Lugard, F D

Lugard, F(rederick) (John) D(ealtry)

 later Baron Lugard (of Abinger)

(born Jan. 22, 1858, Fort St. George, Madras, India—died April 11, 1945, Abinger, Surrey, Eng.) British colonial administrator. In Nigeria he served as high commissioner (1900–06) and governor and governor-general (1912–19). He fought as an officer in British campaigns in Asia and North Africa before accepting posts with the British East Africa Company, the Royal Niger Company, and other private enterprises. He succeeded, in advance of the French, in establishing trade routes centred at Buganda, the Middle Niger, and Bechuanaland. As the chief government administrator in Nigeria, he united the disparate northern and southern districts and greatly influenced British colonial policy by exercising control centrally through native rulers and respecting native legal systems and customs.