John Anthony (interpreter)
John Anthony | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1766 |
| Died | August 1805 Hallowall Down |
| Resting place | St Paul's Church, Shadwell |
| Employer | East India Company |
| Spouse | Esther Gole |
John Anthony (c. 1766 – August 1805) was an interpreter and tradesman who became the first Chinese person to gain British citizenship in 1805, which was achieved through an Act of Parliament.
Biography
[edit]Anthony left China aged 11 and travelled between London and China for several years before permanently relocating in 1799. As an employee of the East India Company, he was stationed in at Angels Gardens in East London to provide translation and accommodation for Chinese and Lascar sailors. China Rhyming described him as "perhaps the father" of London's first Chinatown in Limehouse,[1][2][3] where the sailors were housed. As of 1804, he worked as an interpreter in the Old Bailey court, interpreting for a Chinese prosecutor named Erpoon during a theft trial.[4][5]
Anthony Anglicised his name and converted to the Church of England from paganism; his baptism took place at Shadwell Church. He married Esther Gole, sister of Abraham Gole in 1799.[6][7]
With his fortune, Anthony had a country house in Hallowall Down, Essex (possibly Holloway Down) and a townhouse in Shadwell. He applied for British citizenship; the Act of Parliament allowing him to passed in March 1805. He passed away a few months later in August 1805 at age 39.[1][8] His funeral at St Paul's Church, Shadwell drew over two thousand mourners. An obituary in The Gentlemen's Magazine described as having "bore a most excellent character".[9][10]
Legacy
[edit]In 2018, a dim sum restaurant named after Anthony opened in Hong Kong.[11] Anthony's story featured in a 2023 exhibit at the London Metropolitan Archives (LMA) titled The Unforgotten Lives.[4]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "John Anthony – The First Chinese Englishman". China Rhyming. 7 August 2009. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
- ^ "John Anthony: Fusing East and the West". Pendulum. 28 January 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
- ^ "Voicing the Archive". esea contemporary. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
- ^ a b Shea, Julian (11 September 2023). "Archives give voice to London's earliest immigrants". China Daily. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
- ^ "ANN ALSEY. THOMAS GUNN. Theft; theft from a specified place, Theft; receiving". Old Bailey Proceedings. 5 December 1804. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
- ^ Pandey, Gyanendra (2013). Subalternity and Difference: Investigations from the North and the South. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-136-70162-7.
- ^ Benton, Gregor; Gomez, Edmund Terence (2007). "The Chinese in Britain, 1800-present : economy, transnationalism, identit". Palgrave Macmillan. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
- ^ Hahn, Sylvia; Nadel, Stanley (2014). Asian Migrants in Europe: Transcultural Connections. V&R unipress GmbH. ISBN 978-3-8471-0254-0.
- ^ "drawing". British Museum. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
- ^ "Obituaries, with Anecdotes, of Remarkable Persons". The Gentleman's Magazine. August 1805. p. 779.
- ^ de Klee, Katie (18 November 2018). "John Anthony restaurant by Linehouse is "British tea hall turned Chinese canteen"". Dezeen. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
- 1760s births
- 1805 deaths
- 19th-century British translators
- 19th-century Chinese translators
- Chinese emigrants to England
- Chinese–English translators
- Converts to Anglicanism
- Converts to Protestantism from pagan religions
- Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom
- People from Leyton
- People from Limehouse
- People from Shadwell