Name James Lyall | Died 1916 | |
Sir James Broadwood Lyall, GCIE, KCSI, (6 March 1838 – 4 December 1916) was an administrator in the Indian Civil Service during the British Raj.
Biography
James Lyall was born in Merstham, Surrey, the son of Alfred Lyall and Mary Drummond. His elder brother was Alfred Comyn Lyall. He was educated first at Eton College and then Haileybury College.
He joined the Bengal Civil Service in 1857, arriving in India the following year. In 1859 he was posted to the Punjab commission and went on to serve as the financial commissioner of the Punjab. Between 1883 and 1887 he served in southern India as the Resident in Mysore and Chief Commissioner of Coorg. On 2 April 1887, Lyall commenced his tenure as Lieutenant Governor of the Punjab. Lyall helped develop and founded many of the Canal colonies throughout the Punjab, an ambitious plan to harness the rivers of the region and transform six million acres of desert into agricultural land. He was made a Knight Commander of the Indian Empire in 1888 and elavated to Knight Grand Commander of the Indian Empire in 1893. That same year he was appointed to the Royal Commission on Opium. In 1898 he served as President of the Indian Famine Commission.
He died on 4 December 1916 in Eastry, Kent and is buried in the local churchyard.