Henry Marion Durand

Sir Henry Marion Durand (1812-1871) was a British soldier and colonial administrator. He left Britain for India in 1829, arriving in India in May 1830.

Career

He served initially as Second Lieutenant in the Bengal Engineers. He attained the rank of Major-General, and served in the First Afghan War (1839 - 1842), and the Second Anglo-Sikh War (1848 - 1849). He also served as Chief Commissioner of Tenasserim (1844 - 1846), as Resident of Gwalior (1849 - 1852), and acting Resident of Baroda (March 1852 - March 1854).

War of 1857

During the Indian Rebellion (1857 - 1858), he served as a military commander in western Malwa.

Lieutenant-Governor

He served finally as Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab (June 1, 1870 - January 1, 1871).

Death

He was killed on January 1, 1871 when passing on an elephant under a gateway in the city of Tonk now Tank, Pakistan.

Books

He was the author of "The First Afghan War and Its Causes" and his memoirs, "The Life of Major General Sir Henry Marion Durand of the Royal Engineers" (London: W H Allen, 1883) were published posthumously.

His son, Henry Mortimer Durand, also served in the Indian Civil Service and later in the British diplomatic service.