Hugh Low
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Sir Hugh Low GCMG |
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Hugh Low
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| 4th British Resident of Perak | |
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In office 1st April 1877 – 31st May 1889 |
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| Preceded by | James G. Davidson |
| Succeeded by | Frank A. Swettenham |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
10 May 1824 Upper Clapton, United Kingdom |
| Died | 18 April 1905 (aged 80) Alassio, Italy |
| Spouse(s) | Catherine Napier, Anne Douglas |
| Religion | Christian |
Sir Hugh Low, GCMG (10 May 1824 – 18 April 1905) was a British colonial administrator and naturalist. After a long residence in various colonial roles in Labuan, he became the first successful British administrator in the Malay Peninsula. His methods became models for future administrators. He made the first documented ascent of Mount Kinabalu in 1851. Both Kinabalu's highest peak as well as the deep gully on the northern side of the mountain are named after him.
Low was born in Upper Clapton, England, the son of a Scottish horticulturist, also named Hugh. At an early age, he acquired botanical expertise working in the family nursery. At 20, his father sent him on a collecting expedition to South East Asia. He based himself in Singapore but soon joined James Brooke, the White Rajah, in Sarawak. In the months following he became well enough acquainted with interior of Sarawak to write a definitive book on it on his return home. In 1847, Brooke was appointed Governor of the recently established British colony of Labuan and Consul General of Borneo. He made Low his Colonial Secretary (1848-1850) and William Napier Esq., Lieutenant Governor. They, and Napier's daughter, Catherine, returned to the Far East in 1848; Low married Catherine when they reached Singapore. In Labuan Low acquired administrative experience, fluency in Malay and an enduring reputation as a naturalist, although he quarrelled with geologist/naturalist James Motley. He was Police Magistrate from 1850 to 1877. It was also from Labuan he made his three visits to Mount Kinabalu, the first in March 1851 and twice with Spenser St. John, the consul General of Brunei, in 1858.
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