Frederic Eggleston

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Sir Frederic Eggleston
Born(1875-10-17)17 October 1875
Died12 November 1954(1954-11-12) (aged 79)
NationalityAustralian
Alma materUniversity of Melbourne
Occupation(s)Diplomat, Lawyer, Author, Politician

Sir Frederic William Eggleston (17 October 1875 – 12 November 1954) was an Australian lawyer, politician, diplomat and writer.

Early life[edit]

The eldest son of lawyer John Waterhouse Eggleston and his wife, Emily, his grandfather was the Methodist minister Rev. John Eggleston. His maternal grandparents were also Methodists. His mother died early in his life in 1884 and his father married Ada Crouch in 1887.

Career[edit]

Eggleston was on good terms with John Latham and in 1902 founded a group known as the 'Boobooks' with him.[1] Eggleston was elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly as the member for Member for St Kilda in 1920 and was appointed Attorney-General of Victoria and Solicitor-General of Victoria (1924–1927) in the government of John Allan.[2]

Frederic Eggleston was appointed Australia's first Ambassador to China in 1941. For his role as Chairman of the Commonwealth Grants Commission, in the 1941 King's Birthday honours he was made a Knight Bachelor.[3] Eggleston met with British biochemist and Sinologist Joseph Needham at chance encounter in a monastery in China. They had lunch with a group that included Chinese monks, three itinerant Tibetan monks, and a "living Buddha".[4]

Later life[edit]

At the end of 1952 he published his Reflections of an Australian Liberal (F. W. Cheshire). He died in 1954.[5]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Stuart Macintyre, Latham, Sir John Greig (1877–1964), adb.anu.edu.au. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  2. ^ "Sir Frederic William Eggleston". Re-Member: a database of all Victorian MPs since 1851. Parliament of Victoria. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  3. ^ "Mr Frederick William EGGLESTON". It's an Honour database. Australian Government. 12 June 1941. Retrieved 17 June 2017. Chairman - Commonwealth Grants Commission
  4. ^ Winchester, Simon (2008). The man who loved China. Harper Perennial. ISBN 978-0060884611.
  5. ^ Osmond, Warren (1981). "Eggleston, Sir Frederic William (1875 - 1954)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol. 8. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 24 October 2022.

 

Civic offices
Preceded by
Mayor of Caulfield
1914 – 1915
Succeeded by
Victorian Legislative Assembly
Preceded by Member for St Kilda
1920–1927
Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by
Minister of Water Supply
1924
Succeeded by
Preceded byas Minister of Agriculture and Railways Minister of Railways
1924
Succeeded byas Minister for Agriculture and Railways
Preceded by Minister of Railways
1924–1926
Succeeded by
Preceded by Attorney-General of Victoria
Solicitor-General of Victoria

1924–1927
Succeeded by
Diplomatic posts
New title Australian Minister to China
1941–1944
Succeeded byas Chargé d'affaires
Preceded by Australian Minister to the United States
1944–1946
Succeeded by
Australian Ambassador to the United States
1946