# William Tarrant

> William Tarrant was a civil servant and newspaper editor in British Hong Kong. He served as Inspector of Land and Roads and subsequently Registrar of Deeds in the Hong Kong colonial administration from 1842 to 1847, but was removed from office and barred from public service owing to allegations he had raised against Colonial Secretary William Caine, which an internal government inquiry held to be fabricated. Tarrant then began a new career in journalism, purchasing the Friend of China newspaper in 1850. He became prominently involved in a scandal involving multiple senior government officers, the Caldwell affair, in 1857, and was ultimately found guilty of libel and imprisoned in 1859. He left the colony after his release in 1860, and made two attempts over the course of the 1860s to restart the Friend of China in Guangzhou and Shanghai, each proving abortive. Finally, he sold the paper in 1869 and retired to England, where he died in 1872.

*Hong Kong civil servant and journalist*

**Canonical URL:** https://fame.am/person/william-tarrant

## Identity
- **Profile type:** Public Official
- **Category:** Politicians
- **Died:** 1872-01-26
- **Status:** deceased
- **Gender:** male

## Bio

William Tarrant was a civil servant and newspaper editor in British Hong Kong. He served as Inspector of Land and Roads and subsequently Registrar of Deeds in the Hong Kong colonial administration from 1842 to 1847, but was removed from office and barred from public service owing to allegations he had raised against Colonial Secretary William Caine, which an internal government inquiry held to be fabricated. Tarrant then began a new career in journalism, purchasing the Friend of China newspaper in 1850. He became prominently involved in a scandal involving multiple senior government officers, the Caldwell affair, in 1857, and was ultimately found guilty of libel and imprisoned in 1859. He left the colony after his release in 1860, and made two attempts over the course of the 1860s to restart the Friend of China in Guangzhou and Shanghai, each proving abortive. Finally, he sold the paper in 1869 and retired to England, where he died in 1872.

## Fame
- **Fame score:** 36.1
- **Momentum:** 20.7

## Sources
- [William Tarrant](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Tarrant)
- [William Tarrant](https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Tarrant)
- [William Tarrant](https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Tarrant)
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q65511957)

---
Generated by Fame.am · https://fame.am/person/william-tarrant