Francis Light

Captain Francis Light was the founder of the British colony of Penang (in modern-day Malaysia) and its capital George Town in 1786.

Francis was born in 1740 in the county of Suffolk, England. After he received a grammar school education he joined the Navy at age of 19 and served as a midshipman during the later stages of the Seven Years War. When peace was made in 1763 he had to seek other employment. Therefore, in 1765 he sailed to East to seek his fortune in India.

After arrival Light had settled in Madras and took control of trade for the British. There, he became the commander of the merchant ship that belonged to Madras firm of merchants, Jourdain, Sullivan & Desouza. In 1771 he was sent to the northern Malay state of Kedah to overlook the trade at the region, and while there he won the confidence of its Sultan Mohammed.

Through his mediation and influence, the English East India Company settled on Penang in order to establish a naval outpost. In return, the English promised to provide him help against hostile states of Siam (Thailand) and Myanmar (Burma). Light became the governor of the settlement which gained a status of a free port. The place rapidly prospered thanks to his policies of generous land grants and encouragement of trade which attracted numerous immigrants, mostly Chinese.

Light was married to Martina Rozells with whom he had three daughters and two sons. His eldest son, William Light, became the first Surveyor General of Southern Australia and the founder of the city of Adelaide. Francis died from malaria in 1794.

Soon after his death, in the early 19th century, the British allowed Siam to take over control of Kedah.