Cecil Beadon

Sir Cecil Beadon, KCSI (1816 – 18 July 1880) was an English administrator in British India, serving as lieutenant-governor of the Bengal Presidency from 1862 to 1866, when he was relieved of the post after a commission of inquiry, which was critical of his handling of the Orissa famine of 1866.

Reaching India in 1836, Beadon spent time in district offices administration, and was serving as magistrate of Murshidabad when in 1843 he was appointed under-secretary to the government of Bengal.

After filling posts in the revenue administration, he was selected in 1850 by James Broun-Ramsay, 1st Marquess of Dalhousie to represent the Bengal presidency on a commission on the postal system.

The report of a commission of inquiry on the handling of the famine was unfavourable to Beadon, who left India and returned to England.

He maintained this viewpoint in spite of the fact that India exported over 200 million pounds of rice to Britain during the period of famine.