Mary Turnbull

Constance Mary Turnbull
Born	Constance Mary Turnbull February 9, 1927 Northumberland England
Died	September 5, 2008(2008-09-05) (aged 81)
Occupation	Historian, author
Nationality	British
Ethnicity	Caucasian
Alma mater	University of London
Period	1971 - 2008
Subjects	Singaporean History
Notable work(s)	The Straits Settlements 1826-67: Indian presidency to crown colony (1972) A History of Singapore (1977) Dateline Singapore: 150 Years Of The Straits Times (1995)
Influenced Suzanne Miers

Constance Mary Turnbull (b. 1927, February 9, England – d. 2008, September 5, England) was a historian lauded for her lifetime of literary research writing contributing to the documentation of Asian history, and for her documentary work on the history of Singapore. Her expertise on Singapore history and citations from her book The Straits Settlements was instrumental to the case presented by the Singapore legal team to the International Court of Justice, in claiming sovereignty over Pedra Branca in 2008.^[1] (See Sovereignty over Pedra Branca/Pulau Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks and South Ledge (Malaysia v. Singapore)).

Mary was born the only child to a native farm-owner father and a schoolteacher mother from the Isle of Man, in a farm not far from Wooler, Northumberland. In the 1920s Coventry grew to be the center of UK motor industry, and her family migrated to the thriving city when her father decided to give up farming for a more lucrative career in motorcar engineering. Throughout her childhood Mary led a happy but simple life despite having to live with different relatives during the Great Depression and during the German air raids in World War II.^[2]

In 1988 Mary retired from her position in the university. She continued to write, and travel around Britain and New Zealand and on occasions, to Singapore and Malaysia for visits. In the 1990s she was commissioned by The Straits Times to compile the history of the Singapore newspaper company and in 1995, Dateline Singapore: 150 Years Of The Straits Times that resulted from nearly 3 years' of work, was launched to inaugurate the 150th anniversary of the founding of the newspaper title.^[1]

Mary died on the afternoon of September 5, 2008 of a ruptured aorta, just 5 hours after discovering the condition in a routine check-up. She had also been working on writing the third edition of A History of Singapore prior to the time of her death.^[1]

Bibliography

• Mills, L. A. (1961) British Malaya, 1824-67. Singapore: Malayan Branch Royal Asiatic Society.

• Turnbull, C. M. (1969) Modern Singapore a commemorative for Singapore's 150th anniversary

• Turnbull, C. M. (1972) The Straits Settlements, 1826 - 67: Indian Presidency to Crown Colony. London: Athlone Press.

• Turnbull, C. M. (1977) A History of Singapore, 1819 - 1975. Singapore: Oxford University Press.

• Turnbull, C. M. (1989) A History of Singapore, 1819 - 1988. Singapore: Oxford University Press.

• Turnbull, C. M. (1980, 1981, 1989) A History of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei. Sydney: Allen & Unwin.

• Turnbull, C. M. (1995) Dateline Singapore: 150 years of the Straits Times. Singapore: Times Editions

• Turnbull, C. M. (2009) A History of Modern Singapore 1819 - 2005 (published posthumously). Singapore: NUS Press.

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Liaw, Wy-Cin (2008-09-11). "Expert on S'pore history dies at 81". Straits Times. p. B7. 
2. ^ Revathy, C. (2006). Jayakumar, Shashi. ed. Prof Mary Turnbull. accession no. 003025 (reel 1). Singapore: National Archives. http://www.a2o.com.sg/a2o/public/search/ohcDetail.jsp?id=027246&siteIndex=1&total=2&keyword=mary+turnbull&matchType=1&dateFromStr=1900&dateToStr=2000&index=0&index=1&index=2&index=3&index=4&index=5&index=6&index=7. Retrieved 2008-12-24 

Persondata
Name	Turnbull, Mary
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	February 9, 1927
Place of birth	Northumberland England
Date of death	September 5, 2008
Place of death