John Robert Morrison

John Robert Morrison
Morrison (right) with a colleague. Painted by George Chinnery.
Colonial Secretary of Hong Kong (acting)
In office 21 August 1843 – 29 August 1843
Preceded by	George Malcolm
Succeeded by	Frederick Wright-Bruce
Personal details
Born	17 April 1814 Macau
Died	29 August 1843 (aged 29) Macau
Resting place	Old Protestant Cemetery
Parents	Robert Morrison Mary Morton
Profession	Interpreter, colonial official

John Robert Morrison (Chinese: 馬儒翰; 17 April 1814 – 29 August 1843) was a British interpreter and colonial official in China. Born in Macau, his father was Robert Morrison, the first Protestant missionary in China. After his father's death in 1834, Morrison replaced him as Chinese Secretary and Interpreter to the Superintendents of British Trade in China. In 1843, he was appointed as Acting Colonial Secretary of Hong Kong and a member of the Executive and Legislative Councils, but died eight days later in Macau from fever.

Morrison was born on 17 April 1814 in the Portuguese colony of Macau. He was the second son and third child of missionary Robert Morrison's marriage to Mary Morton. Morrison left Macau on 21 January 1815 with his mother and elder sister aboard a ship bound for England. They returned to Macau on 23 August 1820, but less than two years later his mother died and he was sent back to England to receive an education. Over the next four years, he was educated in Manchester and at Mill Hill Grammar School in the London. When his father left for China on 1 May 1826, he took John Robert with him. He learned the Chinese language from his father, and attended the Anglo-Chinese College in Malacca between 1827 and 1830.

From 1830, Morrison acted as translator for English merchants in Canton (Guangzhou), China. From 1832 to 1834, he accompanied American merchant and diplomat Edmund Roberts to Siam and Cochin China as his personal secretary and translator. Morrison also compiled a Chinese Commercial Guide to provide information on British trade in China and contributed to Karl Gützlaff's Eastern Western Monthly Magazine, a publication aimed at improving Sino-western understanding.