Frederick James Halliday

Sir Frederick James Halliday KCB (25 December 1806 – 22 October 1901) was a British civil servant and the first Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal.

It had been recognised for some time that continued territorial acquisitions, which involved disparate populations and regions, both necessitated different administrative approaches and were causing the governor-general to be more frequently away from the area.

The Marquess of Dalhousie, who was governor-general between 1847 and 1856, took the opportunity presented by the renewal of the East India Company's charter to reorganise affairs.

He introduced the Calcutta Municipal Act, enacted reforms of the police service (including better pay), tightened supervision of the inefficient justice system and increased the number of its officials.

While serving as a magistrate in Hooghly district in 1829, he had witnessed the last legal sati (ritual burning of a widow) in Bengal,[8] and as lieutenant-governor he sought to enforce the anti-sati legislation that had been enacted soon after.

[9] Indeed, Vidyasagar enjoyed a close relationship to Halliday during the 1850s, and this helped achieve changes in other social policy spheres, such as education.

[10] Halliday was an enthusiastic supporter of the despatch on education formulated by Charles Wood in 1854, and as a consequence various measures were implemented.

He had generally enjoyed the support of the governor-general during his tenure but he did antagonise some people within the official circles of the Indian government.

He married Eliza Barbara Macgregor, the daughter of an officer in the army of the East India Company, on 25 December 1834.