William Light
Colonel William Light  |
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|---|---|
| Born |
27 April 1786 Kuala Kedah, Kedah (now in Malaysia) |
| Died | 6 October 1839 (aged 53) Adelaide, South Australia |
| Occupation | British Colonial Official, Surveyor-General |
| Known for | Choosing the location and designing the layout of Adelaide |
Colonel William Light (27 April 1786 – 6 October 1839) was a British military officer and the first Surveyor-General of the Colony of South Australia. He is famous for choosing the site of the colony's capital, Adelaide, and for designing the layout of its streets and parks – in the Adelaide city centre and the Adelaide Park Lands.
Light was born in Kuala Kedah, Kedah (which is now in Malaysia). He lived in Penang (Pulau Pinang) until the age of six, when he was sent to England to be educated. Light was the illegitimate second son of Captain Francis Light, the Superintendent of Penang, and Martina Rozells, who was of Portuguese or French, and Siamese or Malay descent.
At the age of 13, Light volunteered for the Royal Navy, in which he served for two years. He then travelled through Europe and India before joining the 4th Dragoons regiment of the British Army in 1808. After courageous service in Spain against Napoleon's forces from 1809 to 1814, during the Peninsular War, he served under the Duke of Wellington and went on to serve in various parts of Britain as a Captain.
Light married E. Perois in Ireland in 1821. In 1823 he returned to Spain to fight the French invasion as a lieutenant colonel in the Spanish Army. He was badly wounded and spent the next six years travelling Europe and the Mediterranean, accompanied by his second wife Mary Bennet.
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Wikipedia