲	Aircraft [small prop] pilot, woman Aircraft [small prop] pilot, woman
1867	Cunningham, Edward L. 金能亨	HSBC Chairman, U.S. national HSBC Chairman, U.S. national Cunningham (b.1823-d.1889) was a partner of the opium firm, Russell & Co. He was US Vice-Consul at Shanghai in 1852.
1843.01.13	d'Aguilar, Maj-Gen George Charles 德忌笠 (or 德己立)	Lieutenant Governor Lieutenant Governor d'Aguilar (b.1784-d.1855), British army officer of Jewish descent, was Commander of British forces in Hong Kong and China. The position of Lieutenant Governor, until its redundancy in 1902, had been held by the chief British army officer stationed in Hong Kong. d'Aguilar Street and Cape d'Aguilar were named in his honor.
1952.06.28	Dan, Judy 但茱迪	Miss Universe contestant Miss Universe contestant Miss Hong Kong 1952 Judy Dan (1st in photo) contested at the very first Miss Universe pageant held at Long Beach, California and came out with the 3rd runner-up title. Dan was the daughter of famous movie director Dan Duyu 但杜宇 and actess Yan Mingzhu 殷明珠. She was an employee of Cathay Pacific at the time; she later became a TV talent and a movie actress.
1956	Dan, Judy 但茱迪	Academy Award winning film cast Academy Award winning film cast Dan was cast in the 20th Century-Fox film The King and I. She played the role of a Royal Wife (uncredited). Dan was Miss Hong Kong 1952 and Miss Universe 3rd runner-up in the same year. The King and I won five Academy Awards out of nine nominations.
1946	de Kantzow, Sydney	Airline company [and flag carrier] Airline company [and flag carrier] de Kantzow, Sydneysider aviator, co-founded Hong Kong's first airline company (and flag carrier): Cathay Pacific; the other co-founder was Roy C. Farrell. de Kantzow was previously a China National Aviation Company (CNAC) pilot, as was Farrell.
1889	Des Voeux, George William 德輔	Golf club president Golf club president Des Voeux , the 10th Colonial Governor, was the first president of the first golf club in Hong Kong, the Royal Hong Kong Golf Club. Des Voeux Road was named in his honor.
1846	Dill, Dr. Francis	Colonial Surgeon died in office Colonial Surgeon died in office The Irish-born Dill was appointed Colonial Surgeon in 1844. He died suddenly from liver complication (or malarial fever) in October 1846, age unknown. Two months before his death, he proclaimed Hong Kong to be the healthiest British Colony in the Orient. Three other Colonial Surgeons died in office during the early years of Hong Kong: William Morrison (41) in 1853, William Aurelius Harland (36) in 1858, Robert W. McCoy (33) in 1873.
1883.03.02	Doberck, William 杜伯克	Meteorological observatory director Meteorological observatory director Doberck (b.1852-d.1941), Danish astronomer, was appointed the first director of the Hong Kong Observatory. On August 13, 1884, he became a naturalized British subject, which entitled him to the rights of a British subject within the confines of Hong Kong.
1845	Drinker, Sandwith	Ice importer Ice importer Drinker, a Quaker merchant from Philadelphia, imported ice cut from Wenham Lake in Massachusetts. The shipper was Frederic Tudor (nicknamed Ice King of the World). Drinker was a merchant ship captain before settling in Hong Kong and Macau.
1844.02.20	Duddell, George 都爹利	Opium monopoly Opium monopoly Duddell, government auctioneer, merchant and land speculator, together with partner Alexander Martin Matheson, won at a government auction the one year license to prepare and sell opium, at the rate of $720 per month. Opium was legalized in 1844. They surrendered the monopoly after three months since they were unable to suppress rampant smuggling of opium into Hong Kong. Duddell Street was named in his honor.
1983	Dunn, Lydia Selina 鄧蓮如	Trade Development Council Chairman, woman Trade Development Council chairman, woman Dunn (b.1940), an executive of Swire Group in Hong Kong, was appointed the first female chief of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council.
1988	Dunn, Lydia Selina 鄧蓮如	Executive and Legislative Councils Senior Unofficial Member, woman Executive and Legislative Councils Senior Unofficial Member, woman Dunn was the only woman to have served as Senior Unofficial Member in the two councils.
1992	Dunn, Lydia Selina 鄧蓮如	HSBC Deputy Chairman, woman HSBC Deputy Chairman, woman Dunn was the first woman to fill the post of deputy chairman (non-executive) of HSBC Holdings Plc.
1990	Dunn, Lydia Selina 鄧蓮如	Baroness Baroness Dunn was created, by Queen Elizabeth II, Baroness Dunn, of Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong and of Knightsbridge in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. She became a member of the House of Lords.
1844	Duus, Nicolai	Water supply to ships at anchor Water supply to ships at anchor Duus, Danish merchant, was the first provider of fresh water to ships anchored in the harbor. He had a boat to ferry water around.
1845	Duus, Nicolai	Flush toilet Flush toilet Duus, Danish merchant, introduced flush toilets to Hong Kong. Although invented as early as in 1770s, the industrial production of flush toilets in Europe did not take place until early 1840s.
1855	Duus, Nicolai	Consul of Sweden Consul of Sweden Duus was a merchant from Denmark.
1855	Duus, Nicolai	Consul of Norway Consul of Norway Duus was a merchant from Denmark.
1889	Eastmond, Clara	Hospital matron Hospital matron Eastmond who was previously with the London hospital was engaged as matron of the Government Civil Hospital. She later married the person who interviewed and hired her, Dr. John Mitford Atkinson, Hong Kong's Principal Civil Medical Officer and President of the Sanitary Board.
1922.04.06	Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David	Visit by Prince of Wales Visit by Prince of Wales Prince Edward, Prince of Wales; later King Edward VIII, and after abdication the Duke of Windsor arrived Hong Kong on April 6, 1922. He had a game of polo on April 7 and left the following day.
1873	Eitel, Ernest John 歐德理	Fung shui book written by a European Fung shui book written by a European Eitel, a German missionary and educator, was the first European to wirte a book about the Chinese knowledge of Fung Shui (geomantic aspects). The book was titled “What Is Feng-Shui?: The Classic Nineteenth-Century Interpretation”.
1880.08.31	Eitel, Ernest John 歐德理	Naturalized British subject Naturalized British subject Eitel, a German missionary belonged the Basel Mission, became closely associate with the Hong Kong government. Official positions he held included Inspector of School and Chinese Secretary. His British subject entitlement, as in the case of all persons naturalized in Hong Kong, was only good within the confines of the Colony.
1975	Elizabeth Alexandra Mary	Visit by the Queen of Great Britain Visit by the Queen of Great Britain Queen Elizabeth II was the first reigning British monarch who visited Hong Kong.
1997.01.25	Fan Hsu Lai-tai, Rita 范徐麗泰	Legislative Council [Provisional] President Legislative Council [Provisional] President Fan was the first and only president of the Provisional Legislative Council which was established on December 21, 1996 and dissolved on June 30, 1998. The seat of the council between its inauguration and June 30, 1997 was Huaxia Art Centre in Shenzhen 深圳市華夏藝術中心 becasue the provisional legislature was declared illegal in Hong Kong by the colonial government which ceased to exist on July 1, 1997.
1998.07.01	Fan Hsu Lai-tai, Rita 范徐麗泰	Legislative Council President, post-colonial Legislative Council President, post-colonial Fan was the first president (speaker) of the post-colonial Legislative Council. She was also the first woman to be elected president in the history of the council.
1991.10.05	Fan Sheung-tat, Dr. 范上達	Organ transplant, liver Organ transplant, liver Fan, who preformed the procedure, was Chair Professor of Surgery of HKU and Chief of Hepatobiliary Surgery and Liver Transplantation at Queen Mary Hospital.
1946	Farrell, Roy Clinton	Airline company [and flag carrier] Airline company [and flag carrier] Farrell, Texan aviator, co-founded Hong Kong's first airline company (and flag carrier): Cathay Pacific; the other co-founder was Sydney de Kantzow. Farrell was previously a China National Aviation Company (CNAC) pilot, , as was de Kantzow.
1920.03.10	Fok Hing-tong 霍慶棠	YWCA YWCA Fok was the lead promoter and founder of the Young Women's Christian Association in Hong Kong. Her keen supporters had included her sister Fok Shui-yue 霍絮如, close friends Cathrine (Katie) Woo 胡素貞 (Principal of St. Paul's Girl School) and Ng Bik-yuen 吳鐾絃. The association, when established, had 81 founding members and 12 founding Board Members. Fok was the wife of Sincere Department owner Malaysian Chinese Ma Ying-piu 馬應彪.
1920	Fok Hing-tong 霍慶棠	Department store female salesclerk Department store female salesclerk Fok, the wife of Sincere Department Store Ma Ying-piu 馬應彪, wanted women to work as salesclerks in her establishment but nobody applied for the position since until then it had been a male-only domain. She then worked as a salesclerk herself to set an example; consequently new female recruits were successfully made.
2006	Fok Kin-ning, Canning 霍建寧	Taxpayer, 100 million dollars Taxpayer, 100 million dollars Fok was widely believed by the local press as Hong Kong's first resident to have paid more than 100 million dollars in income ta, which took place in fiscal 2005. Fok wass the group managing director of Hutchison Whampao.
1845.08.01	Fung Attai 馮亞蒂	Opium monopoly, Chinese holder Opium monopoly, Chinese holder George Duddell and Alexander Martin Matheson, joint holders of Hong Kong's first opium monopoly surrendered it after three months since they were unable to enforce the monopoly. The one year license was again up for auction and was won by Fung and his partner Loo Aqui 盧亞貴. The rate they paid was $1,710 per month, exactly $1,000 more than Duddell and Matheson had paid.
1844.02.24	Haly, Capt. George Thomas 希利	Police Superintendent Police Superintendent Haly, a captain in the 41st Madras Native Infantry, was seconded to the Hong Kong Government to run the police force.
1945.09.01	Harcourt, Adm. Cecil Halliday Jepson 夏慤	Governor, military [British] Governor, military [British] Harcourt, Royal Navy Admiral in command of the 11th Aircraft Carrier Squadron, rushed to Hong Kong immediately after the surrender speech by Emperor Hirohito was broadcast on August 15, 1945 with the aim to reoccupy Hong Kong. According the division of war theater, Hong Kong was within the control of the U.S. forces, to which the Japanese was supposed to surrender. Meanwhile, ROC military representatives were also standing by to take over Hong Kong from the would be U.S. occupy force (according to the unbinding understand between the U.S. and ROC governments). Harcourt managed to get to Hong Kong first and took it over from the Japanese.
1848.03.08	Harland, Dr. William Aurelius	Chloroform anesthesia application Chloroform anesthesia application Harland performed the first surgical operation in Hong Kong with the use of chloroform as anesthesia at the Seamen's Hospital at which he was the surgeon. The world's first chloroform application on a human was conducted by Scottish obstetrician James Young Simpson on November 4, 1847, or four months before Harland's administration.
1867	Hellend, George Johann	HSBC Chairman, Norwegian national HSBC Chairman, Norwegian national Helland was a senior partner with the opium firm, John Burd and Co. He was vice chairman of the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce in 1869. He was consul of Denmark, Sweden, and his own country in Hong Kong at various time.
1864	Ho Fuk-tong, Rev. 何福堂	Protestant minister, Chinese Protestant minister, Chinese Ho was ordained by the London Missionary Society. (read biography)
1879	Ho Kai, Dr. 何啟	Medical degrees received by a locally-born Chinese Medical degrees received by a locally-born Chinese Ho, son of Hong Kong's first Protestant minister Ho Fuk-tong, received the MBCM (Bachelor of Medicine and Master of Surgery) degrees from the University of Aberdeen.
1881	Ho Kai, Dr. 何啟	Anglo-Chinese marriage Anglo-Chinese marriage Ho married Alice Walkden in London. The bride was the daughter of John Walkden, a member of the Lower House. The couple returned to Hong Kong in 1882. Alice Ho Kai died on June 8, 1884 from typhoid shortly after given birth to a daughter. In memory of his wife, Ho made a donation to the London Missionary Society to construct a building on Hollwood Road that will house a hospital. The hospital was thus named Alice Memorial Hospital 雅麗氏利濟醫院.
1892	Ho Kai, Dr. 何啟	CMG awarded to a Chinese CMG awarded to a Chinese Ho was the first Chinese to be made a Companion of St. Michael and St George.
1902	Ho Ko-tsun, Dr. 何高俊	Bacteriologist's assistant, Chinese Bacteriologist's assistant, Chinese Ho was a 1901 licentiate of the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese. (read biography)
1922	Ho Ko-tsun, Dr. 何高俊	Hong Kong Sanitarium Chairman Hong Kong Sanitarium Chairman Ho was the founding chairman of Hong Kong Sanatorium 養和醫院, which was known at the time as the Yeung Wo Nursing Home 養和療養院 . The hospital is the first independent hospital established by Chinese. (read biography)
1881	Ho Lai Shi 何黎氏	Taxpayer, top woman Taxpayer, top woman Ho Lai Shi, widow of the Rev. Ho Fuk-tong and mother of Ho Kai, was the first woman to be listed as a top taxpayer. She ranked 7th in the top 20 top taxpayers list for fiscal 1881; she was taxed $5,868. HSBC paid $3,938 in tax and ranked 10th in 1876; it dropped out of the list by 1881. The Rev. Ho, in addition to performing his pastoral duties as Hong Kong's first Chinese Protestant minister, was very successful in land speculation dealings, from which a family fortune had been accumulated.
1898	Ho Nai-hop, Dr. 何乃合	Medical Officer for the New Territory Medical Officer for the New Territory Ho was a 1898 licentiate of the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese.
1887.08.23	Ho Shan-po, Wyson 何神保	Solicitor, Chinese Solicitor, Chinese Ho (d.1898) practiced as solicitor, conveyancer, and proctor at #61, Queen's Road Central. He was the son of the Rev. Ho Fuk-tong and Ho Lai Shi; and the brother of Ho Kai, who also had a law degree but had never practiced.
1842.08.10	Ho Wai	Homicide victim Homicide victim Ho, a house painter, was the victim of the first known murder case in Hong Kong. He was slayed by his business partner in the home decoration business Ah Nam. An autopsy, the second ever in Hong Kong, was performed by government pathologist, Dr. [s.n.] Lunn.
1922	Ho-tung, Clara (nee Cheung) 張靜蓉	Dog's home Dog's home Clara, co-wife of Robert Ho-tung, commonly known as Lady Clara, donated money to build Hong Kong's first dogs' home. It was ran by SPCA and situated at Waterloo Road.
1954	Love is a Many-Splendored Thing	Academy Award winning film on location Academy Award winning film on location The 1955 20th Century-Fox film was shot almost entirely on location in Hong Kong. The hospital in the film was the quarters of the Foreign Correspondents' Club at Conduit Road, which until 1951 was the private residence of Mok Kon-sang 莫幹生, who was the last comprador of John Swire and Sons. Two other favorite locations used in the film were Repulse Bay Hotel and the Tai-pak Floating Restaurant. The famous hilltop scenes were in fact shot on location at Topanga Canyon, California. The film won three Academic Awards in 1956 out of five nominations.
1847	Huang Kuan 黃寬	Chinese to study in the West Chinese to study in the West Huang, a student of the Morrison Education Society School in Hong Kong, went to the U.S. with headmaster and missionary Samuel Robbins Brown. He matriculated at the Monson Academy in Massachusetts in 1847 and received a degree in literature in 1849. Monson Academy was the forerunner of Wilbraham & Manson Academy which is still running today.
1857	Huang Kuan, Dr. 黃寬	Doctorate degree, Chinese Doctorate degree, Chinese Huang, who was the first Chinese to study in the U.S., went to Scotland in 1849 and their he matriculated at the University of Edinburgh to study medicine. He received the Bachelor of Medicine degree in 1855 and the Doctorate in Medicine degree in 1857. Huang was appointed acting superintendent of the Hong Kong Government Civil Hospital on December 15, 1860.
1844.02.09	Hulme, John Walter 休姆	Chief Justice Chief Justice
1847.12.30	Hulme, John Walter 休姆	Chief Justice suspended on charges of habitual drunkenness Chief Justice suspended on charges of habitual drunkenness He was reinstated in 1848 and stayed on until his retirement in 1858.
1851	Humberg, Rev. Theodore 韓山文	Church, Protestant [for Hakka] Church, Protestant [for Hakka] Humberg, a Swedish Protestant missionary, established a church for a congregation made up of only Hakka people. Proceedings of church service were carried out by using the Hakka dialect.
1902.02	Hunter, Dr. William	Bacteriologist Bacteriologist Hunter died suddenly on June 9, 1909. (read biography)
1901	Irving, Edward Alexander 伊榮	Education Director Education Director Irving was previously an inspector of school. He was a former Registrar of HKU.
1921	Irving, Rachel Mary Margaret 艾惠珠	University [local] female students University [local] female students Rachel Irving was the daughter of Edward Alexander Irving, Director of Education. She matriculated as a third year student at the Department of Arts, and as one of the first three female students HKU had ever admitted. The other two were Irene Ho-tung and Lai Po-cheun.
1923	Irving, Rachel Mary Margaret 艾惠珠	University [local] female undergraduate University [local] female undergraduate Irving received a Bachelor of Arts degree.
1923.06.01	Irving, Rachel Mary Margaret 艾惠珠	Juvenile Labor Inspector, woman Juvenile Labor Inspector, woman The position belonged to the Sub-Industrial Department in the government.
1945.09.25	Jackson, Herbert W.	Shark attack, fatal Shark attack, fatal Jackson was a police sergeant. (read full story)
1919.03.04	Johnston, Reginald John Fleming 莊士敦	Chinese Emperor's tutor Chinese Emperor's tutor Johnson, assistant Colonial Secretary between 1899 and 1904, was appointed tutor to Aisin Gioro Puyi 愛新覺羅溥儀 , the last Emperor of China, who's domain had been reduced to the confines of the Forbidden City. Johnson's appointment was made by Hsu Shih-chang (Xu Shichang) 徐世昌, ROC's second president (Beiyang government). Puyi wanted a Western given name, and Henry was the name chosen for him by Johnson. Puyi's wife, Empress Wanrong 郭布羅婉容, took name of Reasa, per Johnson's recommendation, but Puyi gave her instead the name of Elizabeth.
1872.07.16	Norodom, Prohmbarirak	Visit by a reigning king Visit by a reigning king The King of Cambodia arrived Hong Kong on this day in the French Corvette Bourayne. The October 4, 1872 issue of Colonist gave this brief account of his visit: "King Cambodia is visiting Hong Kong. He has been generally feted". The cities he visited officially in addition to Hong Kong were Manila and Singapore. King Norodom Prohmbarirak (Ang Reacheavoddey) ruled Cambodia from 1860 to 1940. The above photo: the King (2nd) was received by the 7th Governor, George Kennedy (1st).
1872.04.16	Kennedy, Arthur Edward 堅尼地	Oath error Oath error Kennedy, the 7th colonial governor, took the wrong oath of allegiance when he was swearing into Office due to an oversight on the part of acting Chief Justice Henry John Ball. A do-over occurred on April 29, 13 days after the wrong oath was taken.
1949.12.01	Koh, Kimmy 高建美	Police sub-inspector, woman Police sub-inspector, woman Koh was recruited from Federation of Malaya. She was promoted to be an inspector in 1952. She retired from HKPF in 1961.
1892	Kong Ying-wah, Dr. 江英華	Medical doctor, locally trained Medical doctor, locally trained Kong was one of the first two licentiates of the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese. The other was Sun Yat-sen. Neither Kong nor Sun was permitted to practice in Hong Kong. Kong went to Sandakan in North Borneo and there he practiced medicine until his death. Sun practiced in Macau and later in Canton until November 1894 and thereafter became a full-time revolutionist.
1975	Koo Hui Mu-pin, Elaine 古許慕彬	Meteorologist, woman Meteorologist, woman Koo was appointed Assistant Director of the Royal Hong Kong Observatory in 1993.
1893	Kwan King-leung, Dr. 關景良	Medical doctor, locally trained, to practice in Hong Kong Medical doctor, locally trained to practice in Hong Kong Kwan was 1893 licentiate of the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese. He was engaged as house surgeon at the Nethersole Hospital between 1893 and 1896. Kwan was the son of Kwan Yuen-cheong, Hong Kong's first local dental practitioner, and Lai A-mui, Hong Kong's first local hospital matron. Kwan was Sun Yat-sen's roommate at the medical college. (read biography)
1840s	Kwan Yuen-cheong 關元昌	Dental practitioner, Chinese Dental practitioner, Chinese Kwan, before moving to Hong Kong to practice dentistry, apprenticed under American dentist named Collins in Canton.
1874.10.14	Kyle, John	Ice-making machine patent Ice-making machine patent Kyle had obtained a patent in England on September 2, 1837 for the ice-making machine he invented. The patent in Hong Kong afforded him exclusive right for this item for the residue of the term of 14 years from the date of his English patent.
1890ca.	Lai A-mui 黎阿妹	Hospital matron, Chinese Hospital matron, Chinese Lai was engaged by the Alice Memorial Hospital, She was the wife of Kwan Yuen-cheong, Hong Kong's first local dental practitioner, and mother of Kwan King-leung, the first locally trained medical doctor to practice in Hong Kong. She was also the quasi-godmother of Sun Yat-sen.
1921	Lai Po-Cheun 賴寶川	University [local] female students University [local] female students Lai was one of the first three women students enrolled in HKU, the other two were Rachel Irving and Irene Ho-tung.. She was admitted to the faculty of medicine and received her Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degrees in 1928. She went on to work for the government as a medical officer. (read biography)
1925	Ho-tung, Irene 何奇姿 (after married Irene Cheng)	University [local] female undergraduate, local University [local] female undergraduate, local Ho-tung received a Bachelor of Arts degree.
1967.08.24	Lam Bun 林彬	Assassination of a radio personality Assassination of a radio personality Lam Bun, of the Commercial Radio Hong Kong, and his first cousin Lam Kwong were attacked by men posing as road maintenance workers while driving to work. They were burned alive in his car; Lam died later that day in hospital, his cousin 6 days later. Lam was very vocal in condemning attacks committed by organized terrorists on his radio show during the 1967 Leftist Riots.
1992	Lam Chek-yuen, Jerry 林淔源	Fire Services Director, Chinese Fire Services Director, Chinese Lam retired from the Fire Services Department in 1995.
1973.05	Lam Kin-ming, Meg 林建明	Beauty pageant live television Beauty pageant live television Miss Beach Pageant 沙灘小姐 was hosted by Rediffusion Television 麗的電視 and was broadcast in real-time. Lam was crowned Miss Beach 1973.
1973	Miss Hong Kong Pageants	Beauty pageants namesake Beauty pageants namesake Two Miss Hong Kong pageants were staged by different organizers within three months of each other. Orient Beauty Pageant 東方選美會 hosted its contest on March 25 at the Grand Ballroom of the Hong Kong Hilton. Deborah Lee 李敏儀 (commonly known as 狄波拉)(photo on the left) was crowned Miss Hong Kong, who then represented Hong Kong in the Miss Asia pageant held in Manila. Television Broadcasts Ltd. (TVB) hosted its contest on June 23 at Lee Theater. Elanie Sung Wing-yin 孫泳恩 was crowned Miss Hong Kong, who went on and compete in Miss Universe 1973 held in Athens. The June 23 event, televised live, was attended by Governor Murray MacLehose 麥理浩. TVB continued to host Miss Hong Kong pageant annually without interruption. Orient Beauty Pageant no longer engaged in any activities under the aegis of Miss Hong Kong after 1973.
1842	Langer, F.	Architect Architect Langer was hired by Jardine, Matheson & Co. to build warehouses at East Point (present day Causeway Bay). He died on October 30, 1842, about two months after he arrived in Hong Kong.
1966	Lee Ching-chee, Rev. 李清詞	Protestant minister, woman Protestant minister, woman Lee was ordained by the Church of Christ in China.
1946.06.23	Lee Choi-fat 李裁法	Miss Hong Kong pageant Miss Hong Kong pageant Lee organized Hong Kong's first ever beauty contest, Miss Hong Kong pageant, at the Ritz Garden Night Club which he owned. Lee was a gangster and protégé of Shanghai crime boss Du Yuesheng. He was a known enemy collaborator during the Japanese occupation and for which he was arrested after the liberation of Hong Kong. Lee, well connected with people in high places, was quickly acquitted and soon after disappeared from Hong Kong.
1946.06.23	Lee Lan 李蘭	Miss Hong Kong Miss Hong Kong Lee beat the other ten contestants in Hong Kong's first ever beauty pageant and was crowned the first Miss Hong Kong. She went on to become a movie actress.
1921.08.16	Li Siu-fan 李少帆	Assassination on stage Assassination on stage Hired assassin Yeung Ko shot dead popular Cantonese opera comedian Li Siu-fan when the latter was performing in front of a live audience at the Wo Ping Theater 和平戲院. Yeung was caught in a matter of days and was brought to trial on August 19. He was later acquitted due to lack of evidence. Rumor had it that Yeung was hired by military strongman in Canton, General Liu Zhiliu 劉志陸 who had become aware of a lingering affair between his concubine Du Adie 杜阿蝶 and Li. It was said that Yeung was represented by well-known barrister, Francis Charles Jenkin. Jenkin was the father of movie actress Wendy Barrie who was born in Hong Kong.
1986.12.13	Leong Ka-hong, Dr. Milton 梁家康	Test tube baby Test tube baby Leong, obstetrician with the In Vitro Fertilization Center, Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital, was responsible for the birth of Hong Kong's first IVF baby. Louise Joy Brown, an English woman, was born on July 25, 1978 as the world's first human conceived through in vitro fertilization. Accroding to a 2012 BBC article, five million test tube babies have been born around the world. Leong is presently an Adjunct Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology in McGill University, Canada.
2005	Leung Ko May-yee, Margaret 梁高美懿	HSBC Group General Manager, woman HSBC Group General Manager, woman
2009.05.06	Leung Ko May-yee, Margaret 梁高美懿	Bank CEO, woman Bank CEO, woman Leung, previously HSBC Group General Manager, was appointed CEO of the Hang Seng Bank. HSBC owns roughly 62% of HSB. She stepped down on May 11, 2012.
1975	Leung Ping-chung, Dr. 梁秉中	Organ replantation, hand Organ replantation, hand Leung, Professor of Orthopaedics & Traumatology, Chinese University of Hong Kong, performed replantation procedures of a chopped off hand at wrist level at Kwong Wah Hospital. The patient was an 82-year-old woman.
1957	Leung Shun-yin, Lily 梁舜燕	TV actress TV actress Leung took the leading role in Hong Kong's first TV drama series "A Blessed Family" 幸福的家庭. The soap opera was a Rediffusion Television 麗的電視 production.
1989.06	Leung Wai-yu 梁慧瑜	Bus driver, woman Bus driver, woman Leung joined Kowloon Motor Bus with 11 other female trainees. All 12 passed the training and were hired by KMB to become Hong Kong's first female bus drivers. Leung retired in September 2008 after having served the community for 19 years. She became Hong Kong's first female bus driver to retire after having reached the company regulated retirement age. KMB had 88 female drivers by the end of 1989, the number reached 484 in 2008, representing 6% of the total driving team.
1948	Li Tso Sau Kwan, Ellen 李曹秀群	Justice of the Peace, woman Justice of the Peace, woman Li, wife of Dr. Li Shu-pui, was a women's rights activist and philanthropist. She was founder of the Women's Club and the Hong Kong Council of Women.
1948	Li Tso Sau Kwan, Ellen 李曹秀群	CBE awarded to a Chinese woman CBE awarded to a Chinese woman Li was the first woman of Chinese descent to be made a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.
1965.06.23	Li Tso Sau Kwan, Ellen 李曹秀群	Legislative Council member, woman Legislative Council member, woman ddd
1912.07.04	Li Hon-hung 李漢雄	Assassination attempt on a colonial governor Assassination attempt on a colonial governor Li fired a single shot at Francis Henry May at close range but missed. May had just landed in Hong Kong to assume office as the 15th Governor and was being transported in a sedan chair. He was shot at in front of the new General Post office on Connaught Road (present day World Wide House). Li was arrested, tried and sentenced to life imprisonment with hard labor. On June 13, 1918, May pardoned Li who had only served six years in jail.
1984.06.01	Li Kwan-ha 李君夏	Police Senior Assistant Commissioner, Chinese Police Senior Assistant Commissioner, Chinese
1985	Li Kwan-ha 李君夏	Police Deputy Commissioner, Chinese Police Deputy Commissioner, Chinese
1989.12.02	Li Kwan-ha 李君夏	Police Commissioner, chinese Police Commissioner, Chinese Li retired in December 1994 and soon landed in a job advising Li Ka-shing's Cheung Kong Holdings and Hutchison Whampoas on security matters.
1997	Li Kwan-ha 李君夏	Police [former] Commissioner CPPCC appointment Police [former] Commissioner CPPCC appointment Li was appointed a member of PRC's Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
2007.07.18	Li Kwok-po, David 李國寶	Bank CEO investigated by sec in usa Bank CEO investigated by SEC in USA Li, chairman and CEO of Bank of Asia and a former director of Dow Jones & Co., was investigated by the Untied States Securities and Exchange Commission on insider dealing charges. Li paid US$8.1 million to settle the case in January 2008. He resigned from the Executive Council, the cabinet of Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang, soon after the settlement was announced. Li acted as Tsang's election campaign manager in the Chief Executive Election in 2005.
1930s	Li Po-chun 李寶椿	Rolls Royce Rolls Royce Li, businessman and philanthropist, owned Hong Kong's first Rolls Royce.
1944.01.25	Li Tim-oi, Rev. Florence 李添嬡	Anglican Church priest, woman Anglican Church priest, woman Li was ordained by Donald Hall, Bishop of Victoria. Her ordination brought about certain controversy. Li surrendered her priest's license in 1946 but kept her holy orders as means to defuse the controversy.
1962.08	Ling Tsui Yuen-yuen 林徐婉圓	Asian Games medalist Asian Games medalist Ling won a silver medal in Tennis Women's Double in the 4th Asian Games held in Jakarta. Her partner was Ranjani Jayasuriya of Sri Lanka.
1910	Liu Shifu 劉思複	Assassination squad Assassination squad Liu, republic revolutionary and the best known anarchist in China in his time, organized an assassination squad he named China Assassination Corps 支那暗殺團, aim to take the lives of Qing civil and military officers suppressing the revolution. The squad's first hideout was at #16 Bonham Road.
1845.07	Loo Aqui 盧亞貴	Opium monopoly, Chinese holder Opium monopoly, Chinese holder Loo and partner Fung Attai 馮亞蒂 bid the one year license for the sum of $1,710. Lo was a known confederate of pirates, and a major supplier to the British expedition during the Opium War. He was indicted (absentee) in Qing China as an enemy collaborator but was acquitted under the provision of Article 9 of the Treaty of Nanking. Following the British possession of Hong Kong, Loo was rewarded with extensive grants in land at the Lower Bazaar area. Loo rose to prominence in the colony as a founder of Man Mo Temple and the largest Chinese landowner in mid 1840s. Loo also ran the largest gambling and prostitution outfits in Hong Kong.
1961	Lo, Helen Andrene 羅凱倫 (Helen A. Roe after 1st marriage, Helen A. Griffiths after 2nd marriage)	Law firm owner, woman Law firm owner, woman Lo, a solicitor, began to practice in Hong Kong in 1959 and established her own firm, Helen A. Lo & Co., in 1961, as the first female solicitor to do so in Hong Kong. Her firm was incorporated into Stevenson, Wong & Co., solicitors and notaries, in 1991.
1986	Lo, Helen Andrene 羅凱倫 (Helen A. Roe after 1st marriage, Helen A. Griffiths after 2nd marriage)	Judge, woman Judge, woman Lo was appointed a district court judge, the first woman appointed to a full-time judicial post. She previously sat as a deputy judge in the District Court for six weeks in 1985. Lo was the daughter of Lo Hin-shing 羅顯勝 who was the Chief Magistrate between 1964 and 1970.
1960	Lo Hin-shing 羅顯勝	Bar Association Chairman, chinese Bar Association Chairman, Chinese Lo, a Middle Temple barrister, was the first Chinese elected chairman of the Hong Kong Bar Association. He was the father of Helen Andrene Lo 羅凱倫, Hong Kong's first female judge.
1951	Yu Shuk-siu, Patirck 余叔韶	Crown Counsel, Chinese Crown Counsel, Chinese Yu, a Lincoln Inn barrister (1950), practice briefly in London and Kuala Lumpur before returning to Hong Kong. He resigned from the Crown Counsel position in 1953 and went into private practice.
1992	Leong, Jacqueline Pamela 梁冰濂	Bar Association Chairman, woman Bar Association Chairman, woman Leong was admitted to practice as a barrister in Hong Kong in 1971 and was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1990. She was a former president of the Hong Kong Federation of Women Lawyers (1975-80).
1948ca.	Loseby, Patricia J.	Solicitor, woman Solicitor, woman Loseby was a sailing legend; as a child, she had lived, for some time, with her parents at the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club. There remains a room at the club that is named after her. She was the daughter of Francis Henry Loseby and Rosa Maria Brown. F.H. Loseby was the legal adviser of Ho Chi Minh when the latter was detained in Hong Kong between 1931 and 1933, at the request of the French government. The Losebys visited (North) Vietnam in 1960 at Ho's invitation. (Photo above: Loseby sat between Ho Chi Minh and his father)
1922	Loseby, Rosa Maria (nee Brown)	Dog's home Dog's home Loseby ran Hong Kong's first dogs' home, a SPCA facility donated by Clara Ho-tung. She was the mother of Patricia J. Loseby, Hong Kong's first female solicitor.
1894.05.08	Lowson, Dr. James Alfred 婁遜	Plague case, diagnostic physician Plague case, diagnostic physician The Sanitary Board became aware, on April 26, 1894, of an overwhelming numbers of sick and dead in Canton. Lowson, medical officer in charge of Epidemic Hospital and acting superintendent of the Government Civil Hospital and Lunatic Asylums, was sent there to assess the situation. Upon his return, he told the Board that Canton was very likely infected by plague and the infection of Hong Kong was imminent. On May 8, 1894, he diagnosed the first case of bubonic plague at the Government Civil Hospital. The patient's name was Ah Hung.
1894.05.10	Barker, George Digby 白加	Foul bill of health Foul bill of health Barker, who took office as the Acting Administer of Hong Kong on April 30, 1894, declared Hong Kong as a port infected by epidemic. Hong Kong's first ever foul bill of health, which had an effective period of one month, was issued on May 10, 1894 following the diagnosis of the city's first bubonic plague case on 8th instant at the Government Civil Hospital. 20 additional cases were discovered on the same day at the Tung Wah Hospital. By July 21, 1894, there had been 2,442 deaths. Barker was the Commander of British arm forces in Hong Kong and China. Parker Road on the Peak was named in his honor.
1842	Lunn, Dr. [s.n.]	Autopsy Autopsy Dr. Lunn, probably a military surgeon, performed, upon request of family of the deceased, an autopsy on the body of Nga Lok-po. The family suspected Nga, a Chinese woman, had died from poisoning. Lunn determined the cause of death was “Visitation of God”
2009	Ma Hon-yeung 馬漢揚	Insider trading conviction Insider trading conviction Ma, formerly a vice president of BNP Paribas Capital, was sentenced to 26 months imprisonment on insider trading charges.
1844	Martin, Robert Montgomery	Colonial Treasurer Colonial Treasurer Martin (b.1803-d.1868) said the following of Hong Kong in 1844, "There does not appear the slightest probability that, under any circumstances, Hong Kong will ever become a place of trade. It is worse than folly to persist in a course begun in error, and which, if continued, must eventually end in disappointment and in national loss and degradation." He left Hong Kong in 1845.
1992.12.07	Mok Chi-keung, Dr. 莫志強	Organ transplant, heart, surgeon Organ transplant, heart Mok, Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery of HKU, performed Hong Kong's first heart transplant operation at the Grantham Hospital. He was the President of the Hong Kong Cardiological Society in 1985.
1992.10.07	Chiu Wan-hoi 趙云開	Organ transplant, heart, patient Organ transplant, heart, patient Chiu received Hong Kong's first heart transplant at the Granham Hospital when he was 48 year old. He is alive and well today. The donor was 21 old.
1843.08.29	Morrison, John Robert 馬儒翰	Legislative Council member died in office Legislative Council member died in office Morrison, appointed one of the first three members of the Legislative Council on August 21, 1843, died eight days later. He was 28 years old. Morrison was the only member in the history of the council who had never attended any meeting.
1847	Morrison, Dr. William	Colonial Surgeon appointed by Home Government Colonial Surgeon appointed by Home Government Morrison was the first Colonial Surgeon appointed by the Home Government. All previous office holders were engaged locally.
1943	Morse, Arthur 摩士	HSBC Executive Chairman HSBC Executive Chairman Morse's appointment was a milestone for the institution of the chair of the HSBC board of director. Before him, non-executive members of the board of directors were empowered to appoint one of their own as chairman. Pursuant to Morse's engagement, the chairman position has always been filled by a bank executive. The Morse Park 摩士公園 was named in his honor.
1955	Munroe, Florence	Rooftop school Rooftop school Munroe, a missionary of the One Mission Society, was responsible for the establishment of Hong Kong's first primary school using the roof of a government resettlement housing building as classrooms. She was the wife of the Rev. Elbridge Richard Munroe 文玉棠 also of OMS.
1867	Nissen, Agathon Friedrich Woldemar 尼遜	HSBC Chairman, German national HSBC Chairman, German national Nissen was senior partner of the German firm, Siemssen & Co.
1849	d'Esterre Parker, Norcott	Crown Prosecutor accused of piracy Crown Prosecutor accused of piracy d'Esterre Parker was arraigned in the police court on a charge of piracy. The case was summarily dismissed. He and his brother, William, were the first (and only) siblings to fill the position of crown prosecutor in succession; Norcott first, then William.
1996.01.22	Leung Man-kin, Michael 梁文建	ICAC Commissioner, Chinese ICAC Commissioner, Chinese Leung was previously the Secretary for Transport and secretary for Education and Manpower. He retired in 1997 and a year later landed in a private sector job as deputy chairman of administration of K.Wah International Holdings. K.Wah had an impressive collection of former government employees in its payroll including Hui Ki-on, Eddie 許淇安 who joined the company in 2003 after retiring as Police Commissioner in 2001, and Lam Kwong-yu, Albert 林光宇 who joined the company in 2008 after retiring as Director General of Civil Aviation in 2004.
1997.04.01	Yam Kwan Pui-ying, Lily 任關佩英	ICAC Commissioner, woman ICAC Commissioner, Woman Yam, former Commissioner for Transport (1995-97),was also the first post-colonial ICAC chief.
2013.07	Tong Hin-ming, Timothy 湯顯明	ICAC [former] Commissioner, investigated by ICAC ICAC [former] Commissioner, investigated by ICAC Tong, the longest serving ICAC Commissioner (2007 to 2012), became the target of criminal investigation by the ICAC after he was exposed by the media of irregularities on his business-related entertaining. It was discovered that he approved dinner expenses which exceeded the agency limit for dinners he himself hosted, that he had dinner bills split to dodge overspent, that he stocked up expensive liquors using agency funds, etc. Questions were also raised on the reasons behind his frequent fraternizing, on agency expenses, with PRC officials whose purview had nothing to do with IACA. Tong was appointed a member of PRC's Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) in February 2013.
1861	Perceval (also spelled Percival), Alexander 波斯富	Chamber of Commerce Chairman Chamber of Commerce Chairman Perceval, 7th Tai Pan of Jardine Matheson & Co., was elected the first chairman of the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce. Percival Street was named in his honor.
1885	Poate, Dr. Herbert	Dental surgeon Dental surgeon Poate, Doctor of Dental Surgery, University of Pennsylvania, was Hong Kong's first dental surgeon with a dentistry degree.
1970.12.04	Pope Paul VI	Visit by a pope Visit by a pope Pope Paul VI was the first Pope to have visited Hong Kong
1843.04.05	Pottinger, Maj-Gen Henry Eldred Curwen 砵甸乍	Governor Governor Pottiner, British Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary in China, and Chief Superintendent of British Trade in China, and Major-General in the service of the British East India Company, was appointed the first colonial governor of Hong Kong under the Letters Patent (The Hong Kong Charter) dated April 5, 1843.
1990	Purves, William 浦偉士	HSBC Holdings Group Chairman HSBC Holdings Group Chairman
1882.08	Quincey, William W.	Police inspector, Chinese Police inspector, Chinese Quincey, a Chinese orphan from Jiangsu Province brought up and educated in England, joined the Hong Kong Police Force in October 1870. He was promoted from sergeant to the rank of inspector in August 1882. He was dismissed from HKPF on August 25, 1897 in connection with the worst police scandal since the establishment of the force. His names were given to him by his foster father Charles George Gordon, commonly known as Chinese Gordon. (read full story)
1860.02.29	Rawling, Samuel Bartlett	Reservoir Reservoir The Pok Fu Lam Reservoir, Hong Kong's first drinking water reservoir, was built according to a plan devised by Rawling, clerk of works of the Royal Engineer Department. The Hong Kong government organized a contest (announced on October 15, 1859, offering a cash prize of $1,000) for solutions to deal with shortage of drinking water in the city. Rawling's scheme came on top; other competitors included Sherman Godfrey Bird and J. Walker.
1903.12.16	Reid, Thomas H. 黎德	Journalistic association Journalistic association Reid, China Mail editor, was elected the inaugural president of the the first society of journalists in Hong Kong. The association was also the first in the Far East. Other members of the inaugural committee included Philip Walsingham Sergeant of Daily Press, Douglas Story of South China Post, William Henry Donald of China Mail, and Ernest Alan Snewin of Hong Kong Telegraph, who also served as the Honorary Secretary and Treasurer. The committee inaugurated on January 6, 1904.
1866.02.12	Rennie, William Hepburn	HSBC audit HSBC audit HSBC's first annual report was published at the general meeting of shareholders on this day. Rennie, Auditor General of the Hong Kong Government, co-audited first year's (partial year 1865) account of HSBC; the bank made a profit of $225,055.93, achieving an ROEC of approximately 9%. The other co-auditor was American tea merchant, Caleb Tangier Smith.
1965	Rodrigues, Dr. Alberto Maria	Medical societies, federation Medical societies, federation Rodrigues, MD, was the inaugural president of Hong Kong's first federation of medical societies: the Federation of Medical Society of Hong Kong.
1884	Ryrie, Phineas	Jockey Club Chairman Jockey Club Chairman
1873	Sasson, Solomon David	HSBC Chairman, Indian of Iraqi Jewish descent HSBC Chairman, Indian of Iraqi Jewish descent
1901	Shewan, Robert Gordon 休恩	Electricity company, Kowloon Electricity company, Kowloon Shewan was the founder and inaugural chairman of China Light and Power (CLP), the first electricity company on Kowloon side. He was chairman of HSBC in 1902.
1932	Shewan, Robert Gordon 休恩	Lawsuit, severance pay Lawsuit, severance pay Shewan, being ousted by principal shareholders of China Light and Power, the Kadoorie family, after serving more than 30 years as its chairman, asked for a severance of $1 million. The Kadoories thought he was out of his mind and brought the matter to the court of law. The court ruled in favor of Shewan and ordered CLP to pay him $2 million instead.
1904	Sibree, Dr. Alice Deborah (after married Alice Hickling) 西比	Medical doctor, woman Medical doctor, woman Sibree, an obstetrician, was engaged by the Alice Memorial Maternity Hospital.
1866.02.12	Smith, Caleb Tangier	HSBC audit HSBC audit HSBC's first annual report was published at the general meeting of shareholders on this day. Smith, a tea merchant from Long Island, co-audited, together with Government Auditor General, William Hepburn Rennie, first year's (partial year 1865) account of HSBC.
1850	Smith, Rev. George	Anglican Church Bishop Anglican Church Bishop Smith, Bishop of Victoria, was the first Bishop of the Anglican Church in Hong Kong.
1870	Smith, Grant	Ferry [cross harbor] by steam launch Ferry [cross harbor] by steam launch Grant bought a steam launch from England and shipped it to Hong Kong with which he ran a cross-harbor ferry service between Praya and Tsim Sha Tsui. He named the boat “Morning Star”. An Indian baker on the island, Dorabjee Nowrojee, bought the launch from Smith in 1880 to deliver bakery products to customers in Kowloon and ships anchored in the harbor. He soon began ferrying goods for others and then people and subsequently made the ferry service a standalone business, which became known as the Star Ferry from 1898.
1862.03.04	Stewart, Frederick 史釗域	School [public] headmaster School [public] headmaster Stewart was the founding headmaster of the Government Central School. He was appointed a member of the Board of Examination on July 9, 1864. Stewart was made Colonial Secretary in 1887, a position he held until his death in 1889. Stewart Road 史釗域道 was named in his honor. Stewart (2nd front row) posted in the above photo with the faculty and the students of the Government Central School.
1949	Sheldon, Harold	Bar Association Bar Association The Hong Kong Bar Association was established in 1949, Sheldon as elected its inaugural chairman.
1921	Stubbs, Reginald Edward 司徒拔	SPCA parton SPCA parton Stubbs, 16th Colonial Governor, was the first patron of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
1892	Sun Yat-sen, Dr. 孫逸仙	Medical doctor, locally trained Medical doctor, locally trained Sun was one of the first two licentiates of the Hong Kong Medical College of Medicine for Chinese. The other was Kong Ying-wah. Sun graduated with excellent grade and was the joy and pride of the founders and teachers of the college. Neither he nor Kong was premitted to practice in Hong Kong. Sun practiced in Macau and later in Canton until November 1894, whereupon he gave up medicine for good and became a full-time revolutionist.
1865.03.03	Sutherland, Thomas 修打蘭	Bank [local] founder Bank [local] founder Sutherland, Superintendent of Japan and China Agencies of Peninsular and Oriental Steamship Company, was the founder of Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Company, Hong Kong's first local bank. He was 30 years old then.
1865.03.03	Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Company	Bank, local Bank, local The founding of HSBC, Hong Kong's first local bank was promoted by Thomas Sutherland, the chief representative of P&O SN Co., and 13 other European, American and Parsi residents of Hong Kong. They were: Francis Chomley (Chairman, Dent and Co.), William Adamson (Manager, Borneo Co., Ltd.), Robert Brand (Smith Kennedy and Co.), Rustomjee Dhunjeeshaw (P.F. Cama and Co.), Pallanjee Framjee (P. and A. Camajee and Co.), Albert Farley Heard (Augustine Heard and Co.), George Johann Helland (John Burd and Co.), Douglas Lapraik (Douglas Lapraik & Co.), Henry Beverley Lemann (Gilman and Co.), George Francis Maclean (Lyall, Still and Co.), Woldemar Nissen (Siemssen amd Co.), Arthur Sassoon (D. Sassoon, Sons and Co.), and Waldemar Schmidt (Fletcher and Co.). All 13 firms were involved in opium trade in China. The bank was formed in 1864 and was to be operated under Scottish banking principles. As a joint stock company, it was capitalized at $5 million, in 20,000 shares of $250 each. A rumor remains that Qing China was a major subscriber. HSBC opened for business in Hong Kong on March 3, 1865. The above is a 1900 photo of the interior of the bank.
1952.07	Sze Tsung-sing, Dr. 施正信	WHO official WHO official Sze, founding Professor of Social Medicine at HKU, was engaged by the World Health Organization as Medical Officer of Social and Occupational Health. He was based in Geneva. He resigned from WHO in 1966 after being accused of being a threat to the national security of Switzerland and was named persona non grata by the Swiss Government. He turned down a WHO offer to post him in another country and went to China where he later became a senior PRC official and a member of CPPCC. (read full story)
1984	Tang Chi-chien, Jack 唐驥千	Chamber of Commerce Chairman, Chinese Chamber of Commerce Chairman, Chinese Tang was the chairman of South Sea Textile Manufacturing Company.
1932	Teo Soon Kim 張舜琴	Barrister, woman Barrister, woman Teo, before moving to Hong Kong, had practiced in Singapore since 1929 and was the first woman barrister to practice in the Straits Settlement. She was the daughter of Teo Eng Hock 張永福, an active supporter and fund raiser of Sun Yat-sen.
1982.09.26	Thatcher, Margaret Hilda	Visit by a sitting British Prime Minister Visit by a sitting British Prime Minister
1920	Thomas, Dr. George Harold 譚嘉士	Doctorate in Medicine awarded by a local university Doctorate in Medicine awarded by a local university Thomas was also the first person to ever receive a doctorate degree from a university in Hong Kong.
1947	Thomas, Dr. George Harold 譚嘉士	Medical Services Director [acting], locally-born Medical Services Director [acting], locally-born Thomas held that position between 1947 and 1949. The office of Director of Medical Services was unfilled during the same period.
1899	Tse Tsan-tai 謝纘泰	Cartoonist Cartoonist The cartoon Tse created was Shi Guk Tsuen To 時局全圖 (the situation in the Far East) - a map of China infested by different animals symbolizing areas in China occupied by foreign powers. The Sydney-born Tse was a founder of the South Qing Morning Post, the predecessor of the South China Morning Post.
1843.06.07	Tucker, Dr. Alfred Green Gayton	Hospital ship surgeon Hospital ship surgeon Tucker, Royal Navy surgeon, was the ship's surgeon of HMS Minden which arrived in Hong Kong on June 7, 1843 to serve as a hospital ship.
1845.05.13	Tucker, Dr. Alfred Green Gayton	Medical society Medical society Tucker, surgeon of HMS Minden, Hong Kong's first hospital ship, was elected the inaugural president of the China Medico-Chirurgical Society.
1997.07.01	Tung Chee-hwa 董建華	Chief Executive, Hong Kong SAR Chief Executive, Hong Kong SAR Tung was the son of the richest Chinese shipowner, C.Y. Tung 董浩雲.
1948	Valtorta, Mgr. Enrico Pascal 恩理覺	Roman Catholic Bishop Roman Catholic Bishop
1911.03.18	Van den Born, Charles	Flight [powered] Flight [powered] Van den Born, a Belgian aviator who worked for the French aircraft builder, Henry Farman Company, as text pilot, took off from Sha Tin in one of the three Farman Mark II biplanes that arrived in Hong Kong with him on the steamer Donai. Admissions were charged between 50 cents and three dollars for those who wanted to witness the sensational event - weather permitting. A brisk 30-knot wind had greatly delayed the take off. By the time Van den Born finally took off at 5:10pm, all of the VIPs, including Governor Frederick Lugard and his wife, and the bulk of the paying-spectators had headed back to Kowloon by train.
1843.07.21	Waldron, Thomas Westbrook	Consul of the United States Consul of the United States Waldron was a ship captain's clerk. His consulship was rather short-lived. He was appointed on July 21, 1843 and arrived in Hong Kong in early February 1844. His appointment was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on May 17, 1844 and approved by Queen Victoria on July 23, 1844. He died on September 18 in the same year after contracting cholera in Macau where he was said to travel to on official business. He was buried at the Old Protestant Cemetery in Macau.
1901.01.10	Yeung Ku-wan 楊衢雲	Assassination Assassination Yeung, school headmaster and republic revolutionist, was shot in front of his school at #52 Gage Street. He died the following day. The assassins were emissaries from the Qing government in Canton led by Chen Lin 陳林. The police investigation of Yeung's murder was headed by inspector John William Hanson. The case remained cold for good.
1920	Wan Tun-mo, Dr. 尹端模	Medical society for Chinese Medical society for Chinese Wan, formerly staff surgeon of Nethersole Hospital and Alice Memorial Hospital, went into private practice in 1900. He was elected the inaugural president of the Hong Kong Chinese Medical Association 中華醫學會.
1920	Wang Chungyi, Prof. 王寵益	Professor, Chinese Professor, Chinese Wang, a 1908 licentiate of the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, was appointed Chair Professor of Pathology at HKU. He was also the first Hong Kong Chinese to become a professor.
2006	Wang Kung Yu-sum, Nina 龔如心	Billionaire, woman Billionaire, woman Wang, was the first Hong Kong woman whose name appeared on Forbes' Billionaire List. The magazine placed her net worth at the US$4.2 billion level. The eccentric Wang, always dressed herself in the fashion of a comic strip character and had people address her as “Little Sweetie”, was also the richest woman in Asia. She died in 2007.
1897	Wildman, Rounsevelle	Consul General of the United States Consul General of the United States
1842	Winchester, Dr. Charles Alexander	Government doctor Government doctor Winchester, formerly assistant surgeon of HMS Cornwallis, was made Assistant Surgeon of the (Provisional) Government of Hong Kong. He gave up medicine in the early 1850s and became a full time diplomat. His last position was British Consul General in Shanghai (1865-71).
1850	Winniberg, Jane Tregarthen (nee Curnow)	Milliner Milliner Winniberg was born in the Isles of Scilly, Cornwall, England. She was the wife of Henry Winniberg, the Polish owner of the British Hotel (also known as the Winniberg Hotel) in Graham Street. She returned to Scilly after the death of her husband in Hong Kong in 1866 and ran the Polmennar Cottage in St. Mary's.
1858	Wong Shing 黃勝	Juror, Chinese Juror, Chinese
1989	Wong Tin-chun, Dr. 黃殿春	Dental Association President, woman Dental Association President, woman Wong was elcted the first woman president of the Hong Kong Dental Association.
1988.06.29	Wu Cheng-chung, Mgr. John Baptist 胡振中	Roman Catholic Cardinal Roman Catholic Cardinal Wu was the fifth Roman Catholic Bishop in Hong Kong.
2011	Wu Lai-fong, Anna 胡麗芳	Fire Services Assistant Divisional Officer, woman Fire Services Assistant Divisional Officer, woman
1926	Woo So-ching, Cathrine (Katie) 胡素貞	MBE awarded to a Chinese woman MBE awarded to a Chinese woman Woo, Principal of St. Paul's Girls' College, was made a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire
1933	Woo So-ching, Cathrine (Katie) 胡素貞	Doctorate degree, woman Doctorate degree, woman Woo, Principal of St. Paul's Girls' College, was the first woman in Hong Kong to receive a doctorate degree. She was awarded Doctorate of Education by the University of Southern California.
1974.02.15	Official Languages Ordinance	Chinese as an official language Chinese as an official language The enactment of Ordinance #10 of 1974, titled “Official Language Ordinance” made Chinese an official language, in addition to English, for the purposes of communication between government or any public officer and the general public and for court proceedings except for higher courts. The law stipulates that the two official languages possess equal status. Cantonese, by virtue of its being the most spoken Chinese tongue in Hong Kong, became the (unwritten) official spoken language (dialect). An amendment made in 1995 (#51 of 1995 s.2) standardized Chinese as an official language for all court proceedings. The custom of using English exclusively in court proceedings that lasted 152 years ended in 1995.
1952.01	Yeo Kok-cheang, Dr. 楊國璋	Medical and Health Services Director, Chinese Medical and Health Services Director, Chinese Yeo was president of the Hong Kong Medical Association for 1932. He was married to Florence Ho-tung, a daughter of Robert Ho-tung.
1986	Youde, Edward	Governor died in office Governor died in office Youde was the 26th colonial governor.
1861.05.29	Chamber of Commerce of Hong Kong	Chamber of Commerce Chamber of Commerce There were 62 founding members who joined either under the names of the individuals or firms they represented. They were: Jardine Matheson & Co., Dent & Co., Turner & Co., Russell & Co., The Oriental Bank Corporation, Gibb Livingston & Co., Gilman & Co., Johnson & Co., Lindsay & Co., Fletcher & Co., Smith Kennedy & Co., Augustine Heard & Co., Birley & Co., The Commercial Bank of India, The Agra & United Service Bank, Siemssen & Co., Bull Purdon & Co., A. Ellissen & Co., Gifford & Co., Wetmore Cryder & Co., Vaucher Freres, Koopmanochap & Bosman, Olyphant & Co., Wm Pustau & Co., N. Duus & Co., Phillips Moore &Co., Holliday Wise & Co., Alfred Wilkinson & Co., Lyall Still & Co., Bourjeau Hubener & Co., D. W. MacKenzie & Co., Schaeffer & Co., Edward Gassett, Douglas Lapraik, Nowrojee & Co., R. H. Camajee & Co., P. & D. N. Camajee & Co., P. F. Cama & Co., D. N. Mody & Co., Eduljee Framjee Sons & Co., F. B. Cama & Co., Ruttonjee Framjee Vacha & Co., Jairaz Fazul & Co., Cassumbhoy Nathabhoy Sons &Co., Ameeroodeen Jaffeerbhoy & Co., Jamsetjee Ardasir & Co., The Chartered Bank of India, Australia & China, Walker Borradaile & Co., R. McGregor & Co., Oxford & Co., Smith Archer & Co., David Sassoon Sons & Co., Granville Sharp, M. Pestonjee Setna, Peerbhoy Rowjee, Nanjabhoy Sozon, Adam Scott & Co. of Canton, Reiss &Co of Canton, Margesson & Co. of Canton, John Burd & Co., Stephenson & Co.
1899	Chaung Moon-hung, Dr. 周夢熊	Dental surgeon, Chinese Dental surgeon, Chinese Chaung received a doctorate of dental surgery degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He was the first Chinese student matriculated and graduated from that university. Chaung was one of the first eight dentists registered with the government following the regulation of the practice of dentistry on May 7, 1914. (read biography)
1994	Chan Fung Fu-chun, Dr. Margaret 陳馮富珍	Health Director, woman Health Director, woman
2006.11.09	Chan Fung Fu-chun, Dr. Margaret 陳馮富珍	WHO Director-General WHO Director-General Chan, a former Director of Health, joined WHO in 2003 in the capacity of Director of the Department for Protection of the Human Environment. She held two additional posts before being elected to the top post of WHO, namely, Director, Communicable Diseases Surveillance and Response as well as Representative of the Director-General for Pandemic Influenza (June 2005), and Assistant Director-General for Communicable Diseases (September 2005). She was appointed for a second term in May 2012; her new term will continue until June 30, 2017.
1876.05.18	Ng Choy 伍才 (alias Wu Tingfang 伍廷芳)	Barrister, Chinese Barrister, Chinese Ng, a Lincoln's Inn barrister (1876) was admitted to practice in Hong Kong on May 18, 1877. He was proposed by the Attorney General, George Phillippo.
1879.04.30	Grant, Ulysses Simpson	Visit by a former President of the United States Visit by a former President of the United States He departed on May 12.
1880.01.19	Ng Choy 伍才 (alias Wu Tingfang 伍廷芳)	Legislative Council member, Chinese Legislative Council member, Chinese Ng, the first Chinese barrister admitted in Hong Kong, was appointed, provisionally, a member of the Legislative Council in place of H.B. Gibb. The Queen's confirmation of his appointment was announced on May 29, 1880.
1878	Ng Choy 伍才 (alias Wu Tingfang 伍廷芳)	Justice of the Peace, Chinese Justice of the Peace, Chinese The government deemed it important to put every member of the Hong Kong Bar in the panel of justice of the peace. There were only five barristers practicing in the city at the time, Ng was one of them, hence his appointment.
1926	Chow Shouson 周壽臣	Executive Council member, Chinese Executive Council member, Chinese Shouson Hill was named in his honor.
1997	Leung Oi-sie, Elsie 梁愛詩	Justice Secretary, woman Justice Secretary, woman Leung, said to be a Tung Chee-hwa crony, was a pro-Beijing solicitor specialized in divorce cases. She was the first solicitor appointed to the position. After the handover of sovereignty of Hong Kong, she became the first post-colonial Secretary of Justice.
1941	Wu Zung 胡忠	Taxi boss Taxi boss Wu owned a taxi company with a fleet of more than 40 taxis. He was the father of Gordon Wu 胡應湘, well-known property developer and superstructure builder, and the 38th richest man in Hong Kong in 2010.
1927	Ho-tung, Dr. Eva 何嫻姿	Medical degree awarded by a local university, woman Medical degree awarded by a local university, woman Ho, matriculated to the Faculty of Medicine at HKU in 1922 (which was a year later than the first HKU medical student Lai Po-chuen) received her Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery degrees from the university in 1927. Lai Po-chuen received her MBBS degrees in 1928. Ho was a duaaghter of Robert Ho-tung.
1914.05	Thomas, Dr. George Harold 譚嘉士	Medical degree awarded by a local univesrsity Medical degree awarded by a local univesrsity Thomas, a locally-born Chinese (or Eurasian) of unknown parents, was given the Anglicized name when he attended the Diocesan Boys School. He was a 1912 licentiate of the Hong Kong College of Medicine and received his Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery degrees from HKU in 1914, two years ahead of the university's first congregation.
1959	O'Rorke, Bridget	Administrative Service Cadet, woman Administrative Service Cadet, woman O'Rorke soon left the civil service to married William Rae-Smith, who was then managing director of Cathay Pacific. She might be related to George Bryan O'Rorke who had been with the Hong Kong government for 28 years.
1961.10	Chau Shuet-yeng, Audrey 周雪瑩	Administrative Service Cadet, Chinese woman Administrative Service Cadet, Chinese woman A total of 11 new cadets were recruited, out of which five were locals. Chau was the only woman. A year later two additional female cadets were recruited, Katherine Lo Shiu-ching 羅兆貞 and Anson Fang. Fang, later known as Chan Fong On-sang, Anson, would rise to the top civil service position of Chief Secretary. Chau, a niece of Chau Sik-nin 周錫年, received a Bachelor of Arts degree from HKU in 1961.
1970	Chan Fong On-sang, Anson Maria Elizabeth 陳方安生	Financial Secretary [Assistant], woman Financial Secretary [Assistant], woman Chan was the first woman installed as the assistant head of a governmental department.
1984	Chan Fong On-sang, Anson Maria Elizabeth 陳方安生	Social Welfare Director, woman Social Welfare Director, woman Chan was the first woman installed as head of a governmental department.
1993	Chan Fong On-sang, Anson Maria Elizabeth 陳方安生	Chief Secretary, woman Chief Secretary, woman Chan was also the first Chinese appointed Chief Secretary. Following the handover of sovereignty of Hong Kong in 1997, she became the first post-colonial Chief Secretary.
2007	Chiang Lei-lei, Lily 蔣麗莉	Chamber of Commerce Chairman, woman Chamber of Commerce Chairman, woman
2011	Chiang Lei-lei, Lily 蔣麗莉	Chamber of Commerce Chairman, jailed Chamber of Commerce Chairman, jailed Chiang was indicted by the ICAC in 2008 on fraud-related charges connected to stock manipulation. In 2011, she was sentenced to 42 months imprisonment.
1927	Chau Sik-nin, Dr. 周錫年	Otolaryngologist, Chinese Otolaryngologist, Chinese Chau gave up medicine in 1955 and became a full-time banker. He was the founder of the Hong Kong Chinese Bank 香港華人銀行.
1278	Zhao Shi 趙昰	Emperor's sojourn Emperor's sojourn Zhao, the second from the last emperor of Sung Dynasty, breifly sojourned and later died in Hong Kong. He was the first and only reigning emperor to set foot in Hong Kong.
1992	Cheung Lee Jia-wai, Vivian 張李佳蕙	Airport manager, woman Airport manager, woman Cheung was the general manager of Passenger Terminal One at the Zhuhai Airport in China. She became the Hong Kong CEO of Zhuhai Airport Management Co. (1996-99) and later Deputy President (Hong Kong) of Shanghai Airport Management Co. (2009-12).
1908	Wong Sai-yan, Dr. 王世恩	Medical school in China, founder Medical school in China, founder Wong, a 1895 licentiate of Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, established in Canton the Guangzhou Guonghua Medical College.
2009	Mackay, Maj-Gen Andrew	Police inspector turned army general Police inspector turned army general Mackay, inspector of HKPF (1978-81), joined the British Army in 1982 and was promoted to be a major-general in 2009. He was appointed Governor of Edinburgh Castle in May 2009 but resigned in September the same year.
1998	Poy, Vivienne (nee Lee) 利德蕙	Canadian Senator Canadian Senator Poy, who went from Hong Kong to Canada in 1959, was elected Senator for Toronto. Poy married Neville G. Poy 伍衛權, who is the brother of Adrienne Clarkson 伍冰枝, Governor-General of Canada (1999-2005). Poy was the granddaughter of Lee Hysan, a drug dealer nicknamed “King of Opium”, who was gunned down in broad daylight in Hong Kong. Her father, Richard Charles Lee, was a businessman, lawmaker and Grand Master of the Masonic Order in the Far East.
1912.07.24	May, Francis Henry 梅含理	Cadet turned governor Cadet turned governor May entered colonial service in 1881 as a cadet. 31 years later on July 24, 1912 he sworn in as the 15th colonial governor. Besides May, there were two other governors who started their careers as cadets, namely: Cecil Clementi (1925-30) and Alexander Grantham (1947-57). May was also the first and only former police chief (Police Captain Superintendent, 1893-1902) to be appointed governor. He retired from the colonial service in 1919 due to ill health.
1929	d'Almada e Castro Jr., Leonardo Horacio 廖阿利孖打	Barrister, not Briton; not Chinese Barrister, not Briton; not Chinese d'Almada, a Middle Temple barrister, was admitted to practice in Hong Kong in 1929. He was later appointed a Queen's Council, and became the second Portuguese member of the Legislative Council. He was chairman of the Hong Kong Bar Association for six years. (1951, 1954, 1957, 1959, 1961 and 1962). His father, of the same name, worked for the British trade mission during and after the First Opium War as a clerk and later practiced in Hong Kong as a solicitor.
1843.06.26	Gordon, Alexander Thomas	Surveyor General Surveyor General Gordon was an architect by training; the Seamen's Hospital that opened in 1843 was his design. He was amongst the 44 Britons appointed Justices of the Peace on June 30, 1843.
1841.06.23	Fitzgibbon, Thomas G.	Postmaster Postmaster Fitzgibbon was the first employee of the Hong Kong postal service. The official name of his position was clerk in charge of the post office. He died in October 1841 and was succeeded by D. Mullally.
1936.03.23	British Imperial Airways	Air mail service Air mail service The airliner commenced air mail service in Hong Kong via its London – Australia route.
2008.04.09	Lee, Rev. Raymond 李卓民	Airlines company bankruptcy Airlines company bankruptcy Oasis Hong Kong Airlines Limited 甘泉香港航空有限公司, a low-cost airline founded by Lee and his wife Priscilla Wong 黃慧恂 in February 2005, was liquidated with a loss of $1 billion.
1925.01.24	Kai Tak Airport 啟德機場	Airport Airport The first flight records of the Kai Tak Airport were dated January 24, 1925. The airport was named after city elder Ho Kai 何啟 and Eurasian businessman Sin Tak-fan (alias Stephen Hall) 冼德芬. The land where the airport was reclaimed from the sea. Ho and Sin were the most devoted supporter of the reclamination. The airport was closed forever on July 5, 1998 following the commencement of the new Chek Lap Kok Airport 赤鱲角機場. The above photo, from left to right are Ho Kai and Sin Tak-fan.
1947.06.22	Lai Chi Garden 荔枝園 (later Lai Chi Kok Amusement Park 荔園遊樂場)	Amusement park with mechanical rides Amusement park with mechanical rides The park was established by property developer Shak Chung Shan 石鐘山 and was opened on this day. It was said that the park cost over $1 million to build. Shak sold the park to cotton mill owner Cheung Kwun-kwong 張軍光 and his friends in 1950, who renamed it Lai Chi Kok Amusement Park.
1903.08.28	Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals	Animal welfare organization Animal welfare organization Hong Kong's SPCA was established at a public meeting held in the City Hall. The meeting was chaired by the 19th governor, Henry Arthur Blake, and attended by most of the leading residents in the city. The officers who served in the first committee of the society were: President, Henry Blake; Vice Presidents: William Julius Gascoigne, Charles Grey Robinson, George Smith and Luigi Maria Piazzoli; General Committee, John Miitford Atkinson, Catchick Paul Chater, Charles Wedderburn Dickson, Francis Henry May, Wei Yuk, D. Clarke, Robert Ho-tung, Mowbray Stafford Northcote (Honorary Secretary), Abraham Jacob Raymond, Charles Henderson Ross, Ernest Hamilton Sharp, Nicolaus August Siebs, J.R.M. Smith, Charles Alexander Tomes, and Robert Chatterton Wilcox (Honorary Treasurer).
1950.01.13	Dogs and Cats Regulation	Animal welfare law Animal welfare law Cap 167, section 3 of Ordinance #1 of 1950 titled "Dogs and Cats Regulation" prohibited the slaughter or sale of dogs and cats for food. The law was enacted 47 years after the establishment of SPCA in Hong Kong in 1903.
1900.01.21	Car	Motor car Motor car The Hong Kong Telegraph gave this report in its January 22, 1900 edition, "We notice that Hong Kong has at length become the proud possessor of a motor car. The machine in question is 'built for three' and was much in evidence on the Shau-ki-wan Road yesterday afternoon. It runs a good pace and splutters somewhat in doing so. This, however, is not a drawback, as it warns pedestrians … to give a wide berth."
1905.04.26	Hung B	Motor car accident Motor car accident Hung B was a house cook employed by one Chan Lai-ming of #20 Caine Road and had never driven a car before. On this particular day when Chan was away in the Mainland, Hung took out his employer's car for a drive without his knowledge. When Hung reached Arsenal Street, going in the speed of about 20mph., he lost control of the car and knocked down a man just got off the tram. The victim, Gaetano Passantino, an Italian mechanical engineer, was injured in his leg and consequently received a week-long medical attention. Hung was brought to the magistracy and was fined $30. The car was pushed by four laborers back to Caine Road in the evening of the same day. Passantino then sued Hung and his employer Chan for $200 damages. The case was heard by Justice Sercombe Smith at the Summary Court on May 16. Smith ruled that Chan was not to be held responsible for the negligent act of Hung; and Passantino was entitled to $100 against Hung. Chan was among one of the first Chinese car owners. Chu Pak-ngok 朱伯岳 of the House of Chu Kwong Lan 朱廣蘭號, a famous foodstuff and tobacco company with presence in China, Hong Kong and the Straits Settlement, was also said to own one of the first cars in Hong Kong.
1908.02.12	Marican, Said Abamed	Motor car accident, fatal Motor car accident, fatal Marican, owner of a cycle store, Dragon Cycle Depot, who also imported motor cars into Hong Kong for sales to others, ran down a Chinese man in Queen's Road Central. The man died from fatal injuries caused by the impact of the car. Marican, who gave little reasons to others not to take him for a habitual reckless driver, was brought at the magistracy six months later on August 24 for willfully causing his car to collide with a stationed rickshaw on August 18 outside the Hong Kong Cemetery because the rickshaw was in his way. When asked during the trial if he had been in the magistracy before on similar charges, Marican replied, "No. I once killed a man with a big car. There was no charge." He was ordered by the court to pay the damage in full demanded by the puller, the sum of $2.5. He was also fined $5.
1918.11.14	Bank of East Asia 東亞銀行	Bank [local], capitalized and run by Chinese Bank [local], capitalized and run by Chinese The promoters for the establishment of the Bank of East Asia were Li Koon-chun 李冠春, his kid brother Li Tse-fong 李子方 and friend Kan Tong-po 簡東浦. They were able to secure six other founding members of the bank company, viz: Pong Wai-ting 龐偉庭, Shouson Chow 周壽臣, Chen Ching-shek 陳澄石, Mok Ching-kong 莫睛江, Wong Yun-tong 黃潤棠 and Kan Ying-po 簡英甫. The bank was capitalized at $2 million, with $1.8 million contributed equally by the nine founding members while the outstanding capital was completed though public subscriptions. All founding members became permanent members of the board of directors, with Pong served as the inaugural chairman and Kan Tong-po as the first chief manager. Five additional permanent directors were added in 1921 and they were: Fung Ping-shan 馮平山, Kan Chiu-nam 簡照南, Wong Chu-son (alias Huynh Tai) 黃柱臣, Peter Kingston Kwok Yu-ting 郭幼廷 andNg Chang-luk 吳增祿.
1865.02.05	Gutter Rats Gang 坑渠老鼠	Bank heist Bank heist The Central Bank of Western India 西印度中央銀行 in Central was the target of Hong Kong's first bank heist. The alleged bank robbers, nicknamed the "Gutter Rats Gang" 坑渠老鼠, walked way with $117,000 ($63,000 in case and £11,000 in gold ingots), approximately $60 million in today's value. The case remained cold. The same gang was said to be responsible for burgling the godowns of Smith, Archer & Co., on January 30, 1864 and the jewellery store of Douglas Lapraik on May 16, 1864.
1849.10	Victoria Regatta Club	Boat race Boat race The Victoria Regatta Club held its first meeting ever on this particular day. Regatta and other races were held by the club sporadically until 1890.
1938.02.04	Brands and Products Expo 工展會	Expo to promote local products Expo to promote local products The expo, organized by the Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong, was held at St Paul's College in Central. 40 industrial enterprises took part in the five days event, displaying more than 200 types of products in 86 booths.
1700s	Temple of Water Immortal 水僊古廟	Building erected for religious activities Building erected for religious activities The Temple of Water Immortal in Stanley is the oldest surviving religious building on Hong Kong Island.
1949	Kowloon Motor Bus Company (KMB)	Bus, double-decker Bus, double-decker KMB imported 20 Daimler A (CVG5) double-decker buses and put them on routes running through Nathan Road, the major thoroughfare in Kowloon. The last Daimler A were retired in the 1980s.
1920.01.01	Dragon Motor Car Company	Bus service Bus service The public bus service was provided by Dragon Motor Car, a company engaged in the business of car rental and car sales. Principally, it was a shuttle to transport people between the Hong Kong Hotel in Central and the Repulse Bay Hotel that opened on January 1, 1920. A total of five buses, three small ones and two larger, were put in service; the small ones carried 15 passengers, the larger 21. The charge was $1 per person each way. A trial run was arranged on December 30, 1919 carrying special invited guests including police chief Edward Dudley Corscaden Wolfe 胡樂甫.
1841.05.15	Population of 5,650	Census Census The first Hong Kong census returns a (land based) population of 3,650; an additional 2,000 persons are reported to live on boats. The June 1, 1841 issue of the Friend of China published slightly different census results that listed the settlements on the island with their respective populations: Chek Chu 2,000, Shaukeiwan 1,200, Wong Nai Chung 400, Heung Kong 200, etc., totally some 4,200 people plus 2,000 boat people and 800 shopkeeps in the bazaar. A year later, the local population has more than tripled. The Friend of China and Hong Kong Gazette of March 24, 1842 reported the following results, titled "Native Population of Hong Kong". Queen's Town [later known as Victoria]: chandlers 67 (shops)/402 (souls), butchers 7/56, bakers6/39, confectioners 1/10, greengrocers 4/31, fishmongers 3/17, rice dealers 1/9, eating houses 3/28, apothecaries 6/22, carpenters 17/566, blacksmiths 7/53, silversmiths 2/14, boat-builders 6/59, masons 1/380, bamboo workers 3/43, tailors 14/89, shoemakers 5/28, drapers 4/36, barbers 11/66, stationers 1/2, pawnbrokers 1/8, schoolmasters 2/10, tanners 2/17, washermen 6/42, shroffs 2/12, opium sellers 24/131, prostitutes 23/439, compradors 8/100, bricklayers 500, brickmakers 50, lime-burners 120, ropemakers 10/30, house-painters 30/1366, hawkers 600, in the employ of Europeans 200, having no ostensible employment 500, boat population 2100, total 8181. Chek-chu [later known as Stanley]: 3000. Wang-nei-chung: 200. Hongkong [later known as Aberdeen]: 300. Shek-pei-wan: 200. Soo-koon-poo: 80. In the different hamlets: 400. Grand total:12361.
1913ca.	Traffic hours regulation	Motor car curfew Motor car curfew The running of motor cars was prohibited between 1am and 6am. Violations were subject to a fine of $5.
1909	Vehicle license fees	Motor car tax Motor car tax Motor cars in Kowloon were charged $24 each per year. A half-year driver's license cost $5.
1908.04.03	Musso, Ferdinand	Motor car accident, driver charged for furious driving Motor car accident, driver charged for furious driving Musso, a merchant who resided at #12 Bonham Road and a motor car driver with four years experience, was summoned at the magistracy to answer a charge of furious driving to the danger of human life on March 29. The case was reported by Anthony Alexander Milroy, superintendent of the Sailors' Home and his friends. According to Milroy, his party was riding in rickshaws when encountered Musso on the old Pokfulum Road, whose car had almost collided with the rickshaw in the lead had the puller not made an immediate change of course. Milroy also told the court that his dog was run over by Musso's car but was not hurt. After having heard from witnesses introduced by prosecution and defense, Police Magistrate Francis Arthur Hazeland dismissed the summon. There was, in fact, nothing in the legal ordinances covering a motor car at the time. Fortunately for Hazeland, the testimonies given by the witnesses were largely in Musso's favor, thus avoiding the embarrassment of being challenged by the defense counsel that the proceedings were irregular.
1911.01.27	Nicol, T.M.	Motor car trip, round the Hong Kong Island Motor car trip, round the Hong Kong Island Nicol, accompanied by friends, Harry Newhold and one Gallagher of Belle View Hotel and two others, made a round the island trip in his brand new E-M-F, a 40-horsepower motor car made in the United States. The trip took about three hours to complete but no information was given of the route he took. Nicol, who came from Manila, was to open a garage in Hong Kong; the round the island trip was made with the aim to promote his new endeavor, a business he would name Nicol & Co.
1911.03.20	Angsley Wenrigues	Motor car accident, driver charged for manslaughter Motor car accident, driver charged for manslaughter Wenrigues, a Filipino driver in the employ of hire car company, Nicol & Co., carried two European passengers, a man and a woman, in his motor car on this day when passing by the Jardine's Pier on Connaught Road West, his car struck a Chinese man from behind, who died two hours afterward in the Government Civil Hospital. The victim was a paint scraper who worked in a nearby dockyard. Wenrigues stopped the car, the male passenger got out of the car to examine the victim who was alive and badly needed help. The passenger however quickly re-board and instructed Wenrigues to drive on, fearing that the car and its occupants might be attacked by the mates of the victim. A policeman, who was unable to reach the car in time managed to mark the car number, which was later identified and led to Wenrigues' arrest.
1912.05.31	Bowley, Francis Buimer Lyon	Motor car accident case, mistrial Motor car accident case, mistrial Commodore C.E. Eyres of the Royal Navy, his daughter and acting Colonial Secretary (and future governor) Cecil Clementi were riding on Jubilee Road on May 27, 1912 when a motor car owned by hire car company, Coronation Garage, suddenly appeared around the corner and came very close the riders. According to Eyres, who brought the matter to the magistracy, the driver, as well as failed to sound his horn when turning a corner, was traveling on the wrong side of the road. The driver was charged for furious and dangerous driving. After confirming with Eyres that none of the riders were actually in danger due by the approaching car, defense counsel, Francis Buimer Lyon Bowley, submitted there were no case to answer. His argument was based on the fact that there were no regulations for cars to carry horns, likewise for cars to keep to the left side of the road. Accordingly magistrate Charles Alexander Dick Melbourne immediately discharged the accused.
1912.08	Traffic signs	Traffic signs Traffic signs Two types of traffic signs, made of iron and painted red, were put to use initially: V or half diamond for "proceed slowly and with caution", double V or diamond for "dead slow". They were placed at all danger points where multiple traffic accidents occurred.
1913.04	Overland [#79 (tbc)]	Motor car fitted with electric self starter Motor car fitted with electric self starter The Overland, a coupe with black body, was fitted with a four cylinder 30 horsepower engine. It was imported by Coronation Garage and bought by a Chinese man named Lau Sing-in. Electric starter was invented in 1911 and the first cars to fit with the new starters were the 1912 Cadillac Touring edition.
1914.01.27	Eastern Motor Company	Motor car street race Motor car street race Cars #42 and #44, both cars for hire belonging to the Eastern Motor Company, were racing each other at high speed at around 2:15pm along Wong Nei Chong in Happy Valley while carrying a full load of passengers. Ahead of them was another car, #9, its driver, in reaction to the fast narrowing distance between him and the racing cars, accelerated his car in order, he claimed, to give way to them. Drivers of cars #9 and #44 were prosecuted at the magistracy on February 3, 1914 for reckless and dangerous driving. The court imposed a fine of $50 or two months imprisonment to each of them. Meanwhile, no action was taken against the driver of car #42.
1918.05.17	Star Ferry Company	Ferry [cross harbor] for cars Ferry [cross harbor] for cars Cars were ferried between Hong Kong and Kowloon in a special crane lighter. Cradles for cars were provided. The fare was $2 per car.
1919.01.20	Potts, Patrick Cumming Hutton	Motor car fell into harbor Motor car fell into harbor Hutton Potts, leading share broker in Hong Kong and name partner of the brokerage firm Benjamin & Potts, was on his way from Sheung Shui to Hong Kong in the morning on that particular day. After having his car put on the car ferry lighter on Kowloon side, with his driver on board, he went on to take the Star Ferry to cross the harbor. His car landed in Hong Kong safely, but when the driver took the car out from the cradle, he accidentally put the car over the Praya. The driver managed to extricating himself and was picked up by a sampan, but was badly injured, mostly cuts received by the glass. The car was eventually got out not without much difficulty. Except that it would require a thorough overhauling the car was not much damaged, it was said. Potts became the chairman of the Hong Kong stock exchange in 1933.
1918.06.14	Hong Kong Automobile Association	Motorists society Motorists society The association was formed on this day at a gathering of motorists at the boardroom of Jardine, Matheson & Co. Officers and members of the committee elected at the meeting were: David Landale [13th Tai-pan of JM&C] (President), Percy Hobson Holyoak (Vice President), William Ewart Roberts (Honorary Secretary and Treasurer), Committee: C.W. Beckwith, Lau Chu Pak, Alexander Stark Dalglish Cousland, Albert Denison, James William Graham, Christen Lauritsen [proprietor of Dragon Motor Car Co.], John McCubbin, Evan Ormiston, Duncan Tollan and Gordon Harold Wilson. The entrance fee was set at $5, and the annual subscription $5.
1920.11.29	Car spirited away to Canton	Motor car theft Motor car theft The Chinese owner of a motor car parked in the locked warehouse at #23, Irving Street, Wanchai reported to the police that the car had been stolen. A watchman employed by the car owner and two others who worked as mechanical fitters were arrested and charged by police. It was learned that the car had been taken to Canton by train that very morning. The Canton police were at once informed and the car was detained on arrival and would be release to HKPF once it had been identified. A representative of the car owner was sent to Canton but failed to identify the car, in fact the owner said he himself would not be able to do so and that the accused watchman who had had custody of the car for several months was the only person familiar with the various parts of the car. Oddly, with the agreement of prosecution and defense, and the consent of the court, the watchman was sent to Canton on December 13 to identify the motor car he was accused of stealing, and his finding: it wasn't the same car. The register of car license was produced at the court hearing on December 20 which showed the car found in Canton could not be the one stolen from Irving Street. The police however remained that the car engine number could be tempered with and an examination by an expert was needed. Days later, the expert sent by HKPF confirmed that the engineer number of the Canton car was not the same as that quoted in the bill of sale. The police told the court on January 12, 1921 that it was unable to go on with the case. The defendants were discharged.
1921.01.19	McGrath, Henry Wilfred Scott	Traffic offense, double fine Traffic offense, double fine McGrath, Captain of 2nd Gragoon Guards and Aide-de-Camp to 16th governor, Reginald Edward Stubbs, committed a traffic offense for leaving his motor car, #332, unattended in Queen's Road Central on December 12, 1920. He ignored a summon taken out for him to appear at the magistracy in December and when the summon was re-served on this day, he deputed the Custodian at the Governor House to act as his representative. He only showed up after magistrate Roger Edward Lindsell imposed a fine of $10, which was double the usual fine of $5. McGrath asked Lindsell to revised his decision and the magistrate told him in return that he would do nothing of the sort.
1921.02.08	Yim Goon Hop, George	Motor car accident, multiple fatalities Motor car accident, multiple fatalities The day was the Chinese New Year's day and, as an inseparable custom, firecrackers were lighted and thrown everywhere. The Hawaii-born (1898) hire car driver of the Dragon Garage, George Yim, was driving his car, a 1914 FIAT with license plate #54, at West Point, carrying some important passengers including the proprietors of Nanyang Brothers Tobacco Co. When opposite the Tung Tein restaurant at Shektongsui, an exploding cracker struck the bonnet of the car and a particle of grit entered one of his eyes. Just as he put his hand to his eye, a small girl dashed in front of the car mostly likely to pick up an unexploded cracker. Yim swung the car to one side to avoid hitting the girl but by doing so lost complete control of the car which swerved on the densely crowded sidewalk outside the restaurant knocking down people in its way until it came to stop by colliding with the masonry of of a bridge over a nullar nearby. A huge crowd quickly assembled making cries and threatening gestures. With the help of police officers who arrived at the scene in a matter of minutes after the accident occurred, Yim and the occupants of the car narrowly escaped wrecking mob-vengeance. Seven persons died (five killed outright and two died afterward from injuries) in the worst motor car accident in the history of Hong Kong. A magistracy inquiry into the accident began on February 10. By February 23, the inquiry was concluded with the jury returning a verdict exonerating Yim and blaming the throwing of cracker bombs as the cause of the accident. The jury added a rider that the manufacture and sale of bomb-crackers should be entirely prohibited.
1921ca.	Santo, A.	Driving instructor Driving instructor Santo charged his pupils $200 each for passing them for a proficiency certificates.
2015.03	Wong, Janet 黃靜	Crane operator [Container Port], woman Crane operator [Container Port], woman Wong joined Hong Kong International Terminals in 2012 as an operation management trainee. She began her training in crane operation in May 2014. Although a fully licensed crane operator, she ddidn't work full time in that role; she was given the post of a duty officer in berth allocation.
1910.01.17	da Silva, M. Marques	Piano teacher, full-time Piano teacher, full-time da Silva placed an advertisement on the front page of the January 31, 1901 issue of Hong Kong Telegraph to notify that she offered piano lessons to women and children.
1946	Population of one million	Census, first million Census, first million
1842.07.17	Queen's Road Chapel	Church, Protestant Church, Protestant The Queen's Road Chapel is formally dedicated on this day. The service of the first Protestant (Baptist) church in Hong Kong was conducted by the Revs. Jehu Lewis Shuck 淑士人, [s.n.] Dan, and Elijah Coleman Bridgman 裨治文. They were all Americans.
1903	Empire Cinematography Theater 奄派亞影畫戲院	Cinema Cinema The Empire Cinematography Theater was located in Des Voeux Road Central near Jubilee Street [location of present day Hang Seng Bank Building]. It was rebuilt in 1919 and became the Wo Ping Theater 和平戲院.
1931	King's Theater 娛樂戲院	Cinema with air conditioning Cinema with air conditioning King's Theater was situated at the corner of Wyndham Street and Queen's Road.
1985.02.12	UA6	Cinema, multiplex Cinema, multiplex UA6 opened on this day in Shatin with 6 screen as Hong Kong's (and Asia's) first multiplex cinema. The cinema was owned and ran by the Lark International Group 立基集團 under a license from the United Artists Cinemas. The cinema was renamed UA Shatin Cinema on March 22, 1989. With the adding of four more screens in 1990s, it became the cinema with most screens in Hong Kong, a position unchallenged until the December 1998 opening of the AMC Festival Walk Cinema, which has 11 screens. The number of screens were reduced to 3 at UA Shatin in October 2006. Today, there are only 2 remaining. Lark International was established in 1963 as an apparel sourcing agent. The company's present line of businesses includes, in addition to apparel and cinemas, film distributions, dairy products, restaurants and property investments.
1924.05.01	Queen's Theater 皇后戲院	Cinema screening sound films and color films Cinema screening sound films and color films Queen's Theater was situated in Queen's Road. It was rebuilt in 1961 and finally closed down in 2007. The above photo was taken in ca.1950, the film advertised on the billboard was “the Search”, a 1949 Warner Brothers production that won an Oscar for Best Writing, Motion Picture Story in 1949.
1869.11.02	City Hall	City Hall City Hall Price Alfred, the Duke of Edinburgh and second son of Queen Victoria, officiated at the opening of the City Hall which was built by public subscriptions and ran independent of the Hong Kong Government.
1862	Pedder Street Clock Tower	Clock tower Clock tower
1851.06	Hong Kong Cricket Club	Club, cricket Club, cricket
1846.05.26	English Club (later Hong Kong Club)	Club, non-sports Club, non-sports The English Club was later renamed Hong Kong Club. The club quarters, located on the corner of d'Aguilar Street and Queen's Road, was designed by architect George Strachan. The construction and outfitting cost amounted to £15,000, which was provided by shareholders who appointed a Board of Trustees as a Standing Committee. Resident members were admitted by ballot and required to pay an entrance fee of $30 and a monthly due of $4.
1849.10.25	Victoria Regatta Club	Club, sports Club, sports The club amalgamated with the Victoria Gymnasium and the Swimming Bath into the Victoria Recreation Club in May 1872, and opened in its new form on November 30, 1872. The above photo of the Victoria Recreational Club was taken in 1900.
1964.06.10	Beatles, The	Concerts by world rock icon Concerts by world rock icon The Beatles performed two concerts at the Princess Theater 樂宮戲院.
1844.08.21	Supreme Court	Court, Supreme Court, Supreme The Ordinance #15 of 1844 enacted on this day abolished the criminal and admiralty jurisdiction held by the British Chief Superintendent of Trade in China (who also held the position of the colonial governor) and in its stead the Supreme Court of Hong Kong was established. The practice and proceedings of the English courts were in force at the Hong Kong Supreme Court, and the law of England prevailed. The court, however, was free to apply punishments according to the laws of [Qing] China for proceedings against Chinese. The first sitting of the court was on October 1, 1844 whereat the first barristers and solicitor were admitted.
1893.08.23	Sharp, Matilda Lincoln	Cremation funeral service for a European Cremation funeral service for a European The body of Sharp who died from pneumonia at the age of 64 was cremated on this day.
1893.08.23	Caine, Capt. William 威廉堅	Curfew Curfew Chief Magistrate William Caine acting as head of Hong Kong's provisional Police Force ordered the city's first curfew under the pretext of fighting crime at night. The curfew regulated only the Chinese inhabitants, denying them the freedom to walk the street after 11pm. A later revision required further that all Chinese were to carry a lantern between 8pm to 10pm, and additionally, a pass issued by an European between 10pm and 11pm. Except for brief periods between 1847 and 1850, the curfew continued uninterrupted until June 21, 1897, when it was finally lifted in totality in consideration of Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee celebrations. The 55-years curfew set the record as the longest imposed during peacetime anywhere in the world.
1842.3.23	Currency	Currency, legal tender Currency, legal tender The following currencies were proclaimed by the provisional government on this day as the legal tender of Hong Kong: Spanish, Mexican and other dollars, their component parts, Company Rupees and their component parts and Chinese copper cash. All dollars are valued at par. The following exchange rates were fixed: 2.25 Company Rupees to 1 dollar, 533 cash to 1 Company Rupee, 1,200 cash to 1 dollar. Company Rupees were coinages issued by the British East India Company. A further proclamation declared Mexican or other Republican dollars to be the standard in all matters of trade unless otherwise expressly specified.
1863	Hong Kong silver dollar	Currency, sovereign Currency, sovereign The Hong Kong silver dollar is proclaimed the sole legal tender; GBP, however, is still accepted for payments to be made to the Hong Kong Government. The dollar was pegged to silver at a rate of 1 dollar to 24.44 grams pure silver.
1866.04.07	Kinder, Thomas William	Mint Mint Kinder (b.1817-d.1884), a mechanical and civil engineer experienced in the construction of railways, was the inaugural and only master of the Hong Kong Mint 香港造幣廠 . The mint, situated in Sugar Street, produced Hong Kong silver dollars, half dollar, 20 cents and 10 cents coins. It was closed on April 25, 1868 after having incurred a loss at north of $444,000, approximately $250 million in today's value. At around the same time, Japan was looking to establish a mint and what was so timely available in Hong Kong was nothing less than a garage sale, so Japan bought the plant of the Hong Kong Mint in June 1868 for $60,000 and had the whole thing moved to Osaka where the mint was to be established. The Japanese also hired Kinder and made him the first engineer and director of the Imperial Japanese Mint. The buildings and the grounds of the mint were sold to Jardine, Matheson & Co., for $65,000, for the purposes of a sugar refinery. The above color engraving is the only known rendition of the Hong Kong Mint; the architect of which was Arthur Kinder, the brother of Thomas William Kinder.
1945	Hong Kong Dollar pegged to Pound Sterling	Currency peg Currency peg When Hong Kong Dollar was re-issued after the Pacific War, it abolished the silver standard established since 1863 and instead pegged to the Pound Sterling at the rate of $16 to £1. In 1972, the Hong Kong Dollar re-pegged to the US Dollars at the the rate of 5.65. Since then, the rate has changed three time and currently, the Hong Kong Dollar operates on a linked exchange rate regime.
1959	Tak Shing House 德成大廈	Building with curtain wall facade Building with curtain wall facade Tak Shing House is situated at #20 Des Voeux Road Central.
1886	Manson, Dr. Patrick 梅森	Dairy company Dairy company The Dairy Farm Company 牛奶公司 was founded by Dr. Patirck Manson (b.1844-d.1922). The company's initial investors included William Henry Ray, James Billington Coughtrie, Granville Sharp, Phineas Ryrie, and Catchick Paul Chater.
1845	Burd, John	Consul of Denmark Consul of Denmark Burd was a Scottish master mariner and merchant.
1887	Poate and Noble	Dental practice Dental practice The name partners were Herbert Poate and Joseph Whitlesey Noble, both holders of doctorate degree in dentistry of the University of Pennsylvania. Poate was the first dental surgeon to practice in Hong Kong.
1900.01.08	Ma Ying-piu 馬應彪	Department store owned and run by Chinese Department store owned and run by Chinese Ma founded the Sincere Department Store 先施百貨公司 at #172 Queen's Road. The store occupied two adjourning buildings each of three stories and employed 40 people. Sincere was the first Chinese owned retail outlet that pioneered the fixed price practice. Other first-of-its-kind merchandising methods launched by Ma had included gift voucher and a "one dollar shop" within the store.
1913	Yim Shan-shan 嚴珊珊 (born Yim Shuk-kai 嚴淑姬)	Film actress Film actress Yim debuted in the 1913 Hong Kong movie Master Chuang Tests His Wife (Zhuangzi Shiqi) 莊子試妻 which made her Hong Kong's as well as China's first screen actress. She played the role of the servant girl of Chuang's wife.
1913	Master Chuang Tests His Wife (Zhuangzi Shiqi) 莊子試妻	Film produced by a local company Film produced by a local company The film featured Yim Shan-shan, Hong Kong as well as China's first screen actress, as the servant girl of Chuang's wife. Lai Man-wai (Li Minwei) 黎民偉, producer of the film and husband of Yim played the role of Chuang's wife while his brother Lai Pak-hoi (Li Beihai) 黎北海 portrayed the main character, Master Chuang. The film was directed by Lai Pak-hoi and cinematographed by Benjamin Brodsky, a Jewish-American of Russsian descent, who had been venturing into film-making in China since 1909. There were special effects of moving ghosts which were created by Brodsky's associate R. F. Van Velzer. The film was only screened at a film show staged at Queen's Road Central in 1913 and was never made available for public viewing in Hong Kong. Brodsky, who owned the copyright of the film, brought it to the United States and later had it released in California. The 15 minutes film was the screen version of a stage play which in turn was based on a Cantonese opera, Chuang Chou's Dreaming of a Butterfly 莊周蝴蝶夢. The production was a joint venture between Variety Film Exchange 華美影片公司, a company established by Brodsky in Hong Kong, and the drama company 人我鏡劇社 founded by Lai Man-wai. Lai went on to become a successful filmmaker and was often referred to as the "Father of Hong Kong Cinema".
1884.04.05	Medical Registration Ordinance, 1884	Medical doctor registration Medical doctor registration On May 3, 1882, 23 doctors practicing in Hong Kong submitted a petition to William Henry March, Administrator of Hong Kong, urging the government to regulate the medical profession, more particularly the qualifications of practitioners in medicine and surgery. In response to the petition, the Medical Registration Ordinance, 1884 was enacted on this day. The very first batch (May 3, 1884) of doctors to register as medical practitioners in Hong Kong were, there were nine of them: William Stanley Adams, Philip Bernard Chenery Ayres, Johann Gerhard Heinrich Gerlach, Antonio Simplieio Gomes, William M. Hartigan, John H. Lockhead, Patrick Manson, James Stockwell and Richard Young. John Charles Fisher, an American who took part in the 1882 discussions for the drafting of the petition, refused to be a signatory of the document arguing that conditions of the proposed registration were unfair to non-British qualified doctors. He was permitted to continue to practice without having to register.
1893.06.26	Dog Ordinance, 1893	Dog license Dog license From this day on, all dog owners were required to obtain licenses for dog keeping. The only exception was dogs kept by agriculturists solely as watch dogs and were necessary for that purpose.
1890	Star Street Power Station	Electric power station Electric power station The power station at Star Street 星街 in Wanchai generated an initial output of 10 kilowatt.
1890.12.01 6pm	Hong Kong Electric Company	Electricity supplies Electricity supplies At 6pm on this day, Hong Kong Electric lighted the first 50 arc streetlamps in Central. Street lights are shown in the above 1890s photo of Central.
1888.08	Otis elevator	Elevator [lift] Elevator [lift] Two Otis elevators, arrived in Hong Kong on July 22, 1888 on board S.S. Glenavon, were installed at the 20-years-old Hong Kong Hotel at Pedder Street. The 6-story hotel building was proclaimed the first skyscraper in Hong Kong. These elevators were also the first ones existed in the Far East - two years ahead of Tokyo and 20 years ahead of Shanghai. American Elisha Graves Otis invented the passenger-safe elevator in 1852. The world's first passenger elevator was an Otis steam operated elevator installed at the Haughwout, a department store situated at 488-92 Broadway, New York City. The date was March 23, 1857.
1955	Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club	Escalators Escalators The escalators installed at the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club at Happy Valley were the first in Hong Kong.
1956	Man Yee Building	Escalators installed in a building open to the public Escalators installed in a building open to the public The escalators installed in the Man Yee Building, Des Voeux Road Central, were the first installed in a building with no access restrictions.
1960s	Ferrari [model unknown]	Ferrari Ferrari
1959	Ferrari Pininfarina	Ferrari, order placed Ferrari, order placed The first order from Hong Kong for a Ferrari was a Series II250GT Pininfarina 3-liter, V-12. It was placed by a captain of the US armed forces stationed here. By the time the Pininfarina was ready to ship in May 1960, the captain in question was already re-posted to Japan and the car was therefore delivered there instead, thus making it the first Ferrari imported to Japan.
1848	Duddell, George 都爹利	Farriery Farriery Duddell owned Hong Kong's first farriery, which was located at the corner of Wellington and Wyndham Streets.
1842	Abdoolally Ebrahim & Co. 鴨都喇利	Ferry, cross harbor Ferry, cross harbor The first ferry service to run across the Hong Kong Harbor, between Tsimshatsui and Central, was provided by Bohra Muslim trading house Abdoolally Ebrahim & Co.
1843.02.14	P. Townsend & Co.	Ferry between Central & Stanley Ferry between Central & Stanley Ferry service between Central and Stanley commenced on this day with two boats: Witch was to sail from the Harbor Master's jetty at 10am on Tuesdays and Fridays; and Rory O'More was to leave Stanley to return at 4pm on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Passage each way costs 4 Company Rupees. The service was provided by P. Townsend & Co., which was principally an auction house. Previous means of travel between Central and Stanley was limited to pony riding while some parts of the trail were found unsafe.
1868.05.23	Hong Kong Fire Brigade 香港消防隊	Fire Services Fire Services The fire brigade was initially comprised of 62 volunteers of foreign residents and approximately 100 Chinese inhabitants.
1870	British Blue Ensign with crowned HK	Colonial flag Colonial flag The flag was used between 1870 and 1876, thereafter three designs had been adopted until 1997.
1936.03.23	British Imperial Airways	Flight [commercial] between London and Hong Kong Flight [commercial] between London and Hong Kong
1938.08.04	Air France	Flight [commercial] between Paris and Hong Kong Flight [commercial] between Paris and Hong Kong The carrier used was the new Air France's favorite trimotor plane, the 12-seater Dewoitine 338. The above is a file photo of Dewoitine 338.
2006.10.26	Oasis Hong Kong Airlines, Flight O8 700	Flight of the now-defunct Oasis Hong Kong Airlines Flight of the now-defunct Oasis Hong Kong Airlines Flight O8 700 took off to London after a 24-hour delay after the airline company settled a dispute with Rusia, who revoked the London-bound flight's fly-over rights.
1873.02.13	Botanical Garden Flower Show	Flower show Flower show The 7th colonial governor Arthur Kennedy opened Hong Kong's first flower show at the Botanic Garden on this day. The show was organized by the Horticultural Society. Competitions were held and here were the results for the plant in pots category: 6 flowering and fine foliage plants – Solomon Ezekiel, 3 plants in flower – Agostinho Guilherme Romano, specimen plant in flower – Atwell Coxon, specimen fine foliage plant – Coxon, 3 ferns – Coxon, specimen fern – Herbert St. Leger Magniac, 3 camellia – James Billington Coughtrie , specimen camellia – Ezekiel, specimen chrysanthemum – Ezekiel, 3 roses - Romano, specimen roses – Thomas Child Hayllar. Each of Ezekiel, a merchant, and Coxon, a stockbroker, won in three sub-categories. The competitions also included cut flowers and several categories of vegetables and fruits.
1844.06.10	Suppression of Public Gaming Ordinance	Gambling prohibition Gambling prohibition Ordinance #14 of 1844, titled “An Ordinance for the suppression of public gaming in the Colony of Hong Kong”, outlaws public gambling. It also empowered Justices of the Peace to issue warrants that authorized the police to enter and if necessary break into private properties within which public gambling activities were suspected.
1864.10	Public Garden 兵頭花園 (later Botanical Garden, later Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens)	Garden, public Garden, public A curator, Thomas G. Donaldson, was appointed on October 7, 1861 whereupon works on the garden began. Seeds and plants were procured from Australia and England.
1878.04.24	Ando Taro	Consul of Japan Consul of Japan
1889	Noma Den 野間傳	Tattooer Tattooer Noma, a tattooer since around 1875, opened his parlors at #60 Queen's Road Central. His charges ranged from £4 for a small but modestly complex tattoo to £100 for a highly difficult one. It was said that he made about £1,200 per year [the annual salary of the Colonial Secretary was £1,500 in 1881]. His clients had included the Duke of York (later King George V)(1881 in Kyoto) and the Tsesarevich of Russia (later Emperor Nicholas II of Russia)(1891 in Nagasaki). There were three other Japanese tattooers working in Hong Kong around that time and they were Ikuda Kokichi 生田幸吉 (#54 Queen's Road), Yatai 屋台良卿 and Kawahara 河原畑力松. The above photos show the location of Noma' parlors, and the sign protuded from the building.
1864.11.12	Duddell Street gas lamps 都爹利街煤氣燈	Gas street lamps Gas street lamps The first lot of gas street lamps were installed at Duddell Street, Central and were lighted on this day. Four remain today at the steps of the Duddell Street. They are lighted nightly. By March 1865, the city was lighted with 400 gas lamps. Gas lighting was introduced to Kowloon almost three decades later in 1892.
1864.12.03	Hong Kong and China Gas Company	Gas supplies Gas supplies Gas supplies were made available on this day to selected buildings and 500 street lamps in Central through a 24-km pipeline network.
1841	Gillespie, Charles Van Megen	American resident American resident Gillespie, of New York, was the first known American to reside in the British Hong Kong. He ran mercantile and auction businesses from a warehouse he owned at #46 Queen's Road under the auspicious of C.V. Gillespie 記唎士庇行. When Gillespie returned to the United States in 1847, he brought with him three Chinese servants (2 unnamed men and a woman called Marie Seise – she once married a Portuguese sailor by the name of Seise). Latter day historians have declared the three the earliest Chinese immigrants to the United States.
1882.09.14	Fung Ming-shan 馮明珊	Naturalized British subject, Chinese Naturalized British subject, Chinese Fung was the comprador for A.G. Hogg & Co., and later for the Chartered Mercantile Bank of India, London and China 有利銀行. He was chairman of Tung Wah Hospital (1879) and a founder of Po Leung Kok.
1889.05.10	Hong Kong Golf Club	Club, golf Club, golf The club was formed by 13 men who gathered at the Hong Kong Club on this day and they were: William Thorburn (Lieut., Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders - ASH; ADC to Governor, 1890), A. Standford, John Andrew (agent of Straits Insurance Co.), Capt. S.E. Douglas (ASH), J. Campbell (ASH), William Leggs (stock broker), David Gillies (secretary of Hong Kong & Whampoa Dock Co.), H.P. Kirk (ASH), R. Baird, William Jennings (Rev., Colonial Chaplain), Collings (Capt.), Robert Murray Rumsey (Capt., RN; Harbor Master) and Gershom Stewart (stock broker). A provisional commttee was formed by Rumsey, Collings, Thorburn, Douglas, Stewart and Andrew. The entrance fee for the club was set at $3. While Rumsey and Stewart were keen golfers, it was said that some of the other founders had never had a game before. Rumsey was later elected the inaugural captain of the club.
1897.10.07	Royal Hong Kong Golf Club	Royal nomenclature Royal nomenclature It was announced in the Government Gazette of this day that permission was given by Queen Victoria to the Hong Kong Golf Club being called The Royal Hong Kong Golf Club. As 1997 drew near, club members met on May 8, 1996 to decide whether to keep or to drop the "Royal" name; members voted to drop.
1851	Pustau, William H.	Consul of Bremen Consul of Bremen Pustau, an Altonaer, was the proprietor of the mercantile firm William Pustau & Co. 魯麟洋行 or 布士兜公司. The firm was involved in coolie trade.
1865	Pustau, William H.	Consul of Hanover Consul of Hanover Pustau, an Altonaer, was the proprietor of the mercantile firm William Pustau & Co. 魯麟洋行 or 布士兜公司. The firm was involved in coolie trade.
1869	Eimbcke, Adolf Theodor	Consul of Norddeutscher Bund [North German Confederation] Consul of Norddeutscher Bund [North German Confederation]
1863	von Overbeck , Bn. Gustav Freiherr	Consul of Prussia Consul of Prussia Von Overbeck, an Austro-Hungarian baron, was a businessman. He was the founder and inaugural chairman of the Hong Kong Hotel Company.
1898.09	Deep Water Bay Course	Golf Course, 9-hole Golf Course, 9-hole The course belonged to the Royal Hong Kong Golf Club and was built on land leased from the government. To get to the course, players either took a boat from the Hong Kong Harbor or rode ponies over Wong Nei Chong Gap. Caddies started the journey hours before the players as they walked to the course carrying the clubs and picnics. According to the Twentieth Century Impressions of Hong Kong, Shanghai, and other Treaty Ports of China, the course was mainly used by ladies and was seldom used. There was a record of the existence of a Ladies' Golf Club in Hong Kong.
1911 tbc	Fanling Old Course	Golf Course, 18-hole Golf Course, 18-hole Members of the Royal Hong Kong Golf Club met at an extraordinary meeting on May 16, 1911 at which they decided to go ahead with the construction of a new golf course at the Sha Tin Valley [Fanling] and a budget of $40,000 had been approved. The intended 18-hole course was to be 6,000 yard long and occupied a total area of 164 acres. According to the Hong Kong Telegraph of July 20, 1912, a pavilion [clubhouse, designed by English architect Edward Albert Ram] was being constructed at an estimated cost of $20,000. It also said that KCR was planning to build a small station at Sheung Shui 上水 for the convenience of the golfers. The site selected for the new station was less than a mile from the course [it was an additional stop, rather than a full station, made available from 1913 for golfers to alight or get on the train]. The above is a 1923 photo of two golfers playing the Old Course. The caddies were two barefoot children.
1955.09.05	Sir Alexander and Lady Maurine	Locomotives, diesel electric Locomotives, diesel electric The Australian made locomotives with diesel electric engines, #51 and #52, were named after the 22nd governor, Alexander William George Herder Granthan 葛量洪 and his wife Maurine Samson, an American born in Lincoln, Nebraska. The locomotives, model EMD G12s, were ordered from Clyde Engineering of North Sydney. #51 pulled passenger trains until 1983 when KCR switched to full electrification. Between then and when fully retired in 1997, it served as a maintenance and freight transport. It rested in its final stop in 2004 as an exhibit of the Hong Kong Railway Museum after having been restored. Information on #52 was scarce but it was known that the locomotive, after retirement in 1997, was sold and shipped to Australia where it re-entered service. Here are the names of some other KCR diesel eltric locomotives: #54 H.B. Winslow (Herbert Pinckney Winslow 溫思勞, KCR manager, & chief engineer, British section, 1911), #55 R.D. Walker (KCR manager & chief engineer, British section, 1937), #56 I.B. Trevor (Ivan Bernard Trevor, KCR manager, British section), #57 Bobby Howes (Douglas M. (Bobby) Howes, KCR managing director, 1983), #58 Gordon Graham (architect), #59 Gerry Forsgate (Hugh Moss Gerald Forsgate 霍士傑, KCR chairman, 1983-1990). The above is a ca.1955 photo of #51.
1911	Winslow, Herbert Pinckney 溫思勞	Railway manager Railway manager Winslow (d.1945) was the first manager and chief engineer of the British section of the Kowloon Canton Railway. He was previously the deputy traffic manager of the Shanghai-Nanking Railway. Winslow Street 溫思勞街 was named in his honor, so was KCR locomotive #54.
1986.08	Cheng Man-ngar, Olivia 鄭文雅	Playboy Magazine cover girl Playboy Magazine cover girl Cheng was the cover girl of the inaugural issue of the Hong Kong edition of Playboy Magazine published in the Chinese language. She was Miss Hong Kong 1979 and afterward became a TV personality and film actress. She was the first Miss Hong Kong to post nude photos in printed media for circulation in the public domain. Cheng later became a professional golfer and a golf instructor.
1993.06	Cheng Man-ngar, Olivia 鄭文雅	Golfers society, women Golfers society, women Cheng was the founder and inaugural president of the Hong Kong Chinese Lady Golfers Association 香港華人女子高爾夫球總會. She was Miss Hong Kong 1979 and afterward became a TV personality and film actress. Cheng took up golf in 1991 and began competitive golf in the following year.
1986	Cheng King-hon, Albert 鄭經翰 (born Cheng Wing-fok 鄭永福 )	Playboy Magazine published in the Chinese language Playboy Magazine published in the Chinese language An odd combination, the Chinese editions of the two American publications Cheng introduced to Hong Kong were Forbes and Playboy. The inaugural issue of Playboy, sold for $20 each, featured 1979 Miss Hong Kong Olivia Cheng as cover girl. Cheng began his publication career with his joining the Sing Tao Holdings in 1982. He later hosted talk shows on ATV and Commercial Radio, and was elected to the Legislative Council in 2004. He ventured into digital audio broadcast in Hong Kong in 2009. The Playboy Hong Kong ceased publication in 1993. The key investor in the magazine was said to be Sally Aw Sain, Cheng's former boss at Sing Tao.
2000	Cheng Man-ngar, Olivia 鄭文雅	Golf professional & instructor, Chinese woman Golf professional & instructor, Chinese woman Cheng took up golf in 1991 and began competitive golf in the following year. She was successive victor of Macau Amateur Open 1994 through 1998 and the Hong Kong Amateur Championship 1996 through 2000. She turned professional in this year and became the first Chinese woman to be admitted by the Golf Teaching Federation of United States as a certified teaching pro, as well as by the Hong Kong LPGA as a member. She taught Zhu Rongji how to swing a golf club when the he visited Hong Kong in 2002 in the capacity of the Chinese Premier.
2011.8.15 9pm	Cheng King-hon, Albert 鄭經翰 (born Cheng Wing-fok 鄭永福 )	Radio station, digital broadcasting Radio station, digital broadcasting The first independent digital radio broadcasting was provided by Digital Broadcasting Corporation (Hong Kong) 香港數碼廣播有限公司, a company founded and ran by Cheng, who previously worked in Canada as an aircraft maintenance engineer before returning to Hong Kong and came under the employment of the newspaper group Sing Tao Holdings. DBC commenced its digital broadcasting at 9pm on this day with a music program 正係好音樂 [Good Music at This Moment] hosted by Tong Ching-chuen 湯正川. A total of seven channels were made available by the company. Broadcasting at DBC was suspended on August 3, 2012 due to a shareholders' dispute resulting in its license revoked by the government. The dispute was finally settled on January 4, 2013 with Cheng, who has been one of the most vocal critics of the government headed by C.Y. Leung, completely ousted while Wong Chobau, Bill 黃楚標, a Shenzhen based multi-billlionaire and a DBC shareholder from the very beginning, became the major shareholder of the company. Broadcasting resumed progressively from January 11, 2013. The company was fined $200,000 for its more than four moths suspension.
1890.07.05	Hong Kong Golf Club	Golf match Golf match The match was played between teams comprised of club members chosen by the captain, Robert Murray Rumsey, and the secretary, Gilbert Mitchell-Innes. It was held on the links at Happy Valley. Mitchell-Innes was the Financial Secretary and Rumsey was Harbor Master.
1889	Hapy Valley recreation ground	Golfing facilities Golfing facilities Some time referred to as the Wong-nei-chong recreation ground, the area in the center of the Happy Valley racecourse was made available for use by sharing and time-zoning for a number of sports such as football, polo, hockey and golf. Nets were used for bunkers and granite setts for the hole. A small shed was built by the Hong Kong Golf Club as a clubhouse in 1891; four years later a proper clubhouse (photo above) was constructed, which, unfortunately, was destroyed in the Race Course Fire of 1918.
1842.3.31	Pottinger, Maj Gen Henry Eldred Curwen 砵甸乍	Government, provisional Government, provisional Pottinger, victor of the Second Opium War and signatory of the Treaty of Nanking, announced on this day the officers charged with the first government of Hong Kong: Pottinger (Plenipotentiary, Minister Extraordinary), Alexander Robert Johnstone (Deputy Superintendent of British Trade), John Robert Morrison (Acting Secretary and Treasurer), Charles Edward Stewart (Assistant Secretary and Treasurer), Alexander Anderson (Surgeon), Henry Holgate (Acting Surgeon), William Caine (Magistrate), Samuel Fearon (Coroner, Clerk of the Court and Interpreter), George F. Mylius (Land Officer and Surveyor), William Pedder (Marine Magistrate and Harbor Master), Alexander Lena (Assistant to Marine Magistrate and Harbor Master), and D. Mullally (Postmaster). Since Hong Kong would not officially become a British colony until April 5, 1843, the nature of this government could only be deemed as the British occupation government.
1842.03.31	Lena, Alexander	Government official, European not Briton Government official, European not Briton Lena, an Italian who had for many years been with the British merchant navy, was appointed Assistant to Marine Magistrate and Harbor Master in the otherwise all Briton provisional government of Hong Kong. He had previously served in the British expedition against Qing China led by Charles Elliot. In May 1846, he was given the command of two gun boats against the pirates. Lena retired in 1849 due to ill health but joined the Census and Registeration Office as an assistant in 1850. Lena was a Freemason.
1858.08.08	Ordinance #15 of 1858	Government budget submitted to the Legislative Council Government budget submitted to the Legislative Council The government's estimate and an application for the sum not exceeding £76,000 to the public service of the year 1859 was read for the last time and approved at the meeting of the Legislative Council on this day. The largest sum in the budget estimates went into works and buildgings (£20,790) which was followed by salaries in the civil establishments (£16,572), police (£12,477), roads, streets, and bridges (£6,912), and judicial establishment (£6,745).
1841.10	Belcher, Cdr. Edward 卑路乍	Harbor Master Harbor Master
1932.01.01	Betting Duty Ordinance, 1931	Tax on gambling Tax on gambling The ordinance in matter had a rather long name: “An Ordinance to make provision for the taxation of bets on authorized totalizators or pari-mutuels and on contributions or subscriptions towards authorized cash-sweeps and to amend the law relating to gambling.” The Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club was granted the monopoly to run the betting.
1841.01	Naval and Military Hospital	Hospital Hospital When British troops occupied Hong Kong in 1841, they promptly established medical services for their personnel. The hospital was located on the site of the Wellington Barracks and since it was hastily constructed applying only meshed structure it was destroyed by the first (recorded) typhoon that struck Hong Kong on July 22, 1941. The hospital was never rebuilt.
1841.07.21	Typhoon	Typhoon [recorded] Typhoon [recorded] The first typhoon that hit the British occupied Hong Kong occurred on this day and the day next followed. It was reported that over 1,000 local people drowned in the harbor and there was no European casualty. Nearly every house was unroofed and some waterfront dwellings were swept in the harbor. Six foreign ships were totally lost, four were driven on shore and 22 were dismasted or damaged. The same typhoon recurved and hit Hong kong again on July 25 and 26 which had caused further devastation. The census conducted in May 1841 reported a total local population of 5,650 including 2,000 who lived on boats. The above image is a watercolor by Royal Navy surgeon Dr. Edward Hodges Cree, the title of which read “21 July 1841 H.M.S. Rattlesnake Typhoon in Hong Kong Harbor”
1841.08.30	Mylius, George F.	Cemetery, public [not-Chinese] Cemetery, public [not-Chinese] Mylius, land officer of the British occupation government, placed the following notice in the Canton Press in August 1841 regulating the place of burial of European and others (not-Chinese): "A piece of land to the eastward of Cantonment Hill having by Government been allocated as the ground for the burial of the dead of European and others. Notice is hereby given that persons burying their dead in any other unauthorized place will be treated as trespassers." The Public Cemetery was located above Queen's Road East in Wanchai and was sometime referred to by the government as the Colonial Cemetery ("Old" Colonial Cemetery when the "New" Colonial Cemetery (present day Hong Kong Cemetery) was put in use in 1845). In later years, it was simply called the Wanchai Cemetery. The bodies of 48 European were buried here between 1841 and 1845. On October 25, 1889, the government ordered the closure of the cemetery and proposed to remove all the graves to the New Colonial Cemetery in Happy Velley. A grace period of six months was given to friends or relatives who wished to object to the removal. The exact date of the closure of the Public Cemetery is unknown; the ground afterward was sold for development. The decision to close the cemetery, stated Alfred Lister, Postmaster General and Acting Colonial Secretary, was based on that the cemetery "having become surrounded by a dense population of Chinese of the poorer classes, it is found difficult to keep it in a condition of decency and cleanliness."
1915.03.08	Goucher, Ernest	Wild beast attack, fatal Wild beast attack, fatal Goucher, a police constable of the Sheung Shui station investigating on earlier reports of tiger's attack on two Chinese, proceeded with a fellow officer to the site where the tiger was last seen. The investigating part met head on with the tiger and as it came out of a clump of bushes it at once attacked Goucher, lacerating his loins and crushing one forearm. Goucher was rushed to the Government Civil Hospital where he died on March 12, 1915. He was 21 years of age. Son of a gamekeeper of the Duke of Portland, Goucher hailed from Mansfield, Notts in England. He joined the Hong Kong Police Force on March 24, 1913 and was previously stationed at the Central District until September 1914. The tiger that mauled Goucher was shot dead instantaneously after the attack.
1842.04.02	Roman Catholic Cemetery	Cemetery, Roman Catholic Cemetery, Roman Catholic The burial ground allotted to the Roman Catholics was adjacent to the Old Colonial Cemetery in Wanchai. Two brick houses were built on the same compound, a seminary at the bottom of the hill and a dwelling for the Rev. Luke Pan at the top. Father Pan was charged for the seminary. On January 7, 1848, the government granted a new site for the Catholic cemetery in Happy Valley adjacent to the New Colonial Cemetery (Hong Kong Cemetery) on condition that no further burials would take place at the one in Wanchai. The new cemetery was later known as the St. Michael's Catholic Cemetery.
1852	Parsee Cemetery	Cemetery, Parsee [Zoroastrian] Cemetery, Parsee [Zoroastrian] The burial ground allotted to Parsees was adjacent to the New Colonial Cemetery (Hong Kong Cemetery) in Happy Valley. The first grave wasn't erected, however, until 1858.
1857	Jewish Cemetery	Cemetery, Jewish Cemetery, Jewish The burial ground allotted to the Jewish community was adjacent to the New Colonial Cemetery (Hong Kong Cemetery) in Happy Valley totaling 10,750 square feet in area at the rate of four shillings and two pence Sterling in the form of annual rent. The first memorial was erected in the same year that belonged to one Leon Bin Baruel. It was recorded that no more than 60 burials had taken place by the turn of the twentieth century.
1863ca.	Muslim Cemetery	Cemetery, Mohammedan Cemetery, Mohammedan The first Mohammedan cemetery was located roughly at the present site of St. Stephen's Girls College along Park Road. There is a possibility that this burial ground was used by the British forces to bury its Mohammedan personnel. In 1870, the government granted a new burial ground for the Muslim community adjacent to the New Colonial Cemetery (Hong Kong Cemetery) in Happy Valley. A mosque with rooms for burial preparations was constructed in the same compound.
1880s	Hindu Cemetery	Cemetery, Hindu Cemetery, Hindu The cemetery came into existence in 1880s, located behind the Hindu Temple in Happy Valley (present address at #1B Wong Nei Chong Road). The earliest burial was in 1888, probably of that of one Hingmanwah Pillay, wife of Soonderam Pillay of Madras, who died on June 28, 1888. The husband was also buried at this cemetery in 1890. So was their son Mootian Soonderam Pillay who sadly died in 1897 at the young age of 32.
1845	Colonial Cemetery	Racial segregation in public place Racial segregation in public place Chinese persons were not allowed to enter the New Colonial Cemetery (Hong Kong Cemetery) from when it was put to use in January 1845 to 1885.
1891.01	Humby, Dai-hei (nee Wong) 黃帶喜	Cemetery [public], Chinese buried Cemetery [public], Chinese buried Wong was married to John Humby who was with the Hong Kong Police Force between 1865 and 1872. In 1872 he bought the British Tavern, changed its name to Empire Tavern and ran it until 1891. Wong probably was a Tanka (Danjia) 蜑家 or the boat people that traditionally lived on fishing boats in coastal Guangdong. A restriction disallowing Chinese people to enter the cemetery was only lifted in 1885, six years before her burial.
1841.05.24	Fox, Lt. Benjamin	Grave memorial erected by colonialists Grave memorial erected by colonialists Fox, a 29 years old Royal Navy lieutenant, died on May 24, 1841. A memorial to him was erected on the Hong Kong waterfront [exact location unknown]. He was the first lieutenant of HMS Nimrod and was leading one of the assault parties sent to ram the city of Canton from the north when a cannonball shattered his leg. His memorial was later moved to the Old Colonial Cemetery (Wanchai Cemetery) and in 1889 to the New Colonial Cemetery (Hong Kong Cemetery).
1844.11.26	Ordinance #21 of 1844	Opium sales legalized Opium sales legalized The ordinance #21 of 1844, titled "An ordinance for licensing the sale of salt, opium Bhaang Ganja Paun Betel and Betel-leaf within the colony of Hong Kong and for the licensing of pawnbrokers and auctioneers with a table of fees on official licenses and signatures", regulated the sales of opium.
1844.12.30	Ordinance #22 of 1844	Standard weights and measures Standard weights and measures The ordinance #22 of 1844, titled “ An ordinance for establishing standard weights and measures, and for preventing the use of such as the false and deficient”, regulated standard weights and measures as follows: List of standard weights and measures deposited in the Colonial Treasury: Weights: avoirdupois (56 pounds, 28 pounds, 14 pounds, seven pounds, four pounds, two pounds, one pound, one half pound, one quarter pound), troy (two ounces, one ounce, eight drams, four drams, two drams, one dram). Length: one yard, one foot, one inch. Capacity: one bushel, one half bushel, one peck, one gallon, one half gallon, one quart, one pint, one half pint, one gill, one half gill. List of recognized Chinese standards: Weight: 10 candareen (fun) 分 make one mace (tseen) 錢, 10 mace make one tael (leang) 雨, 16 tael make one catty (kin) 斤, 100 catties make one picul (tam) 担, one and one fifth piculs make one stone (shik) 石. Length: 10 fun 分 make one tsun 寸, 10 tsun make one chih 尺, 10 chih make one chang 丈, 10 chang make one yin 引. Measures of grain: 6 suk 粟 make one kwei 圭, 10 kwei make one tsoh 撮, 10 tsoh make one chau 抄, 10 chau make one choh 勺, five choh make one yoh 龠, 2 yoh make one koh 合, 10 koh make one shing 升, 10 shing make one taw 斗, 5 taw make one hoh 斛.
1845	Sai On Lane opium divans	Opium divans owned by government Opium divans owned by government The Hong Kong Government established opium divans at Sai On Lane 西安里 in Sai Ying Pun 西營盤 for the patronage of the general public. The divans were run by licensees who pay an annual rent to the government. Under increasing pressure from the British Parliament, the government closed down all the divans it owned on March 1, 1910. The sum of $16,747.27 was set aside in aid of compensation to the licensees of the divans. The Home Government makes the Colony a grant of £9,000 for the year 1910 on account of loss of opium revenue.
1912.03.11	Ho Kai, Dr. 何啟	Knight, Chinese Knight, Chinese The knighthood was conferred on the occasion of the opening of the University of Hong Kong.
1841.06.14	Johnston, Alexander Robert 莊士敦	Land sale Land sale 51 lots of land were sold though bidding processes. The sale brought in £3,238 per year in quit rents. The successful bidders were: Jardine, Matheson & Co., Heerjeehboy Rustomjee, Dent & Co., MacVicar & Co., Gemmell & Co., John Smith, D. Rustomjee, Gribble, Hughes & Co.,Lindsay & Co., Hooker & Lane, Holliday & Co., F. Leighton & Co., Innes, Fletcher & Co., Jamieson & How, Fox, Rawson & Co., Turner & Co., Robert Webster, R. Gully, Charles Hart, T. Larkins, P.F. Robertson,, Capt. Morgan, Dirom & Co., Pestonjee Cowasjee, Framjee Jamseijee. The sale was followed by the erection of godowns and houses. A seawall was then built and the road alongside of which was named Praya. The land sale was arranged by Johnston who was the Deputy Superintendent of Trade and acting Administrator of Hong Kong. Notwithstanding Britain's physical possession of Hong Kong, it had no sovereign rights over the island because the Convention of Chuenpee, which purportedly allowed the ceding of Hong Kong, was no more than a head of agreement which had never been signed by the belligerents. The Johnston land sale was, therefore, illegitimate.
1841	Albany Godowns	Building erected by colonialists Building erected by colonialists Located near Spring Gardens (present day Spring Garden Lane 春園街 in Wanchai), the Albany Godowns was a warehouse com office complex erected by Lindsay & Co., a mercantile house that purchased land at the Johnston land sale on June 14, 1841. The above visual is a painting by Murdoch Bruce titled "View of Spring Gardens, Hong Kong, 20th August, 1846"
1844.02.28	Ordinance to define the law relating to slavery in Hong Kong	Law Law The first ordinance, #1 of 1844, passed by the Legislative Council was to outlaw slavery. The ordinance was disallowed by the Colonial Office of the Home Government on August 12, 1844 on the ground that it duplicated and, in part, conflicted with existing imperial legislation on slavery. As such, the next following ordinance, Ordinance #2 of 1844, titled "An ordinance to regulate the printing of books and papers, and the keeping of printing presses within the colony of Hon Kong" enacted on February 28, 1844, became the first law to be enforced in Hong Kong. Established in June 1841, the Legislative Council held its first meeting on January 11, 1884.
1843.06.26	Legislative Council	Legislature [advisory capacity] Legislature [advisory capacity] The Legislative Council was established under the Letters Patent (The Hong Kong Charter) darted April 5, 1843. The governor, in consultation with the Legislative Council, which is nothing more than an advisory body, was empowered to make and enact laws in Hong Kong. On August 21, 1843, colonial governor Henry Pottinger appointed three official members to the council, namely, Alexander Robert Johnston, Deputy Superintendent of Trade; John Robert Morrison, Chinese secretary and interpreter; and William Caine, chief magistrate. Pottinger himself assumed the position of the council president.
1844.01.11	Legislative Council Conferred	Legislative Council sitting Legislative Council sitting The first meeting of the Legislative Council was held on January 11, 1844, more than six months since its inception. It was attended by the full complement of legislators: there were only two of them, namely, William Caine, Chief Magistrate, and Major-General George Charles d'Aguilar, commander of the British forces in China and Hong Kong, and Lieutenant Governor of Hong Kong. The meeting was presided over by Governor Henry Pottinger as the president.
1850.06.14	Jardine, David	Legislative Council Unofficial Member Legislative Council Unofficial Member The leading British merchants petitioned to the British Parliament in January 1849 to allow representation of the mercantile sector in the legislature, citing they made up the bulk and core of the Western residents in Hong Kong. Two representatives of the Justices of the Peace, Jardine and Joseph Frost Edger, were appointed by Governor George Bonham to the Legislative Council. Jardine was a nephew of William Jardine the founder of Jardine, Matheson & Co. He became the 4th Taipan of JMC following the retirement of Alexander Matheson. The practice of nominating representatives of Justices of the Peace to the council ceased in 1857.
1850.06.14	Edger, Joseph Frost	Legislative Council Unofficial Member Legislative Council Unofficial Member The leading British merchants petitioned to the British Parliament in January 1849 to allow representation of the mercantile sector in the legislature, citing they made up the bulk and core of the Western residents in Hong Kong. Two representatives of the Justices of Peace, Edger and David Jardine were appointed by Governor George Bonham to the Legislative Council. Edger was name partner of Jamieson, Edger & Co. He was one of the first 44 Justices of the Peace ever to be appointed in Hong Kong. The practice of nominating representatives of Justices of the Peace to the council ceased in 1857.
1850.06.14	Jardine, David	Legislative Council Senior Unofficial Member Legislative Council Senior Unofficial Member
1922.09	Yeung Wo Nursing Home 香江養和園	Hospital established and run by Chinese doctors Hospital established and run by Chinese doctors The Yeung Wo Nrsing Home, the forerunner of the Hong Kong Sanitarium and Hospital 養和醫院, was built on the site which was formerly occupied by Yue Yuen Amusement Park 愉園遊樂場, Hong Kong's first amusement park, in Wong Nai Chung Road, Happy Valley. It had at the time of inception 28 beds and five nurses. Members of the inaugural board of directors were: Drs. Ho Ko-tsun 何高俊 (chairman), Wan Man-kai 尹文楷, Kwan Sum-yin 關心焉, B.C. Wong 黃菖霖, Jeu Hawk 趙學, Ma Luk 馬祿臣, and Woo Tin-po 吳天保. Before the establishment of the Yeung Wo Nursing Home, Chinese doctors in private practice had no hospitals they could admit their Chinese patients to. The existing hospitals at the time were either government or missionary run, or those denied admission of Chinese. The above photo was taken on the opening day of the hospital; posting for the photo were the key players in the establishment of the hospital.
1907	Yue Yuen Amusement Park 愉園遊樂場	Amusement park Amusement park The park was situated in Wong Nai Chung Road, Happy Valley. Facilities at the park had included a large garden, restaurants and banquet rooms, a music room for singing performances, sets of swings, a small zoo and a shooting range. It was so popular that the Hong Kong Tramways extended its Wong Nai Chung branch to terminate at the park, thus the name of the terminal and the line were named Yue Yuen. The line remains running today but the terminal had been renamed Happy Valley. Business at the park dropped drastically following the Racecourse Fire in 1918 and although new investors were introduced, nothing could be done to reverse the park to its former merriness before the fire - because of its proximity to the racecourse and of the fact that the park was used as the venue for a public memorial service for victims of the fire disaster. The park was sold in 1922 to a group of Hong Kong Chinese doctors for the establishment of Yeung Wo Nursing Home 香江養和園, which became the Hong Kong Sanitarium and Hospital 養和醫院. The Hospital remains at the same site today.
1844.10.01	Sirr, Henry Charles	Barrister Barrister Sirr (b.1807-d.1872), a Lincoln's Inn barrister, came to Hong Kong on July 1, 1844 en route to one of the Treaty Ports to take up the post of British Vice-Council. Once in Hong Kong, he decided to give up the diplomatic assignment and to instead stay here and practice law. He was admitted by the Supreme Court at its first sitting on October 1, 1844.
1845.06	Hulme, John Walter 休姆	Chief Justice appointed member of the Legislative Council Chief Justice appointed member of the Legislative Council Hulme was appointed, in contrary to the principle of maintaining an independent judiciary free from influence of legislative, to the council; also appointed at the same time was Attorney General Paul Ivy Sterling. Hulme sat on the council until he retired in 1860, except for the period he was suspended from the bench.
1988.03.15	Yang Ti-Liang 楊鐵樑	Chief Justice, Chinese Chief Justice, Chinese Yang resigned in 1996 to run for the office of the first post colonial Chief Executive. The 400-member college of electors gave him 42 votes and the pro-Beijing Tung Chee-hwa 320 votes. Tung was installed to the office.
1843.06.30	Justices of the Peace	Justice of the Peace Justice of the Peace 44 government officials, military officers and merchants, all Britons, were appointed Justices of the Peace. The 16 official JPs were: Alexander Robert Johnston, William Caine, Charles Batten Hillier, Alexander Anderson, George Balfour, Alexander Thomas Gordon, William Grey, Henry Gribble, George Tradescant Lay, George Alexander Malcolm, John Ambrose Mercer, John Robert Morrison, William Pedder, Alexander Scott, Charles Edward Stewart, Robert Thom, and Richard Woosnam. The non-official JPs were: George Thomas Braine, David Laing Burn, Charles Spencer Compton, John Dent, Francis Charles Drummond, Patrick Dudgeon, Henry Dundas, Joseph Frost Edger, Angus Fletcher, John Darby Gibb, Henry Robert Harker, John Holliday, Andrew Jardine, Crawford Kerr, William Cairnes LeGeyt, William Potter Livingston, Thomas William Lockwood Mackean, Alexander Matheson, William Morgan, John Rickett, Joseph Mackrill Smith, Patrick Stewart, William Stewart, James White, Alfred Wilkinson, John Wise, Peter Young. Out of the 28 non-official JPs, 17 were opium dealers.
1997.08.18	Lam Chi-chiu, Albert 林志釗	Justice of the Peace, post colonial Justice of the Peace, post colonial Lam was director of the Urban Services Department. Ten official JPs were appointed on June 13, 1997. They were the last to be appointed in the colonial era. The concept of Justice of the Peace does not exist in PRC.
1844.10.01	Farncomb, Edward	Solicitor Solicitor Francomb, appointed Coroner and the Sheriff of Hong Kong since 1842, was admitted to practice by the Supreme Court at its first sitting.
1972.10.18	Chung Sze-yuen 鍾士元	Legislative Council, equal use of English and Chinese in proceedings Legislative Council, equal use of English and Chinese in proceedings The new arrangement, under Standing Order #2, was based on the recommendation of the Chinese Language Committee headed by Kenneth Fung Ping-fan 馮秉芬 as its chairman. Chung was the first lawmaker to speak in the local tongue of Cantonese at the council meeting on this day in respect of the Peak Tramway (Amendment) Bill. Simultaneous interpretation was provided. Chung, a mechanical engineer, was new to the council (appointed in 1972) but rose to be the Senior Unofficial Member in a matter of two years. The Legislative Council was established in 1843. The first Chinese member, Ng Choy, was appointed in 1880.
1875.01.02	Chinese equivalent terms of government officers and departments	Chinese official titles Chinese official titles A total of 40 terms were specified in Government Gazette published on this day. View full list.
1991.10.05	Lee Shu-kwan 李樹焜	Organ transplant, liver, patient Organ transplant, liver, patient Lee's liver transplant procedure was performed by Dr. Fan Sheung-tat 范上達.
1962.03.05	Hong Kong Public Library	Library ran by the government Library ran by the government The library was (and still is) located in the new (second) City Hall. It was the city's principal public library until the 2001 opening of the Central Library in Causeway Bay.
1841.04.30	Caine, Capt. William 威廉堅	Chief Magistrate Chief Magistrate
1842	Fish market	Market, fish Market, fish The fish market was built by the order of Henry Pottinger, Administrator of Hong Kong.
1854.06.01	Hong Kong Auxiliary Police	Police force, auxiliary Police force, auxiliary The first generation of the Hong Kong Auxiliary Police Force had a very short life. It was disbanded on July 5, only 35 days after its establishment, owing to, according to a government notice ordered by William Thomas Mercer 孖沙, Colonial Secretary, "the altered circumstances and the more secured state of the Colony".
1843	Malcolm, Lt-Col. George Alexander	Market built and owned by a Westerner Market built and owned by a Westerner The Canton Bazaar 廣州市場 was built on one of the land lots sold by Alexander Robert Johnston on June 14, 1841 to an English company. It was situated at present day Queen's Road Central between Cochrane Street 閣麟街 and Graham Street 嘉咸街. When the buyer could not produce evidence of ownership, the lot reverted to the government and was subsequently resold to Malcolm (b.1810-d.1888), who then had the bazaar built on this land. The Canton Bazaar, also known as the Middle Bazaar or the Malcolm's Bazaar, would later evolve into the Central Market 中環街市, which occupies the land directly opposite where the Canton Bazaar was, across the Queen's Road. Malcolm was famous as the courier who brought the Treaty of Nanking from China to London, and after its ratification by Queen Victoria, carried the instrument back to China. He was, at the time, a Major with the Guards and served as Henry Pottinger's secretary. His official designation was Secretary of Legation of the British Trade Mission. Malcolm, son of General John Malcolm who was the Governor of Bombay (1826-1830), was himself promoted to the rank of Major-General in 1868. His wife, Georgiana Harcourt (b.1807-d.1886) was a noted correspondent and translator of literary works.
1971.10.07	Registered marriage	Marriage registration Marriage registration The Marriage Reform Ordinance (Cap. #178) outlawed common-law marriage which until then had been legal for local Chinese in Hong Kong. The ordinance also outlawed polygamy as well as the custom of concubine keeping.
1975.01.08	Ng Yat-chiu, Daniel 伍日照	McDonald's Restaurant McDonald's Restaurant Ng (b.1937-d.2013), a chemical engineer by training and who had worked for the Institute of Gas Technology in Chicago, joined Inter-Asia Venture Management Ltd. in Hong Kong in 1972 as joint managing director. IAVM is a venture capital company co-founded and headed by Cyril Fung 馮慶炤, the fourth son of prominent businessman and philanthropist, Fung Ping-fan, Kenneth. In 1975 IAVM entered into a joint venture with the McDonald's Restaurant to bring its fast food operation to Hong Kong. The McDonald's Restaurant (Hong Kong) Limited was established in the same year with Ng as its inaugural CEO. He later served as the chairman of the company and became honorary chairman when he retired in 1995. The first McDonald's was situated at #2-20 Paterson Street in Causeway Bay within the Hang Lung Center. The 3,000 square feet ground floor space fetched a starting rent of $64,500 per month. When the lease was due for review, the restaurant was forced out as the landlord demanded a 300% increase in rent. [The monthly rent for the same space in 2013 went up to $3 million.] The restaurant grossed $7,000 on its first day of business with a hamburger priced at $1.6. Ng was acclaimed the designer of the “Big Mac Index”, an informal way to measure the purchasing power parity between two currencies by comparing the price of a Big Mac. Asia's first McDonald's was opened in Tokyo on July 20, 1971; Hong Kong came in second. The above photo shows Ng, Ivy Fung (wife of Fung Ping-fan), Ronald and Fung Ping-fan officiating at the opening ceremony.
1887.10.01	Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese 香港華人西醫書院	Medical school Medical school It was also Hong Kong's first post-secondary education institution.
1966.12.27	Mo Chou, Lily 莫愁	Miss Hong Kong died by suicide Miss Hong Kong died by suicide Mo (b.1934-d.1966), born Wang Lizhen 王麗貞, 1959 Miss Hong Kong 2nd runner-up turned Shaw Brothers Studio actress, took her own life on this day. She was 32. The above photo, taken in 1964, shows Mo (2nd) and several other Shaw Brothers actresses posted with Yul Brynner who visited Hong Kong as a guest of the film studio.
1897	Lumiere Brothers short films	Film screened Film screened The films were screened at City Hall's Theater Royal.
1868.03.27	Great World Circus	Circus performance Circus performance The circus was led by its master, a man named Gonsalez [probably Adolf Gonzales]. Horse show was at the center of the performance and the horse "Othello" and a [woman] trick-rider named Ella Zoyara (photo above) were praised the stars of the show. The opening-night marked the largest gathering of European residents in the colony since its inception. The circus gave six performances before leaving for Manila. Unbeknown to circus-goers in Hong Kong, Ella Zoyara was in fact a man named Omar Kingsley and that he was even married - to a woman named Sallie Stickney. Born in St. Louis, Kingsley ran away to the circus when he was eight years old. He was trained in the dangerous trick-riding and presented as a young woman. Zoyara's "true" gender was discovered in Manila and as a result both she (he) and Gonsalez were thrown into jail.
1848.03	Victoria Library and Reading Room	Library Library It was also the city's first reading club. A catalog of books kept in the library was printed in 1852. Here are the names of some of the members of the library committee (for the year of 1850): Norcott d'Esterre Parker, Alexander Wilson, Robert Rienaecker, Jacob Philips, E.R. Michell, Douglas Lapraick, Andrew Scott Dixson. The library went into deficit in 1865 as members failed to pay their dues and could no longer continue. On July 1, a decision to close the library was made at a meeting of the members. The whole of the books were put up in one lot for auction three weeks later on the 24th at the upper price of 1,000 dollars, but there was no bid. The subscriptions of over 80 members were collected later, whereupon the library was reopened. It was reorganized as the Victoria Club on August 15, 1871.
1872.02.14	Tung Wah Hospital 東華醫院	Hospital, traditional Chinese medicine treatment Hospital, traditional Chinese medicine treatment The hospital was opened by Governor, Richard Graves MacDonnell, on this day. Western medicine was only introduced to the hospital in 1896. It became a government hospital in 1991.
1871.01	Smallpox Hospital	Hospital, epidemiological diseases Hospital, epidemiological diseases The hospital was housed in building structure converted from the deserted gaol-building on Stonecutters Island. Among the 101 cases treated (73 civilians and 28 military personnel), there were only nine deaths. It was closed in April 1873 as the number of patients decreased; the patients were thenceforth accommodated at the Government Civil Hospital.
1904.06.07	Alice Memorial Maternity Hospital 雅麗氏紀念產科醫院	Hospital, maternity Hospital, maternity The hospital was housed in a new two story building designed by a British architect who resided in Hong Kong, John Lemm. It was situated immediate behind the Nethersole Hospital in Breezy Path 卑利士道. The hospital was named after Alice Walkden, the deceased wife of its founder, Dr. Ho Kai, and was to be operated by the London Missionary Society. When opened, the hospital carried a debit balance of $2,100. The establishment and future running of the hospital was funded by leading Chinese residents who also acted as guarantors for loans and advances by vendors. Here are the names of some of the key members of the guarantors group: Chau Tung-shang 周東生 (chairman), Fung Wa-chun 馮華川, Wei On 韋安, Tso Seen-wan 曹善允, and Chau Siu-ki 周少歧. The hospital was established with an aim to introduce Western midwifery to the Chinese community here – to provide midwifery care and to train Chinese midwives. Dr. Alice Sibree, daughter of a medical missionary in Madagascar, was engaged to head the six-bed hospital. She landed in Hong Kong in November 1903 and became Hong Kong's first woman doctor. A woman missionary named Langdon volunteered to assist Sibree as the hospital nurse.
1906	[s.n.]	Midwives, locally trained and qualified under British system Midwives, locally trained and qualified under British system Three local midwives were recruited in 1904 as the first students of Dr. Alice Sibree of the Alice Memorial Maternity Hospital to be trained in Western midwifery. They underwent a two-year course based on British curriculum. All three of them passed the first ever government examination for midwives in 1906 at the time when they completed their studies.
1893.09.05	Nethersole School of Nursing	Nursing school, hospital-based Nursing school, hospital-based The school was a part of the new Nethersole Hospital opened in 1893.
1843.08.10	Seamen's Hospital	Hospital, private Hospital, private Also known as the Merchant Seamen's Hospital or the Victoria Hospital for Seamen, the Seamen’s Hospital was located in Wanchai, where the Ruttonjee Hospital is currently situated. It was built with a public subscription plus additional funds advanced by William Jardine, former East India Company ship's surgeon and co-founder of Jardine, Matheson & Co. It was opened in August 1843 with 50 beds servicing non-Chinese civilian seamen who became sick while calling Hong Kong. The first doctor in-charge of the hospital was Peter Young, who was a founder of Hong Kong Dispensary, the predecessor of A.S. Watson. Running at a loss, the hospital was sold to the British Navy in 1873 to become the Royal Naval Hospital.
1875.01.01	Lunatic Asylum	Hospital, psychiatric Hospital, psychiatric The [temporary] asylum, housed in half of a building consisting two semi-detached houses, was situated in Hollywood Road (the present site of Police Married Quarters). Admissions were restricted to non-Chinese patients. Chinese patients were sent to Tung Wah Hospital as a holding facility before they were repatriated to the Mainland. In ca.1880, the building which accommodated the asylum had to be pulled down and the asylum was relocated to half of a deserted old Chinese school house in Hospital Road, on the site which later became the new wing of the Government Civil Hospital. The asylum remained in use until 1885 whereupon it was replaced by a purpose-built psychiatric hospital name European Lunatic Asylum. The 1877 Blue Book showed the following staffing record: one ward master (David Stewart), one female nurse (Maria Simmons), one Chinese nurse (s.n.) and one Chinese cook (s.n.).
1849	Government Civil Hospital 國家醫院	Hospital, government Hospital, government The hospital was established to service the police force, the inmates in the gaol and civil servants. It later admitted non-government European patients. Chinese patients were not admitted until 1864. Read full story.
1843.06.23	HMS Minden	Hospital ship Hospital ship HMS Minden (1810-1861) was a 74-gun third-rate man-o-war built in Bombay (being the first Royal Navy ship built outside of Britain). Minden arrived Hong Kong on this day to commence its service as a hospital ship for military personnel. It ceased to be a hospital ship in June 1844, with all of its medical staff reassigned, and became a stationary ship for RN's China and India Station. From December 20, 1848 it began serving as a store ship until it was sold by auction for scrapping in August 1861.
1887	Alice Memorial Hospital and Nethersole Hospital	Hospital, teaching Hospital, teaching Clinical education for students of the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese were provided at the hospitals.
1889.06.17	Ermclinde, Sister and four others	Nurses, European female Nurses, European female Five Sisters of Charity of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul began working at the Government Civil Hospital on this day; they were: Sisters Ermclinde (Europran Head Nurse), Macarie, Azeline, Joannis and Charles. The French nurses had been working in Saigon prior to arriving Hong Kong. Dr. John Mitford Atkinson, Principal Civil Medical Officer and President of the Sanitary Board, had initially objected to their appointments fearing they might have difficulties communicating in English. He later recruited nurses from the London Hospital who arrived in July 1890, and they were: Clara Eastmond (Head Nurse, Matron), Mary A. Thompson (Sister Mary), Keturah E. Brown (Sister Alice), Elizabeth F. Higgin (Sister Francis), Emma G. Ireland (Sister Gertrude), and Catherine McIntosh (Sister Catherine). Atkinson later married Eastmond.
1845.04.26	Sinclair, Henry Daniel	Piracy, Westerner convicted of Piracy, Westerner convicted of Sinclair, gunner of the schooner Ariel, together with the ship's mate, led a mutiny of the all-Filipino crew of Ariel on this day after having left Amoy, for Hong Kong, with $100,000 in specie on board. They held the ship's captain, William Macfarlane, at gun point and proposed that the captain should join them to rob their employer and afterward to fit the vessel out as a regular pirate ship, which proposal the captain refused summarily. The captain was then confined to his cabin while his two mutineer European officers set a new course heading Singapore. In the morning of the following day, the Filipino crew decided to defy the mutiny. They freed the captain and launched attacks on the mate and Sinclair. The mate was knocked down with a rammer and cut by knives, and died soon after. Sinclair was wounded in the thigh by a shot fired by Macfarlane and was brought to the police as soon as the ship arrived Hong Kong. Sinclair was tried at the Supreme Court on June 19, 1845; he was found guilty of piracy and was sentenced to transportation for life. In the morning July 15, 1846, Sinclair and two other prisoners escaped from the Hong Kong gaol. They later decided to return to the gaol after having been stripped and maltreated by the Chinese, and was unable to continue. They gave themselves up very willingly when caught up with by their pursuers. Sinclair received a free pardon on April 29, 1847, probably for reasons that he had been considered sufficiently punished and it wasn't practicable to carry his original sentence as there was no place where he could be send to. Were Sinclair, the mutineer and convicted pirate and Captain Henry Daniel Sinclair, the discoverer of Port Denison, Western Australia, the same person?
1858	Lock Hospital 性病醫院	Hospital, venereal diseases Hospital, venereal diseases The construction and operation of the Lock Hospital (1858-1894) was funded by taxes paid by brothels and prostitutes ($4 per month per establishment, and $1.5 per person) and payments collected from foreign seamen for health certificates they require upon departing Hong Kong ($0.5 per certificate), both charges were regulated under the Venereal Diseases Ordinance (#12 of 1857) enacted on November 24, 1857.
1926.02.13	Hong Kong Hotel 香港大酒店	Hotel fire Hotel fire The fire burnt down the 6-story hotel which was opened in 1868. It was never re-opened after the fire.
1845	Ice House	Ice warehouse Ice warehouse A warehouse for storage of ice, known as the "Ice House", was erected at the site between present day Duddell Street and Ice House Street.
2007.09.10	Standard, The 英文虎報	Newspaper, free [English] Newspaper, free [English] The Standard was first published on March 1, 1949 under the name of Hong Kong Tiger Standard. It was renamed several times, viz. Hong Kong Standard, Hong Kong iMail (2000), The Standard (2002). It was sold at $6 before it became free of charge.
1959	Diners Club	Charge card Charge card The Diners Club International (Hong Kong) Limited 大來信用証國際(香港)有限公司 was incorporated on June 5, 1959
1974	BankAmericard	Credit card Credit card The card was launched by Bank of America in partnership with Bank of East AsiaIt was renamed Visa Card in 1977. BA was responsible for card issuing and BEA merchant acquiring.
1949.08.19	Identity Card	Proof of residency Proof of residency The Hong Kong ID Card was introduced under the Immigrants Control Ordinance 1949 enacted on April 1, 1949. The chief purpose of the ordinance was to control the influx of immigrants from the Mainland into Hong Kong when it was clear that KMT was to lose the civil war. The issuance of ID cards was regulated under the Registration of Persons Rules 1949 (Ordinance #37 of 1949) enacted on this day. ID Cards were initially made of paper.
1940.08.29	Income tax	Tax based on entities Tax based on entities Income tax was introduced in 1940 as a temporary measure to generate war revenue for the Home Government. The schedular tax system that included business profit tax, personal salary tax and property tax (charged on rental value of property) was the product of the ad hoc War Revenue Committee 戰時收益委員會 which was appointed by Governor Geoffry Northcote 羅富國. The committee was composed of 16 members. Chaloner Grenville Alabaster 晏禮伯 (Attorney General, acting chairman of committee), Sydney Caine 金錫儀 (Financial Secretary), Thomas Back (Accountant General), and Ronald Ruskin Todd 杜德 (Assistant Financial Secretary; secretary of committee) were members from the civil service. Vandeleur Molyneux Grayburn 祁禮賓 (Cheif Manager, HSBC), Stanley Hudson Dodwell (Chairman, Dodwell & Co.), David Fortune Landale 蘭杜 (Director, Jardine Matheson), and Eric McDonald Bryden (Partner, Lowe, Bingham and Matthews) represented the British community. Lo Man-kam 羅文錦 (solicitor), Li Tse-fong 李子方 (Manager, Bank of East Asia), W.N. Thomas Tam 譚雅士 (barrister) and Ng Chak-wa (Vice-Chairman, HK Chinese Chamber of Commerce) represented the Chinese community. Leonardo Horácio d'Almada e Castro, Jr. 廖亞孖打 (Portuguese barrister) and Lawrence Kadoorie 羅蘭士嘉道理 (Iranian Jew; Partner, Sir Elly Kadoorie & Sons) represented the Non-Chinese community. Duncan John Sloss 史樂詩 (Vice-Chancellor, HKU) and R. Robertson (Prof. of Economics and Political Science, HKU) were members from the academia. The maximum rate of tax was 10%. The tax system they devised remains in effect today, naturally, modifications have been made along the way.
1999	IPO electronic service	IPO electronic service IPO electronic service Electronic IPO service was made available by Hong Kong Security Clearing Co., Ltd.
1999.11.12	Tracker Fund of Hong Kong 盈富基金	IPO, ETF IPO, ETF Tracker Fund of Hong Kong (2800.HK) was the first exchange traded fund (ETF) to go public. The issue size was $33.3 billion. It began trading on the HKSE on this day.
2009.12.29	Schramm Holding AG 星亮控股	IPO, European company IPO, European company Schramm Holding AG, based in Offenbach, Germany, was the first European company to be listed. $185 million was raised. The company's stock (0955.HK) began trading on the HKSE on this day. The company was acquired by a Dutch company, Akzo Nobel NV, in June 2011 and was delisted from HKSE on April 2, 2012.
2011.04.14	SBI Holdings Inc.	IPO, Japanese company IPO, Japanese company SBI [Strategic Business Innovator] Holdings SBI控股株式會社 (formerly known as Solfbank Investment), based in Tokyo, was the first Japanese company to be listed. $206 million was raised. The company's stock (6488.HK) began trading on the HKSE on this day.
2000	IPO online subscription application	IPO online subscription application IPO online subscription application Online application of IPO subscription was available by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd.
1993.07.15	Tsingtao Brewery Co., Ltd. 青島啤酒	IPO, PRC company IPO, PRC company Tsingtao Brewery, based in Qindao, was the first PRC company to be listed. $889 million was raised. The company's stock (0168.HK) began trading on HKSE on this day. It was also the first PRC company to be listed overseas.
1875.04.16	Cape d'Aguilar Lighthouse 鶴咀燈塔	Lighthouse Lighthouse It remains in use today, after the installation of an automation system in 1975, and is the oldest surviving lighthouse in Hong Kong.
1903.10.05	La Vie et la Passion de Jesus Christ	Film, featured-length screened Film, featured-length screened It was a 44-minutes French silent film. The film featured Madame & Monsieur Moreau respectively as Virgin Mary and Joseph. It was directed by Lucien Nonguet and Ferdinand Zecca, and distributed by the Pathe Freres. It was premiered in France in May 1903 and screened in Hong Kong in October the same year. The Hong Kong screening was five months ahead of the release date of March 26, 1904 in the United States.
1844.03.04	Filipino seaman	Homicide Trials Homicide Trials Two murder trails took place on this day one after another. In the first one, a Filipino seaman of the schooner Harlequin, was found guilty of murdering his second mate – a Briton, he was given a death sentence. In the second, a Royal Navy gunner of HMS Driver charged with slaying a Chinese boatman was acquitted.
1844.10.02	Laong Awa & his wife Laong Kook-shi	Court criminal case Court criminal case The first criminal case ever heard at the Supreme Court took place on this day. The accused were the named Chinese couple who abducted two young boastwomen in Hong Kong and brought them to Canton and there they planned to sell them into prostitution for $90 each. The brother of one the young women, hearing where they were, went to Canton and paid $220 for their ransom and safely returned them to Hong Kong. The Laongs also came back and were arrested and charged by the police. The couple were sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment. This was also the first court case to be tried by a jury.
1842	Queenstown	Name of the European quarter Name of the European quarter The name of Queenstown was decided upon and published, only that it was changed a few months later to Victoria. It was said that the Quakers in Hong Kong favored the name of Victoria over the one already adopted, and their lobbying power was sufficient to change, on June 29, the given name of the European quarter. The Queen's approval for the name of Victoria was obtained on December 6, 1843.
1841.05.01	Hong Kong Gazette 香港公報 or 香港鈔報	Newspaper Newspaper The Hong Kong Gazette was the mouthpiece of the office of the British Superintendent of Trade in China. Its publisher was John Robert Morrison 馬儒翰, son of Scottish missionary Robert Morrison 馬禮遜. The two Morrisons worked for the British Trade Commission as translator and interpreters. The newspaper was published in Macau for circulation in Hong Kong. It stopped publishing on March 24, 1842, henceforth all British Government notices were posted in Friend of China. Hong Kong Gazette should not be mistaken with the Hong Kong Government Gazette which began publishing on September 24, 1853.
1853.09.24	Hong Kong Government gazette	Government Gazette Government gazette The Chinese name 香港轅門報 was added to the government gazette between January 8, 1879 and December 29, 1905. A new Chinese name 香港政府憲報 was adopted after WWII. Notices written in the Chinese language began appearing in around 1855.
1853.08.01	Chinese Serial 遐爾貫珍	Newspaper, bilingual Newspaper, bilingual Founded and published by Ying Wa College 英華書院, the Chinese Serial was Hong Kong's first periodical to incorporate both English and Chinese languages, although the bilingual format did not apply to each and every article. The Ying Wa College was run by the London Missionary Society.
1867.04	China Punch	Newspaper, cartoon Newspaper, cartoon China Punch was created by W.N. Middleton who also edited it. Published by the China Mail, it ran on lines quite similar to its London prototype – the Punch, which was created by wood engraver Ebenezer Landells and writer Henry Mayherw in 1841. The cartoons were drawn by two amateur artists: James Billington Coughtrie, Secretary of China Fire Insurance Company; and Edward Beart, Secretary of Hong Kong Club. The paper stopped publishing on May 28, 1868 and resumed on November 5, 1872. It was permanently closed on November 22, 1876 when Middleton left Hong Kong. There was a William Nixon Middleton existing in Hong Kong around that time, who was a stock broker. Were they indeed the same person? The above photo is the May 28, 1867 issue of China Punch.
1842.3.24	Advertisers unknown	Newspaper adverts Newspaper adverts Advertisements for wine, timber for ship-and house-building were posted in Friend of China published on this day.
1940	Nurse and Midwives Association 香港護士及助產士會	Nurse and midwives professional organization Nurse and midwives professional organization The professional body was established with the objectives of maintaining the standard of nursing care, promoting unity among nurse/midwife colleagues and protecting the interest of nurses and midwives. Nurse members split from the association and formed their own society in 1964.
1848	Asile de la Sainte Enfance 聖童之家	Orphanage Orphanage Initially established in Wanchai, Asile de la Sainte Enfance was run by the Sisters of St Paul de Chartres from France. The Rev. Mother Alphonsine Forcade, sister of the Prefect Apostolic of Hong Kong, the Rt. Rev. Augustin Forcade, was in charge.
1800s	Po Yuen Pawn Shop 普源押	Pawn shop Pawn shop Po Yuen was established by Yuen Long gentry Tang Nim-ming 鄧廉明. It ceased to operate after the Pacific War but its premises at #72 Cheung Shing Street in Yuen Long remain intact.
1844.09	Police Corporal, [s.n.]	Police death in the course of duty Police death in the course of duty The English police corporal died from injuries sustained during an affray. A Chinese man was arrested, tried and sentenced to death. He was hanged on November 4, 1844.
1844.11.04	Chinese man, [s.n.]	Execution Execution This Chinese man was caught during an affray, whereat a police corporal was injured and later died in September 1844. The man was tried and sentenced to death. He was hanged on this day.
1894.06	Yersin, Dr. Alexander	Plague bacillus, the discovery of Plague bacillus, the discovery of Yersin was a French doctor working in French Cochinchina sent to Hong Kong to investigate an outbreak of a disease with high fatality rate. With insufficient fund, Yersin lived in and worked from a thatched hut at Kennedy Town.
1902.01.08	Whale sighting	Whale sighting Whale sighting A whale was seen coming to surface in the Hong Kong harbor near Jardine's #1 buoy and then Alfred Holt's buoy where the cargo ship Deucalion was moored. Not long later on the same day, it had a near miss also in the harbor with the Victoria Dispensary launch Dakin (miss by a few yards). It was about 30 to 40 feet in length and of a gray color or the color of a water buffalo’s hide, according to different eye-witnesses.
1846	Marine Region	Police, water Police, water William Pedder was appointed Marine Magistrate and Harbor Master on March 31, 1842, whereupon he began having the Hong Kong Harbor patrolled by a team of seconded Royal Navy sailors. Rowing boats were the only means for the team, dubbed the Harbor Police, to move about in the harbor. In 1846 Captain Superintendent of Police Charles May took over the policing of the harbor from the Marine Magistrate. He assembled a unit consisted of 12 constables (two European, two Chinese and eight Indian), divided into two crews, each headed by a European sergeant. A seized lorcha was converted into a water police gunboat and put into service on June 5, 1846. A year later, two more boats were added and the force was expanded to 40 strong. The first water police gunboat was sadly lost with all hands in a typhoon that hit Hong Kong on August 31 and September 1, 1848.
1982.08.18	Lam Kor-wan 林過雲	Serial killer Serial killer Lam, a 27 years old night shift taxi driver, killed four women passengers, who chanced upon him when hailing a cab, between February and July 1982. Chan Fung-lan 陳鳳蘭 (age 21, killed on February 3) was a dance hall girl. Chan Wan-kit 陳云潔 (age 31, killed on May 29) was a night club cashier. Leung Sau-wan 梁秀云 (age 29, killed on June 17) also worked for a night club as a cleaner. Leung Wai-sum 梁惠心 (age 17, killed on July 2) was a student. In each case, Lam strangled his victim in his cab and brought her body back to his apartment in To Kwa Wan where he dismantled it with an electric saw but not before he performed necrophilic acts upon the corpse. He took photographs of the body parts and afterward have them bagged in rice sacks and disposed but saving a sex organ which he embalmed in Chinese spirits and kept in a jar under his bed. Lam was arrested on August 18 when the technician at the Kodak Express store in Tsimshatsui where Lam patronized found photos of dismantled body parts in Lam's batch and tipped off the police. Lam was given the death penalty at the end of the 21-day trial that began on March 3, 1983. His death sentence was commuted to imprisonment for life on August 24, 1984. The remains of the four victims were later recovered.
1841.11.12	Post office	Post office Post office The post office opened three months after the establishment of the Postal Department in August 1841. It occupied the land where the Central Government Offices stands today. It continued to provide postal services until replaced in 1846 by a new post office located on Queen's Road Central near Pedder Street.
1862.12.08	Joubert, Jean Ferdinand	Postage stamp Postage stamp The first set of postage stamp featured a portrait of Queen Victoria engraved by Joubert, a French engraver. The stamps (in six denominations, viz. 2c, 8c, 12c, 18c, 24c, 48c, reckoned at 24 cents to the shilling) were printed by line-engraved method by De La Rue of Great Britain on unwatermarked paper.
1990.04.30	Xu Jiatun 許家屯	Defector, (former) PRC representative Defector, PRC representative Xu, who retired in January 1990 as head of China's Xinhua News Agency 新華通訊社 in Hong Kong (being the most senior PRC representative here between 1983 and 1990), defected to the United States on this day. Xu last lived in Chino Hills, a suburb of Los Angeles, with his mistress Helen Li (born Shan Qin 單琴). At the age of 98, Xu had initiated dialogue with PRC central government in 2014 for his final return to China, but it was not to be. He died on June 29, 2016 in Los Angeles at the age of 100. Xu's non-unisonality with the Central Government's stance over the Tiananmen Square Incidence of 1989 and his fear of reprisal was widely speculated as the reason of his defection. Xu posted in the above photo with RunRun Shaw and Li Ka-shing.
2000.10.05	MTR Corporation Ltd.	Privatized public utilities entity Privatized public utilities entity A newly established government agency, Mass Transit Railway Provisional Authority, came into being in March 1974 for the purpose to formulate and implement the mass transit railway, i.e. a subway system, plan. The agency was succeeded by the Mass Transit Railway Corporation, a government company, in October 1975. The company was reconstituted into a limited company, MTR Corporation Ltd., incorporated on April 26, 2000. In June the government offered 23% of the issued shares of MTRC to private investors in an initial public offering. MTRC shares began trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on October 5, 2000. MTRC has a 50-year exclusive franchise, commencing on June 30, 2000, of operating right to the subway system. MTRC was the world's second listed subway operator; Singapore's SMRT Ltd. was listed on June 19, 2000; 108 days ahead of MTRC.
1857.11.24	Ordinance for Checking the Spread of Venereal Diseases	Prostitution legalized Prostitution legalized Under the new ordinance, all brothels were required to register with the government and each pay a monthly fee of $4 for them to carry on their businesses. Names and ages of prostitutes must be posted in all brothels. Keeper of brothels were liable to report weekly the health conditions of the prostitutes residing in their houses as well as any changes of their whereabouts. Brothels keepers were entitled to employ, through the Police Force, police constables to protect their establishments.
1954.10	Shek Kip Mei Estate 石硤尾邨	Public housing development Public housing development
1918.02.26	Happy Valley Racecourse	Fire, sports ground Fire, sports ground The fire took 600 lives.
1953.12.24	Shek Kip Mei Great Fire 石硤尾大火	Fire, great Fire, great Fire broke out in a wooden shack in Pak Tin Village 白田村 at around 9:30pm. By 11:10pm, it had engulfed the entire village and rapidly expanded to Shek Kip Mei and several other neighboring villages. The devastating fire, when finally came under control at around 2:30am the following morning, razed 41 acres, burnt down more than 2,500 houses and left 58,000 people homeless. The area made up the biggest squatter settlement in Hong Kong. Despite the vast destruction, casualty from the fire accounted only three dead and 51 injuries. Here are several records of previous conflagrations: the greater part of the Bazaar was destroyed on August 12, 1841; a fire broke out from the Sheungwan market on December 28, 1851 destroyed 472 houses and left 30 people dead; and 500 houses were destroyed on November 28, 1867.
1904.07.15	Peak District Reservation Ordinance, 1904	Racial segregation law Racial segregation law Article 3 of the ordinance read, “It shall not be lawful (save in accordance with the provisions of this Ordinance*) for any owner, leasee, tenant, or occupier of any land or building within the Peak District to let such land or building or any part thereof for the purpose of residence by any but non-Chinese, or to permit any but non-Chinese to reside on or in such land or building.” *Chinese employed or contracted by non-Chinese to work in the Peak District were exempted.
1870	Rickshaw	Rickshaw Rickshaw The first rickshaw was imported from Japan by a Tokyo-based American businessman. The name originates from the Japanese word jinrikisha 人力車, which literally means man powered vehicle. Commencing from April 22, 1880, it became a mean of public transportation. There is only one rickshaw still running (as of November 11, 2015); the puller is 63-year-old Hung Chiu-ping 洪超平. The above ca.1880 photo shows a two seater rickshaw.
1842	Queen's Road and Hollywood Road	Roads Roads Construction of the Queen's Road began in 1841 and by 1842 it was partially opened. The Hollywood Road was built and opened all in 1842. The Queen's Road wasn't completed until 1844. The above print of Queen's Road was drawn in 1846.
1961	Plover Cove Reservoir 船灣淡水湖	Rubber dam, water supply system Rubber dam, water supply system Three inflatable dams were constructed.
1978	Tai Po Tau 大埔頭	Rubber dam, irrigation and flood control Rubber dam, irrigation and flood control The inflatable dam, measured 3.7m x 38.1m, was supplied by Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd. It was replaced by a new one supplied by Dyrhoff Ltd. of UK in 2008.
1846.12.06	Keying 耆英號	Chinese sailing ship sailed to England Chinese sailing ship sailed to England The three-masted, 800-ton, 160-ft long Chinese trading junk, carrying a traveling exhibition of Chinese items, set sail for London on this day. The acquisition of the ship and its journey to England was funded by a group of British merchants residing here desiring to promote Hong Kong, the Empire's latest acquired colony, in the UK. It was manned by a crew of 12 English and 30 Chinese, under the command of British captain Charles Alfred Kellett. Keying rounded Cape Hone on March 6 1847 and arrived in St Helena on April 17. Six days later, it set sail for England but was blown off course and ended up visiting New York in July and Boston in November. 477 days after departing Hong Kong, Keying finally arrived in London on March 27, 1848 and there it rapidly became established as one of the most popular visitor attractions in the City. Several of the young Chinese crew were granted an audience with Queen Victoria at the Buckingham Palace. Keying never made it back to Hong Kong; it was sold and afterward broken up in Liverpool.
1862	Government Central School 中央書院	School, public School, public It was renamed Victoria College 維多利亞書院 in 1889 and reorganized as the Queen's College 皇仁書院 in 1894.
1842.11.01	Brown, Rev. Samuel Robbins 鮑留雲	School headmaster School headmaster Brown (b.1810, Connecticut – d.1880, Monson, Massachusetts), the Yale-trained educator and missionary, was the first headmaster of the Morrison Education Society School 馬禮遜紀念學校 established in 1839 in Macau. Brown moved the school, his family and 11 students to Hong Kong whereupon teaching began in new premises of the first school here located where the Morrison Hill Swimming Pool is today. Owing to his wife's ill health, Brown returned to the United States in November 1847. He brought with him three Chinese students, viz. Yung Wing 容閎, Wong Shing 黃勝 and Kuan Huang 黃寬, who became the first Chinese students to study in USA.
2011.12.10	Coach, Inc.	Secondary offering, US company Secondary offering, US company Coach (6388.HK) was the first US company listed in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Hong Kong depositary receipts representing common stock of Coach began trading on this day. The HKSE listing did not involved a capital raise by Coach.
1964.07.31	Hong Kong Hang Seng Index 恒生指數	Share index Share index The HSI was created on this day by the Hang Seng Bank for internal and bank customers' use. The initial baseline of 100 points was based on share prices of 30 stocks traded in the HKSE. The bank started publishing the index as from November 24, 1969; it later became the paramount share index in Hong Kong. The lowest HSI result was recorded on August 31, 1967 at 58 points, the highest 31,958 on October 30, 2007.
1843.08.17	Shark sightings	Shark sightings Shark sightings Sharks were spotted in the Hong Kong Harbor. Sea bathers were said to be warned.
1868	Hong Kong Hotel 香港大酒店	Skyscraper Skyscraper The six story hotel at Pedder Street was proclaimed a skyscraper. All other building were no more than three story high. It was Hong Kong's first building in which elevators were installed. The hotel building was designed by the architectural and engineering firm of Rawling & Co., the principal of which was Samuel Bartlett Rawling, and built by local contractors. A former clerk of works of the Royal Engineers in Hong Kong, Rawling was well known for his water supplies scheme that led to the construction of the Pok Fu Lam Reservoir; he also designed Hong Kong's first clock tower - the Pedder Street Clock Tower.
1987.10.20	Li Fook-shiu, Ronald 李福兆	Stock exchange, complete trading suspension Stock exchange, complete trading suspension In the early hours of this day, Li, chairman of the HKSE, in light of the record fall in the NYSE on October 19, informed the Financial Secretary of his intention to seek the agreement of the HKSE Committee to suspend trading for the rest of the week, i.e. 20th to 23rd. A meeting held by the Committee at 8:30am decided to go ahead with the suspension. The Committee's decision was based on, as public announced: concerns regarding the possibility of panic selling, confusion and disorder in the market, the liquidity of members, the possibility of bank runs and the uncertainty caused by the settlement backlog. When the market re-opened on October 26, HSI plunges 33% in one day. HKSE was the only stock market in the world to effect a suspension during the Stock Market Crush of 1987. Li was harshly criticized for his decision, which, some said, was made with the intension to mitigate his personal loss. The above photo shows Ronald Li (center) speaking at a press conference in the morning of October 20, 1987
1883.04.18	Sanitary Board 潔淨局	Supervisory council Supervisory council The council was established to exercise supervision and control over all matters connected with the sanitation in Hong Kong. Members were all ex officio, viz. office bearers of Surveyor General, Registar General, Colonial Surgeon, Adjutant of Police, and Sanitary Inspector. John MacNeile Price, Surveyor General, became the inaugural (Honorary) Chairman of the Council on July 5, 1883. It was reorganized as the Urban Council 市政局 in 1936, and was disbanded on December 31, 1999.
1888.06.11	Sanitary Board Election	Popular Election Popular Election As stipulated in the Public Health Ordinance, 1887, two of the six non-official seats in the Sanitary Board were to be filled by a popular election. All ratepayers [taxpayers], who were at the time serving as jurors, were eligible to vote as well as to stand for election. Four candidates emerged on the day preceding the election day and active advertising and canvassing by these candidates were reported. The candidates were John David Humphreys (proprietor of A.S. Watson & Co.), John Joseph Francis (barrister), Robert Kennaway Leigh (architect), and Alexander McConachie (Senior Partner, Gilman & Co.). The election began at 4:00pm on this day in the St. Andrew's Hall of the City Hall; the proceedings being administrated by Alfred Gascoyne Wise, Acting Registrar of the Supreme Court. The candidates were nominated and seconded to make their running official, whereupon they each gave a speech to the electors (about a hundred of them) and afterward the voting began. The ballot was closed at 6:00pm and the counting gave the following result: Humphreys 71, Francis 55, Leigh 43, McConaghie 18, and there were 26 spoiled votes. Humphreys and Francis became the first elected public office bearers in Hong Kong. There were 103 special jurors who together made up the upper class of the society, and no doubt themselves ratepayers. Clearly not everyone who was a special juror came out to vote, but it is safe to assume that most of them did. Nine of the special jurors were Chinese. Were some of them the first Chinese residents to ever participate in an election?
1947	Taxi regulatiuons	Taxi licensed Taxi licensed 329 taxis were licensed
1971.01.26	Enjoy Yourself Tonight 歡樂今宵	Television color program, locally production Television color program, locally production TVB's live variety show since November 11, 19, 1967 began broadcasting in color.
1967.11.19	Macau Grand Prix 1967	Television live coverage Television live coverage It was the 14th Macau Grand Prix. Filipino car racer, Arsenio Laurel, died, at the age of 35, after his Lotus 41 crashed into the sea wall which caused the car to burst into flames, while Laurel was trapped inside. He was the first fatality of the Macau Grand Prix.
1967.11.20	Enjoy Yourself Tonight 歡樂今宵	Television live variety show, local production Television live variety show, local production The show continued until October 7, 1994, 6613 episodes in all. It was Asia's longest running live TV variety show. The record was broken by Morita Kazuyoshi Hour: Waratte litomo 森田一義アワー 笑っていいとも! of Fuji Television of Japan which ran a total of 7,000 episodes by February 4, 2010.
1957.05.29	Rediffusion 麗的映聲	Television station Television station It was a subscription cable station owned and operated by Overseas Rediffusion, which was a subsidiary of Rediffusion, a radio and television company controlled by British Electric Traction Co., Ltd. and Broadcast Relay Service Ltd. The station switched from cable to become Hong Kong's second free-to-air terrestrial TV station on June 1, 1973, whereupon it took on a new name of Rediffusion Television Limited 麗的電視有限公司. It was sold by its British owners to three Australia based consortium in 1981, who in the year next following sold it to Hong Kong financier and amusement park operator, Chiu Te-ken, Deacon 邱德根. On September 24, 1982, it was renamed Asia Television. After several changes of ownership and continuous decline in market share and income, the station has found itself in deep financial trouble. Consequently in April 2015, the Hong Kong Government denied its application to renew the terrestrial television license. All will end for ATV when the license expires by April 1, 2016.
1967.11.19	Television Broadcasts Ltd. 電視廣播有限公司 (無綫電視)	Television station, free-to-air terrestrial Television station, free-to-air terrestrial Original investors included Lee Hsiao-wo, Harold 利孝和 of the Lee Hysan 利希慎 family (opium, later development), Run Run Shaw of Shaw Brothers Studio (film production), Eu Keng-wai, Henry 余經緯 of the Eu Yan-san 余仁生 family (proprietary Chinese medicine manufacturing), Gilman & Co., Ltd. 太平洋行, NBC International, ABC Television, Time-Life Broadcast, and Anglia Television.
1848.11	Victoria Theater	Theater Theater The Hong Kong Theatrical Company bought a plot of land in Queen's Road around Wyndham Street behind the old Hong Kong Club from George Duddell, who was, among others things, government auctioneer, land speculator and licensee of Hong Kong's first opium monopoly, whereupon they had erected the theater. The company performed at the theater on November 1, 1848 under the patronage of the third governor George Bonham, to mark its opening. The China Mail described the theater building as large, well ventilated, and brilliantly lighted. The trustees of the theatrical company later conveyed the lot back to Duddell because of financial difficulties, and the theater was then used for a mixed of performances, balls and assemblies by short-term lease. The theater faced its final curtain in 1859 where it was up for auction.
1841.01.26	Belcher, Cdr. Edward 卑路乍	Geographic coordinates captured Geographic coordinates captured Belcher, Commander of HMS Sulphur of the Royal Navy, took the geographic coordinates of Hong Kong on this day after British sailors and marines commanded by Commodore James John Gordon Bremer landed in Hong Kong and took possession of the island by force. The coordinates he took on Morrison Hill were 22º16'30” N and 114º08'30” E. The present day readings of Morrison Hill [probably not from exactly the same point] are: 22º10'00” N and 114º11'00” E.
1841.01.26	Belcher, Cdr. Edward 卑路乍	Peaks, naming of Peaks, naming of Belcher, Commander of HMS Sulphur of the Royal Navy, measured several peaks on the island before he named them on this day following the landing of British forces to take possession of Hong Kong. The peaks he named and measured were: Victoria Peak (1,825 ft. [1,811]), High West (1,774 ft. [1,620]), Mount Gough (1,575 ft. [1,571]), Mount Kellett (1,131 ft. [1,644]), Mount Parker (1,711 ft. [1,745]), and Pottinger Peak (1,016 ft. [1,024]). [] denotes present day measurements.
1844.07.10	Treaty of the Bogue 虎門條約	Extradition of criminals agreement Extradition of criminals agreement This was a treaty entered into between UK and Qing China to supplement the previous Treaty of Nanking 南京條約. Article IX of the treaty reads, “If lawless Natives of China, having committed crimes, or Offences, against their own Government, shall flee to Hongkong or to the English Ships of War or English Merchant Ships for refuge; they shall, if discovered by the English Officers, be handed over once to the Chinese Officers for trial and punishment; or if, before such discovery be made by the English Officers, it should be ascertained, or suspected, by the Officers of the Government of China whither such criminals and Offenders have fled, communication shall be made to the proper English Officer, in order that the said criminals and Offenders may be rigidly searched for, seized, and, on proof or admission, of their guilt, delivered up. In like manner, if any Soldier or Sailor or other person, ─ whatever his Caste or Country, ─ who is a Subject of the Crown of England, shall from any cause, or on any pretence, desert, fly, or escape into the Chinese Territory, such Soldier, or Sailor, or other person, shall be apprehended and confined by the Chinese Authorities, and sent to the nearest British Consular; or other Government Officer. In neither else shall concealment or refuge be afforded.”
1842.06.10	Central Market	Market Market It was situated south of Queen's Road and farmed out to a Chinese named Afoon to operate. It should not be confused with the later version of the Central Market which was evolved from the Canton Bazaar.
1843.12.22	Stanton, Rev. Vincent John 史丹頓	Colonial Chaplain Colonial Chaplain Stanton was appointed on April 19, 1843. He and his wife, Lucy Ann Head, arrived in Hong Kong on this day; he gave his first sermon in the Matshed Church two days after his arrival which fell on Christmas Eve. Stanton was responsible for the establishment of the Church of England Anglo-Chinese School which was reorganized as the St. Paul's Missionary College in 1850. Stanton left Hong Kong in 1850 due to ill health. Read biography.
1843.06	Matshed Church	Church, Anglican Church, Anglican Naval Chaplains conducted services in a temporary structure dubbed Matshed Church. It remained in use until the opening of St. John's Cathedral in 1850.
1843.06,18	Roman Catholic Church of the Conception	Church, Catholic Church, Catholic The church, located at the corner of Welington and Pottinger Streets, was consecrated by Prefect Apostolic, Father Antonio Feliciani 裴神父 (傅安當). It was destroyed by fire in 1859; a new church was built on the same site and remained in use until the opening of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception 聖母無原罪主教座堂 in Caine Road on December 7, 1888.
1843	Dean, Rev. William 憐為仁	Church, Protestant [for Teochew] Church, Protestant [for Teochew] William Dean (b.1807-d.1895) established the first Protestant (Baptist) church for people who spoke the Teochew (Tiechiu) variety. Dean was born in New York and graduated from the Hamilton Literary and Theological Institution.
1843	Mohammedan Mosque	Mosque Mosque It was located not far away from the magistracy and building was of stone. It was later replaced by a newer mosque of the same name opened on Shelly Street in 1890. The new Mohammedan Mosque was renamed Jamia Masjid after the Pacific War.
1843.02.07	Celestial	Ship, locally built [not Chinese in design and construction] Ship, locally built [not Chinese in design and construction] The 80 tons yacht-like schooner built entirely from teak was designed by a self-educated shipwright John Lamont, who was previously carpenter of the ship Fort William. Commissioned by Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy of Bombay and launched in Hong Kong on this day, the ship was built at the shipyard jointly owned by Lamont and Douglas Lapraik. The latter of these two men was a watchmaker who made his fortune in the opium trade and later became a noted shipowner.
1843.01.20	[s.n.]	Birth, British subject Birth, British subject It was reported that the first British subject was born in Hong Kong on this day, presumably, whose parents were UK citizens. All Chinese residents on the island had since the establishment of Hong Kong as a British colony, been proclaimed British subjects.
1841	Lane's Hotel	Hotel Hotel The hotel existed between 1841 and 1843.
1846.03.04	Vice Admiralty Court	Court, admiralty jurisdiction Court, admiralty jurisdiction Chief Justice John Walter Hulme was appointed Judge of the Vice Admiralty Court in June 1846. The first session was held on January 14, 1847. It was abolished in 1850, and its functions were transferred to the Supreme Court.
1844.02.24	Demarcation districts	Demarcation districts Demarcation districts Victoria was divided into three districts, viz. Sheungwan 上環, Chungwan 中環 and Hawan 下環. The lines of demarcation were Aberdeen Street in the west and Elite's Vale 義律谷 (Glenealy Ravine 己連拿利谷, present day Glenealy 己連拿利 ) in the east.
1861.01.24	May, Charles 查理士·梅理	Kowloon, Civil Commissioner Kowloon, Civil Commissioner May was appointed Civil Commissioner of Kowloon peninsula following its cession to the UK under the Convention of Peking of 1860; the handing over ceremony took place on January 19, 1861. May had been Captain Superintendent of Police since September 6, 1844.
1844.09.06	May, Charles 查理士·梅理	Police chief with professional police background Police chief with professional police background May was an inspector of the London Metropolitan Police. All police officers engaged before him were either British Army secondments or those who had quit the army; none of them had prior police training or experience. As Captain Superintendent of Police 警察司, May formed a regular police force of 168 men, 71 Europeans, 46 Indians, and 51 Chinese. He left Hong Kong on April 22, 1879, but died three days later at sea on his homeward passage near Singapore.
1845.04	Oriental Bank Corporation 東藩滙理銀行	Bank Bank Established in 1842 in Bombay under the name of Bank of Western India, the bank moved its headquarters to London as well as adopted the new name of Oriental Bank Corporation in 1845; in April the same year, a branch was opened here. It was also Hong Kong's first note issuing bank.
1847	Oriental Bank Corporation 東藩滙理銀行	Banknotes Banknotes The bank issued over $56,000 unchartered banknotes in this year. Banknotes issued by the bank became legal tender of Hong Kong with the March 20, 1895 enactment of Ordinance #2 of 1895, titled “An Ordinance to Regulate the Issue of Bank Notes”.
1844.12.18	Amateur Dramatic Corps	Club, dramatic Club, dramatic
1849.06.07	Keppel, Capt. Henry	Raid on Macau Raid on Macau James Summers, the first headmaster of St. Paul's College, was arrested and put in the common jail in Macau for not taking off his hat at the passing of the Corpus Christi procession. Summers managed, on this day, to get words to Keppel, who had been in Hong Kong since April 1894 with HMS Maeander, a 38-gun frigate under his command, and happened to be in Macau at the time. Keppel went to see Macau Governor, João Maria Ferreira do Amaral, and requested Summers' release, which Amaral refused. Keppel then wrote a formal rendition application, and when that failed, landed a raiding party of 12 sailors and six marines and removed Summer by force. One Portuguese soldier died and two other were injured as a result of the raid. The British Admiralty granted substantial compensation to the Macau government thus ending the incident. Keppel was reprimanded by the Admiralty and thanked by the Foreign Secretary; he went on to have a successful naval carrer and retired as Admiral of the Fleet in 1879. Summers was forced to resign from his teaching post and left Hong Kong after a few months. Amaral's hard-nosed attitute caused him deeper trouble than a military raid; on August 22 (two months after Summers' jailbreak) he was murdered by hired Chinese assassins retaliating his anti-Chinese policies.
1855.01.23	Hung Jen-kan 洪仁玕	Naval battle, near miss Naval battle, near miss Nine war junks of the Qing Navy carrying 2,000 Imperialist soldiers arrived on this day and anchored west of the Lower Bazzar while a fleet of Taiping war junks were lying close to the Hospital ship, Minden. Battle junks of the opposing forces were ordered by the Hong Kong authorities to depart peacefully thus avoiding a naval battle right in the Hong Kong Harbor. Rumored had it that the Taiping fleet, which had been at anchor in the harbor since September 1854, was under the command of Prince Gan (Prince of Shield) 干王 of Taiping, Hung Jen-kan 洪仁玕. Hung, a cusin of Heavenly King Hung Seu-tsung (Hong Xiuquan) 洪秀全, was converted to Christianity and baptized by Swedish missionary Theodore Hamberg in Hong Kong in 1853. He stayed in Hong Kong off and on between 1852 and 1858 to evade Qing China Imperialist forces.
1856.05.29	Ordinance to explain certain enactments relating to shipping	British flag worn by ships owned by Chinese residents British flag worn by ships owned by Chinese residents As provided in Ordinance #4 of 1855, titled “An Ordinance to Established a proper system of registration for Colonial vessels” and enacted on March 3, 1855, Chinese residents who were registered lessees of Crown lands were permitted to registered ships they owned colonially as British ships. It was further explained in Ordinance #9 of 1856 enacted on this day that British flag may be worn by these ships.
1855.01.15	Ordinance to enforce neutrality during the contest now existing in China	Neutrality status Neutrality status Ordinance #1 of 1855 enacted on this day was in response to the Taiping Rebellion that broke out in 1850 and spreading to Southern China in areas neighboring Hong Kong. Under the ordinance, Hong Kong residents found aiding either side of the conflict were punishable by imprisonment (max. two years) and a fine (max. $5,000). Those found in possession of or engaged in the trading of firearms and ammunition were punishable by imprisonment (max. one year) and a fine (max. $1,000) Armed vessels from either side would be seized and sold if they entered the waters of Hong Kong and did not depart within 24 hours after being told to do so by the colonial authorities.
1845.07.03	Ingwood, Charles	Execution, Eurpoean Execution, Eurpoean On May 2, 1845 Ingwood of HMS Driver had a heated argument with baker Wilkinson, whom he had had drinks with, while traveling on a rowing boat. Ingwood tied up the latter's hands and feet and threw him overboard. Wilkinson's body was found three days later. Ingwood was tried on June 20, found guilty and sentenced to death. He was hanged on this day; also hanged at the same instance was a Chinese pirate named Chun Afoon. It was the first time that a double execution took place in Hong Kong.
1845.07.03	Chun Afoon and Chalres Ingwood	Execution, double Execution, double Chun Afoon was a Chinese pirate. Ingwood was with HMS Driver; he was found guilty of killing another European, a baker named Wilkinson. He was the first European executed in Hong Kong. The execution took place at 5am, on a gallows erected at West Point.
1860.12.25	Bryceson and Son	Organ, pipe Organ, pipe It was a three manual organ with 25 stops and 1,124 pipes built by Bryceson and Son, of London. It was ordered by the St. John's Catherdral Church in May 1858 at the advice of Oxford Professor of Music, Frederick Arthur Gore Ouseley; the organ costed £125. Final installation was completed in December 1860 and it was dedicated on Christmas Day. The Musical Times proclaimed it as “decidedly the best on this side of Suez”. It was replaced by a new organ built by J.W. Walker and Son in 1887.
1860	Sangster, Charles Frederick Augustus	Organist Organist Sangster, a graduate of King's College, London, was hired by St. John's Cathedral Church to play Hong Kong's first pipe organ; he was also the church's choirmaster. Sangster's appointment was at the recommendation of Oxford Professor of Music, Frederick Arthur Gore Ouseley. In addition to the church appointment, he was engaged as Clerk and Accountant to the Superintendent of Police, and later Clerk in the Registrar General's Office. He was admitted to the Middle Temple on November 1, 1881. He was listed as Deputy Registrar in 1892, and Acting Registrar of the Supreme Court in 1895. Sangster's resignation from the post of organist of St. John's Cathedral Church was announced in the February 1, 1895 issue of China Mail.
1854.10.28	Gaskell, William	Law Society Law Society Gaskell, as the senior member of the bar, on this day, asked the Acting Chief Justice, Paul Ivy Sterling, for his countenance and sanction for the formation of a law society. Sterling passed an encomium on law societies. Gaskell practiced as a solicitor in Hong Kong since 1846, and additionally as a notary public since 1850.
1856.03.07	Tam Achoy 譚亞財	Fire brigade, volunteer Fire brigade, Volunteer Several large fire took place in early 1856 and since then active discussions had been underway among the Chinese community to form a fire fighting unit. Tam helped organize a large gathering on this day for the purpose of finding means to fund the formation and future running of the brigade. $18,000 was raised as a result of the meeting and the brigade was subsequently established. It was equipped with a steam fire engine made in the United States and was known to the press as the Tam Achoy Engine Co. No. 1. The fire engine was probably built by William Roberts of New York, a variation of his famous "Excelsior" model.
1862.05.03	Ordinance to provide for the payment of pensions to the civil servants of the Government of Hong Kong	Pensions to civil servants Pensions to civil servants
1862.08.31	Ashton, Samuel	Masters and mates certificate Masters and mates certificate Ashton of the schooner Vindex passed the examination of competency to masters and mates and was issued a certificate to that effect on this day, the very first ever awarded in Hong Kong. The relevant Board of Examiners was established under Ordinance #11 of 1860. Ashton was listed as president of the British Mercantile Marine Officers' Association in 1890.
1862.07.07	Ball, Henry John	Court for Summary Jurisdiction Court for Summary Jurisdiction The court was established by Ordinance #7 of 1862. Hall was appointed the first Puisne Judge as well as the first Judge of the Court of Summary Jurisdiction.
1862.03.01	Government Gazette, Chinese edition	Government gazette, Chinese edition Government gazette, Chinese edition It stopped after a short while until reintroduced in 1880.
1863.01	McGregor & Co. Godowns	Pier made of strong timber Pier made of strong timber It was located at Spring Garden in Wanchai, jutting to the harbor by 250 feet. The pier gave at low water a depth of 26 feet. All former piers had been built of bamboo.
1860.01.20	Board of Education	Education governing body Education governing body The board was initially established to oversee the management of the government schools. The inaugural members were: Rev. George Smith (Bishop of Victoria), William Thomas Bridges 必列者士 (barrister; acting Attorney-General), Rev. John James Irwin (Colonial Chaplain), Rev. William Beach (Chaplain and Canon of Victoria), Rev. James Legge 理雅各 (paster, Union Church; headmaster, Ying Wa College), J.J. Mackenzie (merchant), William Cleaver Francis Robinson (brother and private secretary of the 5th Governor Hercules Robinson).
1864.10	Robinson, Hercules	Club denied special privilege requested by governor Club denied special privilege requested by governor Robinson, the 5th Governor, requested the committee of the Racing Club to rail off a box in the Grand Stand for his own use at the next meeting. His request was denied by the committee as unusual and out of keeping with the democratice spirit and purpose underlying the national institution of horse racing.
1862.03.01	Hong Kong Volunteers	Civil defense unit Civil defense unit The Corps was formed at a public meeting held at the court house on this day. An ordinance, #2 of 1862, titled “An Ordinance to authorize the enrollment of a Volunteer Force” was enacted on March 17, 1863. The Governor appointed Captain Frederick Brine, Royal Engineers, to be commandant. A battery of artillery, armed with 3 prs. and 4.5” howitzers, was first organized. The following officers were elected by members of the Corps., and duly appointed by the Governor on April 7, 1862: William Kane (medical practitioner) to be Captain, Richard Beckwith Baker (accountant, Chartered Mercantile Bank) to be 1st Lieutenant, John M. Fraser (clerk, P. & O. Co.) to be 1st Lieutenant, and John Dodd (assistant, Dent & Co.) to be 2nd Lieutenant. It was disbanded on June 1, 1866 owing to non-attendance of its members.
1867.07.02	Pollard, Edward Hutchinson	Barrister given multiple contempt of court charges in a single court proceeding Barrister given multiple contempt of court charges in a single court proceeding Pollard, senior Queen's Counsel, was found guilty of six distinct contempt charges by Chief Justice, John Jackson Smale, on this day and was fined $200 and suspended from practice for 14 days. Pollard, a very popular figure in the city, had his fine paid for by a public subscription by more than 100 persons of all classes of the society. He appealed to the 6th Governor, Richard Graves MacDonnell, who advised him to instead petition Queen Victoria, which he did. In August 1868, the Privy Council's decision reached Hong Kong, It ruled in favor of Pollard, and ordered the fine to be remitted and the sentence reversed
1869.10.01	Willcocks, Edward J.R.	Police school Police school The evening school, organized by Willcocks, Assistant Headmaster of the Government Central School, was open to existing members of HKPF, who enrolled in the school voluntarily. The curriculum covered no law enforcement training, instead general education was provided using school materials borrowed from the Government Central School. Additionally, English lessons were given to Indian and Chinese. The class opened on this day with 51 students (eight European, 21 Indian, and 22 Chinese). Within a fortnight, these numbers increased to 101 (22, 47, 32), but when Willcocks sent the most advanced of the Indian and Chinese students to the Europeans' Class on October 14, all but four European left in a body. By the end of 1869, the number of students fell back to 56 (4, 42, 10).
1872.04.05	Ordinance to make Provision for the Branding and Punishment of Criminals in certain Cases, An	Branding of Chinese convicts Branding of Chinese convicts Chinese residents who were convicted criminal and actually serving prison sentences were permitted to voluntarily petition the Governor to be released on condition that they were branded (to be recognized subsequently) and left Hong Kong and never to return. Branding can be traced back to 1845, whence members of the Triad, if convicted, would be repatriated to China after they had served their prison sentences in Hong Kong, but not before they were branded on the right cheek in the manner usual in the case of military deserters. Branding of criminals was finally abolished in 1880.
1871.06.09	China Submarine Company	Telegraphic communication via submarine cable Telegraphic communication via submarine cable The 1,632 knots long cable was divided into two sections: Singapore to Cochin China, 778 knots; and Cochin China to Hong Kong, 854 knots. The laying of the cable, commenced from March 3, 1871, was undertaken by four steamers (Agnes, Belgian, Kangaroo, and Minia) of the Telegraphic Construction and Maintenance Company, under charge of the engineering firm of Laws and London. The China Submarine Company was established by Scottish submarine communications cable pioneer John Pender in 1869. The cable was constructed with a strand of seven copper wires and it weighted 387 lbs. per nautical mile. The laying of the cable was completed on May 19, 1871 while direct telegraphic communication with Saigon and Singapore was established on this day.
1867	Tung Hing Theater 同慶戲園	Theater, Chinese opera Theater, Chinese opera The theater, located in Po Yan Street 普仁街, was purposely erected for Chinese operatic performance. It was also the venue at which Chinese operatic performance was first ever attended by a member of the British Royal Family – Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh and of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha; second son of Queen Victoria. The day was November 5, 1867; Prince Albert was the first member of the British Royal Family to visit Hong Kong. The theater was renamed Chungking Theater 重慶戲院 in 1890s, and started screening movies from 1900s. It was closed in 1910s.
1867	Oriental Bowling and Billiard Saloon and Fancy American Bar	Bowling alley Bowling alley It was located in Wellington Street. Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh and of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha; second son of Queen Victoria bowled here once some time between November 9 and 16, 1867 during his Hong Kong visit.
1870.02.17	Bush, August	Bicycle race Bicycle race It was held on this day at designated road race course abutting the race course at Happy Valley. The ten competitors were divided into two lots having to run a heat by itself, and then the two winners going a final heat. William Dawson (clerk, MacEwen & Co.) came in first in the first lot. August Bush (clerk, Lammert, Atkinson & Co.) came in first in the second lot and [s.n.] Smith in second. The final match was supposed to be between Dawson and Bush, but somehow Smith was included. The result: Bush was the winner, and Smith came in second. The velocipede used by Bush was one of his own manufacture.
1872.07.23	Ordinance for registering Births and Deaths in Hong Kong	Birth and death registration Birth and death registration Birth Certificates, likewise Death Certificates, were thenceforth issued.
1872.09	Dengue fever	Dengue fever Dengue fever It was officially declared an infectious disease on October 4, 1872, and accordingly all ships arriving Hong Kong carrying persons suffering from dengue fever were to notify the authority and were subject to quarantine. A child of five years old died from Dengue during this year.
1872.07.29	de Navarro, Jose	Pistol duel Pistol duel Navarro, the newly confirmed Vice Consul of Spain settled a card debt dispute he had with the Peruvian Consul [most probably to Macau] by means of a duel fought with pistols. The duel took place only five days after his appointment had been confirmed by Queen Victoria. The Spaniard was both lucky and a better shot than than his opponent, whom he wounded in the arm; while he himself untouched. The police got wind of the affair and warrants for the arrest of every person present at the duel were issued, but bail was allowed. The duellists were tried at the Supreme Court on August 25, 1872 and, having pleaded guilty, were each fined $200.
1934.01	Hong Kong Chinese Choral Society	Choral society, Chinese Choral society, Chinese It was formed with the assistance of the YMCA and YWCA. There were about 80 members in the society in March 1934. J. Anderson Miller, a licentiate of the Royal Academy of Music, was the director and conductor. Shim (or Shin) Tak-hing (Miss) and B.C. Lee (Mr.) were respectively Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Society. The first concert was given on March 24, 1934 at the Great Hall of the Hong Kong University. The 18th Governor, William Peel, and his wife, Violet Mary Drake, were patrons of the society. Shim, the chairman, was probably related to the famous Eurasian house of Sin Tak-fan (alias Stephen Hall) 冼德芬.
1870	Hong Kong Choral Society	Choral society Choral society The society gave regular concerts at the City Hall. The officers elected in 1881 were: G.E. March (President), Alfred Parker Stokes (solicitor, Johnson Stokes & Master) as Secretary, Edward Fleet Alford (assistant, Jardine, Matheson& Co.) as Treasurer, and as members of the committee: Atwell Coxon (stock broker), Thomas Gibb Williamson (merchant, Adamson Bell & Co.), and Henry de Courey Forbes (merchant, Russell & Co.). Coxon was also appointed stage manager. A 1888 record showed there were 81 members in the society (37 women, 44 men).
1864	Douglas Challenge Cup	Boat race, offshore Boat race, offshore The round the island race was the first yacht race to sail outside of Hong Kong waters. The cup was donated by Douglas & Co. There were six entrants and the winner was Mayflower, owned and skippered by R.F. Hawke, who worked for the government shipyard. The Mayflower won again in 1865. The Douglas Challenge Cup became a “there and back” non-stop race from Hong Kong to Macau from 1868. Some called it Hong Kong's first international yacht race.
1873.02.03	General Chinese Printing Office 香港中華印務總局	Publishing company owned and ran by Chinese Publishing company owned and ran by Chinese The London Missionary Society Press (LMSP) 墨海書館, which had been running in Hong Kong since 1846, was closing down in early 1873. The printing office and type foundry was brought by LMSP's employee of 20 years and superintendent since 1853, Wong Shing 黄勝, and his associate, Wang Tao 王韜, who had worked in the LMSP Shanghai office for 13 years. The dual then established the company with the chief purpose to publish a newspaper fully controlled by Chinese and promote political reform in Qing China. The newspaper, 循環日報 Universal Circulating Herald, began its circulation a year later. The company also published a good number of books. Wong Shing was one of the first three Chinese residents to studied abroad; he was later appointed the first Chinese juror. Wang Tao was a political commentator, translator, and writer.
1874.02.04	Universal Circulating Herald 循環日報	Newspaper published and controlled by Chinese Newspaper published and controlled by Chinese The newspaper was published by 香港中華印務總局 General Chinese Printing Office, which was established by Wong Shing 黄勝 and Wang Tao 王韜 almost a year ago. Chief players in the newspaper included as members of the Board of Governors: Leung On 梁安 (comprador, Gibb, Livingston & Co.; inaugural chairman, Tung Wah Hospital; chairman (1881), Po Leung Kuk), 陳瑞南 (director, Tung Wah Hospital), and Fung Ming-shan 馮明珊 (comprador for A.G. Hogg & Co.; first Chinese naturalized as a British subject). Chen Ai-ting 陳靄廷 (former assistant editor of China Mail, responsible for the publishing of its Chinese language edition, the Chinese Mail 香港華字日報) was appointed chief manager and Wang Tao was chief editor.
2002.04.15	Metro 都市日報	Newspaper, free Newspaper, free It was initially published Monday through Saturday and distributed in front of subway stations. The newspaper was a part of the Sweden based Metro, controlled by Investment AB Kinnevik. Metro is published in over 150 major cities in 23 countries. Metro's Hong Kong ownership was sold to flamboyant restaurateur Kenny Wee 黃浩, who is being sued by the seller for payment default amounts to $90 million. Wee was the husband of Suki Chui 徐淑敏, an entrant of the Miss Hong Kong Pageant 2006.
1842.03.17	Friend of China, The	Newspaper printed in Hong Kong Newspaper printed in Hong Kong It was initially published every Thursday. At its second issue (March 24), it was incorporated with the Hong Kong Gazette, and forthwith acquired the name of The Friend of China and Hong Kong Gazette, until it ceased publication in 1859, although its had dissolved its link with officialdom since 1845. The newspaper was owned by James White, who was formerly an alderman of London, and Richard Oswald, a merchant and land speculator. White co-edited the newspaper with Jehu Lewis Shuck, a Virginia Baptist minister. The first newspaper, the Hong Kong Gazette, was printed in Macau.
1872.04.17	Chinese Mail 香港華字日報	Newspaper, Chinese language Newspaper, Chinese language The newspaper was a part of the China Mail 德臣西報 and was run by China Mail's assistant editor, Chen Ai-ting 陳靄廷. The newspaper was in Chinese language only and was published independent of the China Mail three times a week. Chen later became the chief manager of the new Universal Circulation Herald, which began circulation in February 1874. The Chinese Mail continued undisrupted until the Fall of Hong Kong in 1941. It was relaunched twice in 1946 after the Pacific War but without success. In 1878, Chen gave up journalism and worked for Qing China's foreign service. He became China's first Consul General in Havana in 1886.
1877.06.07	Chan Su-kee, George	Marriage [civil], Chinese Marriage [civil], Chinese Chan was married by civil service to a woman from Canton at the Registrar General's Office. Chan was the eldest son of Chan Tai-kwong 陳大光, a former protege of the Bishop of Victoria George Smith, was an assistant tutor in the St. Paul's College and was licensed by Smith to peach to the prisoners in Victoria Goal, although he was not ordained. Chan Tai-kwong later gave up evangelism and became an opium dealer. In 1858, he was implicated in conspiracy with his attorney, William Thomas Bridges, who, at the time, also served as the acting Colonial Secretary, in the matter of Chan's obtaining the opium monopoly by improper means. At the time of George Chan's marriage, his father held the position as the Chinese Clerk and Shroff to the Court of Summary Jurisdiction.
1881.10.21	Alford, Robert Gervaise	Telephone Telephone A telephone was installed at the office of Alford, architect and surveyor, which connected solely to a second one installed at the office of the mercantile film, MacEwan, Frickel & Co. Alford was the son of Charles Richard Alford, the second Bishop of Victoria.
1882.02.19	Anderson, Robert	Fireman died in the course of duty Fireman died in the course of duty Anderson, 26 years old police constable while working as fireman, died by the falling of a house in a fire that burned down houses at #150 and #152 Queen's Road West (a rattan factory) in the evening of this day. He was a member of the Hong Kong Fire Insurance Volunteer Fire Brigade. His funeral service took place on February 21 and he was buried at the Hong Kong Cemetery. It was rumored that a Chinese fireman was also killed in the fire, but no body was ever found. Anderson, of County Antrim of Ireland, was a policeman in Glasgow before coming to Hong Kong.
1863	Jardine, Matheson & Co.	Telegraph Telegraph The system connected JMC's headquarters in East Point (present day Causeway Bay) and its town offices in Victoria. The distance between the two locations was one and a half miles.
1853	Slaughter house	Slaughter house Slaughter house Two were built this year.
1841.06	Malarial fever	Epidemic of infectious disease Epidemic of infectious disease An outbreak of malignant malarial fever occurred and continued (in varying degree of severity) for more than a century. It was particularly severe in 1843; by the end of the year 24% of the British troops and 10% of the foreign residents had died of the fever. It wasn't until the 1970s when malaria was no longer endemic in Hong Kong. The link between malaria and mosquitoes was not made until 1897; it was discovered by Dr. Ronald Ross. Ross was mentored by Dr. Patrick Manson, the inaugural dean of the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese.
1853.11.17	Ordinance for the Removal of Doubts regarding the Right of Aliens to hold and Transfer Property within the Colony of Hong Kong	Alien land ownership Alien land ownership The ordinance confirmed the right of aliens to hold and transfer lands and other immovable properties in Hong Kong.
1880.04.27	Hong Kong Polo club	Polo club Polo club The club was formed at a meeting held at the Hong Kong Club on this day. Admissions to the club was limited to British military officers and members of the Hong Kong and German Clubs. The entrance fee was set at $5 with an annual due of $5 for all members and $1 monthly due for playing member. The following officers were chosen: Arthur Hales (army major; 27th Foot) President, Lovick Bransby Friend (lieutenant, Royal Engineers; torpedo service) Honorary Secretary and Treasurer, and for the committee: John Francis William Charley (army lieutenant), Blennerhassett M. Blennerhassett (surgeon, Royal Army Medical Corp; acting Medical Superintendent of Government Civil Hospital), and Henry Stopford Tunnard (army lieutenant; Fort Adjutant, Hong Kong). After the meeting, the names of 13 playing and five non-playing members were received. It was decided that members would meet for practice every Wednesday and Saturday at 4pm at the race course in Happy Valley. The club was formed principally through the exertions of Blennerhassett.
1880.04.17	Polo match	Polo match Polo match The match took place at the race course in Happy Valley near the Black Rock. The players were: Blennerhassett M. Blennerhassett (surgeon, Royal Army Medical Corp; acting Medical Superintendent of Government Civil Hospital), Lovick Bransby Friend (lieutenant, Royal Engineers; torpedo service), Henry Stopford Tunnard (army lieutenant; Fort Adjutant, Hong Kong), John Francis William Charley (army lieutenant), Charles John Lloyd Davidson (army lieutenant, 27th Foot), and Samuel Shakespear Lowe (merchant, Harris & Goodwin). The game was won by Charley's side [members unknown]; Charley being the most experienced player, probably in Hong Kong.
1903.11	Public bath house	Public bath house Public bath house The 40-bath facilities in Wanchai were visited by 12 local residents on the opening day, and by 99 on the day three weeks after its opening.
1903.10.13	Siberian Railway	Mail route [new] to Europe Mail route (new) to Europe The first series of mails to Europe via Dainiy [Dalian] and the Trans-Siberian Railway was dispatched on this day. The new route made delivery five to six days sooner than the old route via Aden.
1892.06.01	Public laundries	Public laundries Public laundries Ten laundries were built on a site 17,660 square feet in area on Kennedy Road, Wanchai. The facilities included two living rooms, cook house, washing, drying and ironing rooms. They were opened on this day.
1872.10	Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation 香港上海滙理銀行	Banknotes, one dollar Banknotes, one dollar The note above shown was issued on October 15, 1872; it bears the signature of HSBC Chief Manager, James Greg.
1867.10.15	Blockade of Hong Kong 1867	Blockade Blockade Shown above is the map of Blockade of Hong Kong. The red dots denote the positions where the Qing gunboats anchored. The Canton authority ordered Chinese Custom's cruisers to set three monitor stations (Fotowmoon Pass [Fat Tong Mun] to the east; Chung Chow [Cheung Chau] and Mahwan [Ma Wan] to the west) whence all passing Chinese vessels were to be stopped and taxes levied, with the object of clamping down cross-border water trading. Some of the Chinese gunboats were commanded by Westerners. The blockade continued until 1886.
1843.08.16	Committee of Public Health and Cleaniness	Committee appointed by government Committee appointed by government The committee, created by the first governor, Henry Eldred Curwen Pottinger, after malarial fever had killed 24% of the British troops and 10% of the Foreign residents between May and October 1843, was mandated to develop and enforce a set of sanitary rules among all classes of residents on the island. The members in the committee were: Alexander Thomas Gordon (Surveyor General), Charles Batten Hillier (Assistant Magistrate), and Dr. Charles Alexander Winchester (Assistant Colonial Surgeon). They were further assisted by Dr. Peter Young (surgeon of the Seamen's Hospital) and William Scott (merchant). A committee to review Hong Kong's first land sales was appointed by Pottinger's provisional government in March 1842; this was before Hong Kong formally became a British colony.
1865	Gindell, A.	Bookbinder Bookbinder Gindell operated from his shop in Wellington Street.
1871.03.24	Improvements in electric telegraphs	Patents for inventions Patents for inventions Six related patents were granted to William Thomson and Cromwell Fleetwood Varley of their inventions, the patents of which had already been secured by either one of them in the U.K. The patents in Hong Kong were granted for the residue of the term of 14 years form the effective dates of their U.K. patents. Four were under Thomson's name: improvements in testing and working electric telegraphs; improvements in receiving or recording instruments for electric telegraphs; improvement in the means of telegraphic communication; and improvements in electric telegraphs. Varley's two were: improvements in electric telegraphs, part of the invention being applicable to other purposes; and improvements in electric telegraphs. Thomson was a mathematician and physicist, while Varley was an engineer and inventor.
1866.06.23	Agra and Masterman's Bank Ltd. 呵加喇馬士打文銀行	Bank suspended payment Bank suspended payment The Anglo-Indian bank was established in 1833. The Hong Kong branch opened for business in 1862 and became a note issuing bank the following year. The bank in whole, not the Hong Kong branch, was hit hard by a financial crisis, that occurred in London due to excessive speculation in shares of limited liability companies, dubbed Overend-Gurney Crisis – named after the company that took a leading role in this speculation boom. Shareholders of the bank held an extraordinary meeting in London on June 2, 1866 and decided to wind up the bank voluntarily. The Hong Kong branch was wound up on June 23, 1866.
1867.05.22	Naval Yard Police Force	Police, naval yard Police, naval yard The NYPF was made up of HKPF policemen seconded to the Naval Department for the purpose of doing special duty at the naval yard. The relevant expenses were paid by the Admiralty.
1867.08.15	Public Gambling Houses License	Gambling legalized Gambling legalized Rules and regulations were published on this day to allow up to 12 licensed gambling houses (on land or water) to operate. Here's the gist: Each house shall have one proprietor, who shall be responsible for his establishment, no subletting allowed. The license fee shall be paid monthly in advance; a deposit, that equals to the fee for one month, is also required. The operating hours shall be from 6am to 11pm. The house's rake shall not exceed 7%. No one connected with the house shall give payment in cash or in kind to anyone under government employ. These rules were made in pursuance of Section 18 of Ordinance #9 of 1867, titled “An Ordinance to make further Provision for the Maintenance of Order and Cleanliness within the Colony of Hong Kong”, which reads, “And whereas the evils of gambling in the Colony are found to be on the increase notwithstanding the application of the penal laws in force for their prevention, and it is expedient to devise and adopt further measures for the gradual control and ultimate suppression thereof...”. Legalizing gambling was that measure. 11 licensed gambling houses opened on September 15, 1867. The remaining one opened three days later.
1863.12.15	Dent fountain	Drinking fountain Drinking fountain It was located in front of the [old] City Hall; the construction of which was paid for by John Dent (merchant, opium trader, HSBC chairman 1867, Legislative Council member 1857-61, etc.). The fountain was demolished on October 10, 1933 to make way for the new HSBC building.
1930.03.31	Trans-harbor pipeline	Water supply from Kowloon to Hong Kong Island Water supply from Kowloon to Hong Kong Island The new water supply solution for Hong Kong Island was to pipe water from Shing Mun River. The construction of the system, with a submarine pipeline (300mm in diameter) that connected Tsim Sha Tsui and Central, took 12 months to complete. The project was overseen by the Assistant Director of Public Works, Richard McNeil Henderson.
1932.03.10	Lanepart, Herbert Edward	Nudist society Nudist society The Hong Kong Nudist Society was formed on this day at a meeting held at the Lane Crowford's Restaurant at the Exchange Buildimg. The meeting was organized by the promoter of the nudist movement in Hong Kong, Herbert Edward Lanepart, who was elected the founding president of the society. 19 men and three women joined up on the day. Lanepart, a Latvian, was also the secretary of the Hong Kong Theosophical Society. He worked as a clerk at the Hong Kong Hotel, later assistant at the Dairy Farm, and later merchant with Y.T. King & Co. He was a known Nazi sympathizer..
1924.12	Mow Fung, Frederick Charles 鍾茂豐	Masonic lodge master, Chinese descent Masonic lodge master, Chinese descent Mow Fung was the elected Worshipful Master of Lodge St. John #618 for the year 1925, he was installed in December 1924, and was re-elected for the year 1926. He was also WM for the same lodge for 1946. Mow Fung was born in Melbourne and moved to Hong Kong in ca.1895. He owned a rickshaw company and was a director of the Tung Wah Hospitals.
1891	Lunatic Asylum for Chinese	Hospital, psychiatric [for Chinese] Hospital, psychiatric [for Chinese] The asylum had 16 locked cells and was located near the Government Civil Hospital.
1891	Water supply to the Peak	Water supply to the Peak Water supply to the Peak The Peak, previously, dependent on well water, was supplied from City Waterworks by pumping.
1899.05.16	Sham Chun [Shenzhen] occupied	Border conflict with China Border conflict with China The New Territories was taken over by Hong Kong authorities on April 16. On account of an attack on British troops by more than 2,600 Chinese on April 19 opposing the taking over in which the Qing Chinese authorities, accused by the Hong Kong authorities, to have connived, Sham Chung City beyond the new boundary was occupied by British troops on this day and stayed occupied until November 13 the same year.
1906.10.14	S.S. Hankow	Fire, ship [with multiple fatalities] Fire, ship [with multiple fatalities] British steam Hankow belonging to the Hong Kong, Canton & Macao Steamship Co., arrived from Canton on this day carrying about 2,000 passengers. It was burnt at wharf; 111 people was killed in the fire.
1644	Da Qing 大清	Qing Dynasty established Qing Dynasty established Amba Daicing Gurun 大大清國 overran Ming Dynasty and began its reign in China
1839	First Opium War	Sino-British War Sino-British War
1841	Convention of Chuenpee 穿鼻草約	Sino-British Treaty (not ratified) Sino-British Treaty (not ratified)
1842.08.29	Treaty of Nanking 南京條約, signed	Treaty between Qing China and the United Kingdom to end the First Opium War; Hong Kong ceded to Britain Treaty between Qing China the United Kingdom to end the First Opium War; Hong Kong ceded to Britain
1842.09.06	Treaty of Nanking 南京條約, assented by Emperor Tao-kuang	Treaty between Qing China and the United Kingdom to end the First Opium War; Hong Kong ceded to Britain Treaty between Qing China and the United Kingdom to end the First Opium War; Hong Kong ceded to Britain
1842.12.28	Treaty of Nanking 南京條約, ratified by Queen Victoria	Treaty between Qing China the United Kingdom to end the First Opium War; Hong Kong ceded to Britain Treaty between Qing China and the United Kingdom to end the First Opium War; Hong Kong ceded to Britain
1843.04.05	Charter of the Colony of Hong Kong	Hong Kong constituted as a colony of the British Crown Hong Kong constituted as a colony of the British Crown
1856	Second Opium War	Sino, Franco-British war Sino, Franco-British war
1843.10.03	Treaty of the Bogue 虎門條約	Treaty between Qing China and the United Kingdom to supplement the Treaty of Nanking Treaty between Qing China and the United Kingdom to supplement the Treaty of Nanking
1858.06.13	Treaty of Tientsin 天津條約	Treaty between Qing China and the coalition of United Kingdom, France, Russia and the United States to end the Second Opium War. Fighting, however, restarted on June 24, 1859. Treaty between Qing China and the coalition of United Kingdom, France, Russia and the United States to end the Second Opium War. Fighting, however, restarted on June 24, 1859.
1860.10.24	Convention of Peking 北京條約	Treaties between Qing China and the coalition of United Kingdom, France and Russia to end the Second Opium War. Qing China ceded to the U.K. the part of Kowloon south of the Boundary Street Treaties between Qing China and the coalition of United Kingdom, France and Russia to end the Second Opium War. Qing China ceded to the U.K. the part of Kowloon south of the Boundary Street
1898.06.09	Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory 中英展拓香港界址專條	New Territories was leased to the United Kingdom New Territories was leased to the United Kingdom Treaties between Qing China and the United Kingdom for the lease by the U.K. the area north of the Boundary Street and south of the Sham Chun River, later known as the New Territories, for a period of 99 years. The lease was to expired on June 30, 1997.
1894.07.25	First Sino-Japanese War 甲午戰爭	War between Qing China and Japan War between Qing China and Japan
1895.04.17	Treaty of Shimonoseki 馬關條約	Treaty between Qing China and Japan to end the First Sino-Japenese War Treaty between Qing China and Japan to end the First Sino-Japenese War
1860.10.24	Order in Council of October 24, 1860 of the United Kingdom	Kowloon officially annexed to the Colony Kowloon officially annexed to the Colony
1861.04.12	United States Civil War	United States Civil War United States Civil War
1865.04.14	Lincoln, Abraham	President of the United States assassinated President of the United States assassinated
1894.06.23	de Coubertin, Baron Pierre	International Olympic Committee International Olympic Committee
1896.04.15	Games of the I Olympiad	Modern Olympic Games Modern Olympic
1898.10.20	Order in Council of October 20, 1898 of the United Kingdom	New Territories officially added to the Colony New Territories officially added to the Colony
1899.12.27	Order in Council of December 27, 1899 of the United Kingdom	Qing China's right to exercise judiciary power within the Walled City of Kowloon revoked Qing China's right to exercise judiciary power within the Walled City of Kowloon revoked
1912.01.01	Republic of China	Constitutional republic established in China Constitutional republic established in China
1912.04.15	Titanic, RMS	Largest ship afloat at the time sunk on maiden voyage Largest ship afloat at the time sunk on maiden voyage
1914.07.28	World War One	Largest war in world history at the time, 18 belligerents in total Largest war in world history at the time, 18 belligerents in total
1918.07.11	Nicholas II, Tsar of Russian Empire	Execution of the Imperial Romanov family in Ekaterinburg Execution of the Imperial Romanov family in Ekaterinburg
1922.12.29	Union of Soviet Socialist Republics	Constitutional republic with communism ideology established in Russia Constitutional republic with communism ideology established in Russia
1925.03.12	Sun Yat-sen, Dr. 孫逸仙	ROC's first president died ROC's first president died
1929.10.29	Great Depression	Wall Street crash set stage for world depression lasting till 1941 Wall Street crash set stage for world depression lasting till 1941
1929.10.29	Aisin Gioro Puyi 愛新覺羅溥儀	Manchkuo Emperor Manchkuo Emperor
1933.01.30	Hitler, Adolf	German Chancellor German Chancellor
1934.08.19	Hitler, Adolf	Germany Fuhrer (merging offices of president and chancellor) Germany Fuhrer (merging offices of president and chancellor)
1936.12.10	Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David	Edward VIII of the United Kingdom abdicated in order to marry Willis Simpson Edward VIII of the United Kingdom abdicated in order to marry Willis Simpson
1967.06.05	Six-Day War	Israel engaged in war with Egypt, Jordan, and Syria Israel engaged in war with Egypt, Jordan, and Syria
1967.10.17	Aisin Gioro Puyi 愛新覺羅溥儀	Emperor [last] of China died in Beijing as a private citizen Emperor [last] of China died in Beijing as a private citizen
1937.07.07	Marco Polo Bridge Incident 盧溝橋事變	Japan's full scale invasion of China Japan's full scale invasion of China
1937.05.06	Luftschiff Zeppelin Hindenburg	The longest flying machine at the time caught fire and was completely burned down while landing in New Jersey The longest flying machine at the time caught fire and was completely burned down while landing in New Jersey
1939.09.01	World War Two	Nazi Germany's Poland invasion set off WWII Nazi Germany's Poland invasion set off WWII
1941.12.08	Battle of Hong Kong	Japan attacked Hong Kong; the city fell on Christmas Day Japan attacked Hong Kong; the city fell on Christmas Day
1945.05.08	World War Two [European Theater], the end of	German High Commands surrendered unconditionally to the Allies eight days after Adolf Hitler killed himself German High Commands surrendered unconditionally to the Allies eight days after Adolf Hitler killed himself
1945.09.10	Chinese Civil War [all out] 國共內戰	Communist forces engaged KMT army in battles later known as the Shangdang Campaign 上黨戰役 Communist forces engaged KMT army in battles later known as the Shangdang Campaign 上黨戰役
1945.08.15	World War Two, the end of	Imperial Rescript on Surrender by Japanese Emperor Hirohito was broadcasted by NHK 玉音放送 Imperial Rescript on Surrender by Japanese Emperor Hirohito was broadcasted by NHK 玉音放送
1948.01.30	Gandhi, Mohandas Karamchand	Indian independence leader assassinated Indian independence leader assassinated
1949.10.01	Mao Zedong 毛澤東	People's Republic of China proclaimed People's Republic of China proclaimed
1950.06.25	Korean War	Republic of Korea was invaded by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea Republic of Korea was invaded by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
1949.12.07	Chiang Kai-shek 蔣介石	ROC government transferred to Taiwan ROC government transferred to Taiwan
1953.07.27	Korean Armistice Agreement	Korean War ended Korean War ended
1954	Vietnam War	Vietnam War Vietnam War
1957.11.03	Laika, the dog	Animal to orbit Earth [on USSR space craft Sputnik 2] Animal to orbit Earth [on USSR space craft Sputnik 2]
1969.07.21	Armstrong, Neil	Man walk on the moon Man walk on the moon
1998.11.20	International Space Station	Zarya module launched into orbit around Earth Zarya module launched into orbit around Earth
1966.05	Cultural Revolution 無產階級文化大革命	Radical sociopolitical movement in China Radical sociopolitical movement in China
1967.05.06	Leftist Riots	Labor dispute at a Li Ka-shing owned factory triggered PRC sponsored riots by pro-communist activists and thugs Labor dispute at a Li Ka-shing owned factory triggered PRC sponsored riots by pro-communist activists and thugs
1963.11.22	Kennedy, John Fitzgerald	Youngest United States President assassinated [he was the youngest president elected to office] Youngest United States President assassinated [he was the youngest president elected to office]
1972.02.21	Nixon, Richard Milhous	United States President visited PRC United States President visited PRC
1945.10.24	United Nations membership, ROC	ROC was a UN charter member and a permanent member of the Security Council ROC was a UN charter member and a permanent member of the Security Council
1971.10.25	United Nations membership, PRC	PRC replaced ROC as a UN member; on November 23 the same year, ROC's seat in the Security Council was also given to PRC PRC replaced ROC as a UN member; on November 23 the same year, ROC's seat in the Security Council was also given to PRC
1971.07.09	Kissenger, Henry Alfred	United States Secretary of State visited China in secret United States Secretary of State visited China in secret
1976.09.09	Mao Zedong 毛澤東	Communist Party of China (CPC) Chairman died [he was also Chairman of the CPC Central Military Commission] Communist Party of China (CPC) Chairman died [he was also Chairman of the CPC Central Military Commission]
1976.10.06	Jiang Qing 江青	Gang of Four 四人幫 was arrested Gang of Four 四人幫 was arrested
1964.10.16	596 Project	Nuclear weapons test by PRC Nuclear weapons test by PRC
1945.08.06	Little Boy	Atomic bomb dropped [on Hiroshima] Atomic bomb dropped [on Hiroshima]
1912.02.12	Aisin Gioro Puyi 愛新覺羅溥儀	Emperor [last] of China abdicated Emperor [last] of China abdicated
1968.04.04	King, Rev. Martin Luther	Black civil right leader was assassinated Black civil right leader was assassinated
1990.02.11	Mandela, Nelson	South African anti-apartheid leader was released from prison after 27 years South African anti-apartheid leader was released from prison after 27 years
1979.01.01	Carter, Jimmy	United States formally recognized PRC and severed relations with Taiwan United States formally recognized PRC and severed relations with Taiwan
1974.08.08	Nixon, Richard Milhous	United States President resigned over the Watergate scandal United States President resigned over the Watergate scandal
1975.04.30	Fall of Saigon	Vietnam War ended Vietnam War ended
1973.10.17	Oil Crisis 1973	OPEC imposed an oil embargo against the United States, etc., and cut back reproduction OPEC imposed an oil embargo against the United States, etc., and cut back reproduction
1985.07.21	Li Xiannian 李先念	PRC President visited the United States PRC President visited the United States
1984.12.19	Joint Declaration of the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the People's Republic of China on the Question of Hong Kong 中華人民共和國政府和大不列顛及北愛爾蘭聯合王國政府關於香港問題的聯合聲明	Agreement for the transfer of the sovereignty of Hong Kong Agreement for the transfer of the sovereignty of Hong Kong
1987.10.19	Black Monday	Stock markets worldwide crashed Stock markets worldwide crashed
1989.06.04	Tiananmen Square Protests of 1989 八九民運	Student-led demonstration for democracy met by bloody PLA crackdown Student-led demonstration for democracy met by bloody PLA crackdown
2011.05.02	bin Laden, Osama	Al-Qaeda founder and mastermind of the 911 Attacks was killed by U.S. special forces Al-Qaeda founder and mastermind of the 911 Attacks was killed by U.S. special forces
2003.10.15	Yang Liwei, Lt. Col 楊利偉	Chinese national in space Chinese national in space
2012.06.16	Liu Yang, Maj 劉洋	Chinese woman in space Chinese woman in space
2001.09.11	911 Attacks	Terrorist attacks on the United States by Al-Qaeda Terrorist attacks on the United States by Al-Qaeda
1996.07.05	Dolly the sheep	Cloned mammal Cloned mammal
1997.07.01	Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China	Hong Kong's sovereignty was transferred from the U.K. To PRC, the successor state of ROC, which in turn was the successor state of Da Qing Hong Kong's sovereignty was transferred from the U.K. To PRC, the successor state of ROC, which in turn was the successor state of Da Qing
1991.12.26	Soviet Union dissolution	Demise of communism in Europe Demise of communism in Europe
1989.11.09	Berlin Wall fell	Bornholmer Straße border crossing was opened by GDR border guards to allow East Berliners to walk to West Berlin Bornholmer Straße border crossing was opened by GDR border guards to allow East Berliners to walk to West Berlin
1990.10.03	German reunification	German Democratic Republic's accession into the Federal Republic of Germany German Democratic Republic's accession into the Federal Republic of Germany
1893.09.05	Nethersole Hospital	Hospital for Chinese women Hospital for Chinese women
1903	Victoria Hospital for Women and Children	Hospital for women and children Hospital for women and children It was located at the Peak and had 44 beds.
1893.06.02	Great Northern Telegraph Company	Telephone exchange Telephone Exchange Communication was established on this day between the exchange and the offices of the Wharf and Godown Company in Kowloon. The exchange was ran by the Great Northern Telegraph Company. The telephones were the Combination-Bell-Edison

What's in a Name?

Chinese romanization is always a complicated thing, particularly when it involves names existing in the 19th Century and early 20th Century long before rules or schemes for Mandarin Chinese and Cantonese romanization were developed or standardized. My rule of thumb is to go for the most commonly used romanized name in each case and pay no attention to what scheme it was. Take for instance, for the Father of Railways in China 詹天佑 I have used his romanized name of Tien Yow Jeme, which was how he was commonly known internationally in his time, and has been referred to by historians in later times. Aren't we all happy that I don't have to include all the other variants of spelling, viz.: Zhan Tianyou (pinyin), Jim Tin-yau (Yale), Zim Tin-jau (jyutping), and Chan Tien-yu (Wade–Giles), when I mention his name.

Aliases for Chinese personalities written in this blog may include self given aliases and styles by intellects, baptist names given by churches, nicknames and nicknames-turned-proper-names. Some explanation may be needed for the last. Chinese names were very tricky things to put in English and to remember, worsen by the fact that interpreters existing during the onset of the intermingling of the Chinese and the Western peoples were mostly European or American missionaries who learned not a unified Chinese tongue but different dialects, almost never from well-educated people as the Chinese intellects wanted nothing to do with foreigners, let alone missionaries. When it came to names, I think the forerunner interpreters found a common solution, i.e. use nicknames, or twist the persons' names to make them easier to say and to remember.