Dhun Jehangir Ruttonjee

Dhun Jehangir Ruttonjee CBE JP (10 July 1903 – 28 July 1974) was a leader of the Indian community in Hong Kong.[1] He was chairman of the Hong Kong Anti-Tuberculosis and Thoracic Diseases Association [zh] and a Legislative Councillor.

The Hon. Dhun Jehangir Ruttonjee CBE, JP, Hon LL D
Born	(1903-07-10)10 July 1903 British Hong Kong
Died	28 July 1974(1974-07-28) (aged 71) British Hong Kong
Nationality	British
Alma mater	University of Hong Kong
Title	Senior Unofficial Member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong
Term	29 June 1962 – 26 June 1968
Predecessor	Kwok Chan
Successor	Kan Yuet-keung
Parent(s)	Jehangir Hormusjee Ruttonjee (father)

Dhun Jehangir Ruttonjee
Traditional Chinese	鄧律敦治
Simplified Chinese	邓律郭治
Transcriptions Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Dahng Leuht dēun jih Jyutping Dang^6 Leot^6 deon^1 zi^6

Ruttonjee was the son of businessman and philanthropist Jehangir Ruttonjee.

Biography

Ruttonjee was born in Hong Kong in 1903 to prominent Parsee Jehangir Hormusjee Ruttonjee. He attended St Joseph's College and was an undergraduate at the University of Hong Kong, although, like many of his fellows at the university before the war, he left early to join the family business.[1]

One of Ruttonjee's sisters, Tehmi Ruttonjee-Desai, died of tuberculosis in 1943, spurring his father to found the Hong Kong Anti-Tuberculosis Association [zh] in 1948, of which Dhum Ruttonjee was chairman from 1964 until his death (succeeding Donovan Benson [zh], preceding Seaward Woo).[2][3][4]

In 1942, during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, Ruttonjee family properties Dina House and Ruttonjee Building on Duddell Street were beleaguered by Japanese guards for several weeks. In 1944, Ruttonjee and his father were arrested, tortured and sentenced to five years' imprisonment, of which they served nine months before the liberation of the city. They were accused of aiding those at the Stanley Internment Camp and general anti-Japanese activity.[5]

He was appointed Justice of the Peace after the war, in 1947.[6] He was made an Unofficial member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong in 1953.[1] In the Council, he sat on the Kaitak Progress Committee alongside Ngan Shing-kwan and Charles Terry.[7] Ruttonjee was made Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1957, and Commander in 1964, for public services. During the 1967 leftist riot, Ruttonjee was one of the earliest supporters of government crackdown among local elites.[8] He served on the Legislative Council until 1968.[3] He was known to often wear an orchid, a fact mentioned when he received the degree of Doctor of Laws honoris causa from the University of Hong Kong the next year.[6] Ruttonjee died on 28 July 1974.[3]

Legislative Council of Hong Kong
Preceded by Kwok Chan	Senior Unofficial Member in Legislative Council 1962–1968	Succeeded by Kan Yuet-keung
Non-profit organization positions
Preceded by Donovan Benson [zh]	Chairman of the Hong Kong Tuberculosis Association 1964–1974	Succeeded by Seaward Woo

References

1. Growing with Hong Kong: the University and its graduates; the first 90 years; a convocation project (Reprint ed.). Hong Kong University Press. 2002. ISBN 9622096131.
2. The Royal Naval Hospital, Hong Kong, private website citing Harland, Kathleen, The Royal Navy in Hong Kong since 1841, Maritime Books, Liskeard, Cornwall, undated; and Melson, Commodore P.J., (ed.), ', Edinburgh Financial Publishing, Hong Kong, 1997
3. "Prominent philanthropist died", South China Morning Post, 29 July 1974.
4. "60th Anniversary Commemorative Album" (PDF). Hong Kong Tuberculosis, Chest & Heart Diseases Association. 2008. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
5. Holdsworth, May, and Christopher Munn (2012). Dictionary of Hong Kong Biography. Hong Kong University Press. Print. Excerpts via Hugh Farmer (22 May 2016). Jehangir Hormusjee Ruttonjee – founder of Hong Kong Brewers and Distillery Ltd (weblog post). The Industrial History of Hong Kong Group. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
6. Young, Leonard Kenneth (1969). "The Hon Dhun Jehangir RUTTONJEE". 72nd Honorary Degrees Congregation (citation). University of Hong Kong. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
7. "Official Report of Proceedings" (PDF). Hong Kong Legislative Council. 26 March 1958. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
8. Yep, Ray (2008). "The 1967 Riots in Hong Kong: The Diplomatic and Domestic Fronts of the Colonial Governor". The China Quarterly. 193: 122–139. doi:10.1017/S0305741008000076. ISSN 0305-7410.