Arthur Purves Phayre
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Sir Arthur Purves Phayre (May 7, 1812 - December 14, 1885) was the first Commissioner of British Burma, 1862-1867, Governor of Mauritius, 1874-1878, and author.
Phayre was born in Shrewsbury and educated at Shrewsbury School. He joined the Indian Army in 1828. In 1846 he was appointed assistant to the commissioner of the province of Tenasserim, Burma, and in 1849 he was made commissioner of Arakan. After the Second Anglo-Burmese War (1852), he became commissioner of Pegu.
In 1862 Phayre was made commissioner for the entire province of British Burma. He left Burma in 1867, serving for a few years (1874–78) as governor of Mauritius. He retired to Bray in Ireland with his family, and was knighted in 1878.
Phayre wrote the first standard History of Burma (1883). He is commemorated in the names of a number of animals, including:
- Phayre's Leaf Monkey Trachypithecus phayrei
- Phayre's squirrel Callosciurus phayrei
- Eared Pitta Pitta phayrei
- Brown Asian Forest Tortoise Manouria emys phayrei subspecies of Manouria emys
| Government offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by first incumbent |
Chief Commissioner of British Crown Colony of Burma 1862–1867 |
Succeeded by Albert Fytche |
| Preceded by Arthur Hamilton-Gordon |
Governor of Mauritius 1874–1878 |
Succeeded by Sir George Bowen |
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