Entry

Wray, Leonard, 1852-1942

Gender:

Male

Active Dates:

1852 - 1942

Active Area:

Asia (continent)
Malaysia (nation)
West Malaysia (division (national))
Malay Peninsula (peninsula)
Perak (state)
Taiping (inhabited place)

Likenesses:

None found.

Photographs:

See list of photographs

Publications:

Wray was the author of various technical publications.
Wright, Arnold and Cartwright, H.A. ed. (1907), 'Twentieth century impressions of British Malaya: its history, people, commerce, industries, and resources'. London. [Wray wrote a chapter on Malay crafts].
'Living races of mankind' (1911). [Includes photographs by Wray].

Related Entries:

None found.

Leonard Wray was born 17 September 1852. He was the second son of Leonard Hume Wray, a planter in Perak, and brother of Cecil Wray. He was educated privately. He was a member of the Society of Telegraph Engineers (1877) and invented the telephone exhibited at the Society of Telegraph Engineers 1876 and the Royal Society 1877. He entered the Public Works Department of the Perak Civil Service in June 1881. He worked as: Superintendent Government Hill Garden, Larut, January 1882; Curator at the Perak State Museum, Taiping, January 1883. Wray was a member of the Straits Br., R.A.S. 1884. He collected and prepared the Perak exhibits for the Colonial and Indian Exhibition 1886 and for the Imperial Institute. He explored and collected flora and fauna in the Malay Peninsula. He was a State Geologist, Perak January 1890. He was Director of Museums, F.M.S. 1904-08; F.M.S. Commr. at the London International Rubber Exhibition 1908 and a delegate in 1911. He was Commr. for the S.S. and British Malaya at the New York International Rubber Exposition 1912, and at London in 1914 and 1921. He was acting Deputy Agent, Malay States Information Agency. During World War I, Wray did X-ray work for auxiliary military hospitals. At the time of his death he was the Hon. Radiographer, Haslemere Hospital.

Wray was a keen amateur photographer. He was a member of the Photographic Society, London and was President of the Photographic Society, Taiping, Perak in the early 1900s. He collected a series of ethnographical photographs of aborigines of the Malay Peninsula (particularly the Sakai) in the 1890s. He produced an album of public works in progress in Perak 1892-93. He built up a collection of photographs in the Perak Museum: 'a most interesting collection of photographs is being made - topographical, anthropological, historical and miscellaneous; permanent processes only are employed' (Perak Annual Report 1898, p.32).

Sources:

Perak Annual Reports.
Perak Civil Service Lists
Records of Colonial Officers (1907)
Straits Settlement directories.
'Who was who' (1980). 5th edition, volume 4 - 1941-1950. London: Adam and Charles Black.
Wright, Arnold and Cartwright, H.A. ed. (1907), 'Twentieth century impressions of British Malaya: its history, people, commerce, industries, and resources'. London.

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