Portal:Singapore/Selected biography
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Adding articles
[edit]Feel free to add any FA or GA Singapore-related biographic articles to the list below, within these guidelines:
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Instructions
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List of Selected biography
[edit]Ho Yuen Hoe, later in life known as Venerable Ho (simplified Chinese: 净润法师; traditional Chinese: 淨潤法師; pinyin: Jìngrùn Fǎshī; 18 February 1908 – 11 January 2006), was a Buddhist nun affectionately known as Singapore's grand dame of charity in recognition of her life-long devotion in helping the old and needy. She was the abbess of Lin Chee Cheng Sia Temple and the founder in 1969 of the Man Fut Tong Nursing Home, the first Buddhist nursing home. Venerable Ho was relatively unknown to the public until 1996, when she was featured in a television programme – The Extraordinary People – at the age of 88. As a result, the public came to know more about her work and her nursing home. In 2001, she received the Public Service Award from the President of Singapore in recognition of her contribution to the country.
Born on 18 February 1908 to a poor family of silk weavers in Guangzhou, China, she was sold when she was five years old. In her late teens, she was persuaded to emigrate to Singapore after she was promised a job that did not materialise. She later left for Hong Kong, hoping for better fortune, but returned to Singapore again after a failed marriage. Her hard work, coupled with her frugal lifestyle, allowed her to save enough money to buy a shop house. She eventually became a landlord. Venerable Ho died on 11 January 2006, a month before her 98th birthday.
Gan Eng Seng (Chinese: 颜永成; Pinyin: Yan Yongcheng; 1844—1899) was one of the early Chinese pioneers of Singapore known for his generosity to many charitable causes during the era of the British Straits Settlements of Malaya and Singapore. Some of his most recognised contributions known were the setting up of Gan Eng Seng School, the Thong Chai Medical Institution, Tan Tock Seng Hospital and the Ee Hoe Hean Club.
Gan was of Hokkien Chinese descent, born and educated in Melaka, and the eldest son of five in his family. His forefathers emigrated from Fujian Province, China to Malaya. Owing to poor circumstances, he probably had an elementary school education in which he learnt to read and write in simple English and keep accounts. After his father's death, sixteen year old Gan was involved in the nutmeg business on a very small scale. Later, he was taken on as an apprentice by Messrs. Guthrie and Company. Gan was diligent and capable, and his ability won him the recognition and keen interest of Thomas Scott, one of the partners in the company. Scott was one of the early British pioneers responsible for developing Tanjung Pagar and the port of Singapore.
Reginald Hugh Hickling (2 August 1920 – 11 February 2007), who generally went by the name Hugh Hickling, was a British lawyer, colonial civil servant, law academic and author. Educated at the University of Nottingham, Hickling joined the Colonial Legal Service and served in a variety of appointments. One of these was the Commissioner of Law Revision of Malaysia, in which capacity he drafted the Internal Security Act 1960 providing for the detention of persons without trial for, among other things, acting in any manner prejudicial to the security of Malaysia. Hickling later said that he did not expect the law to be used against political opponents or those dedicated to non-violent activities; however, he stopped short of calling for its repeal. After retiring as a civil servant, Hickling became a law academic, taking up teaching positions in Australia, Malaysia, Singapore and the United Kingdom, and writing books and law journal articles. Throughout his career he also authored novels and short stories.
The son of Frederick Hickling, a police inspector, and his wife Elsie,of Malvern, Worcestershire, England, Hickling was born on 2 August 1920 in Derby, Derbyshire, in the East Midlands, and was educated at Buxton College. He applied to study at the University of Oxford, but was unsuccessful at his interview when he shocked his examiner by rating the poetry of A. E. Housman over that of William Wordsworth.
Zubir Said (1907–1987) was a Singaporean composer who composed the national anthem of Singapore, "Majulah Singapura" '. Born in the Minangkabau highlands of Indonesia, Zubir later moved to Singapore to make a living as a musician at the age of 21. There, he worked as a score arranger and songwriter for Cathay-Keris Film Productions for 12 years, composing numerous songs for the company's Malay films. He is believed to have written about 1,500 songs, although less than 10 per cent of these songs ever recorded.
Zubir was said to be viewed by many as a composer with a "true Malay soul", as his songs were interwoven with historical messages and Malay truisms, and that he and his Minangkabau contemporaries awoke a wave of national consciousness in the 1950s.
Tang Da Wu (Chinese: 唐大雾; pinyin: Táng Dàwù, pronounced [tʰɑ̌ŋ tâ.û]; born 1943) is a Singaporean artist who works in a variety of media, including drawing, painting, sculpture, installation art and performance art. Though his art, Tang has expressed concern about environmental and social issues. He was educated at Birmingham Polytechnic and Goldsmiths' College, University of London. In 1970, Tang gave his first solo exhibition at the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He began engaging in performance art upon returning to Singapore in 1979.
In 1988, Tang founded The Artists Village, the first art colony to be established in Singapore. In January 1994, the National Arts Council (NAC) stopped funding unscripted performance art following a controversial performance. From that time on, Tang mostly practised his art abroad. This decision was later reversed in September 2003. Tang was one of four artists who represented Singapore at the 2007 Venice Biennale.
Edwin Nadason Thumboo (born 22 November 1933) is an award-winning Singaporean poet and academic who is regarded as one of the pioneers of English literature in Singapore. Thumboo graduated in English from the University of Malaya in 1956. Although he applied for a position at the university, he was rejected as few locals held academic posts at that time. He therefore worked in the civil service for about nine years before finally joining the university, then renamed the University of Singapore, in 1966 following Singapore's independence. He received a Ph.D. from the university in 1970. Thumboo rose to the position of full professor in the Department of English Language and Literature, heading the department between 1977 and 1993. After the merger of the University of Singapore and Nanyang University in 1980 to form the National University of Singapore (NUS), he was the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences from 1980 to 1991, NUS's longest-serving dean.
Thumboo was the first Chairman and Director of the university's Centre for the Arts from 1993 to 2005, and continues to be associated with the university as an emeritus professor, a position he has held since retiring from full-time teaching in September 1997. Thumboo's poetry is inspired by myth and history, and he is often dubbed Singapore's unofficial poet laureate because of his poems with nationalistic themes. A pioneer of local English literature, he compiled and edited some of the first anthologies of English poetry and fiction from Singapore and Malaysia.
Teresa Hsu Chih (Chinese: 许哲; pinyin: Xǔ Zhe) was a Chinese-born Singaporean social worker. She was known affectionately as "Singapore's Mother Teresa" for her active lifelong devotion in helping the aged sick and destitutes in Singapore. She was the founder of the non-profit charities Heart to Heart Service and the Home for the Aged Sick, one of the first homes for the aged sick in Singapore. Before coming to Singapore, Teresa had been a social worker in China and Paraguay and a nurse in England. She led a simple and humble lifestyle, and spent almost all her savings on feeding and housing the poor and the elderly.
As a supercentenarian, Teresa was still actively involved in charity work, and she has the distinction of being one of the very few supercentenarians who were recognized for reasons other than their longevity. She was the oldest living person in Singapore at the time of her death.
Fandi Ahmad is a Singaporean association football coach and former professional player. He mainly played as a striker, though he occasionally played as a midfielder as well. He was the first Singaporean footballer to play in Europe, the first Singaporean millionaire sportsperson and first Singaporean sportsperson to have a published biography. Fandi has even been called a national legend. In his 101 appearances for the Singapore national football team from 1979 to 1997, Fandi scored 52 goals, earning him a place in the Asian Football Confederation Hall of Fame.
After his retirement from international football in 1997, Fandi worked as a coach. He guided SAFFC to win the S.League title in 2000, earning him the S.League Coach of the Year Award. He has also coached the Indonesian side Pelita Bandung Raya, helping them to win promotion to the Indonesia Super League. Currently, Fandi is one of only seven Singaporean coaches with a professional AFC coaching diploma, and is widely considered a future national coach of Singapore's national football team.
Denise Phua Lay Peng (Chinese: 潘丽萍; pinyin: Pān Lìpíng, born 1959) is a Singaporean politician and disability rights activist. a successful corporate career spanning two decades, After her son was diagnosed with autism, she founded WeCAN, a charity which helps caregivers of autistic people and offers early intervention programmes for autistic preschoolers to help other autistic children. She became full-time special needs volunteer in 2005, and subsequently became the president of the Autism Resource Centre (Singapore) and co-founded Pathlight School, the first special school for autistic children in Singapore.
Denise is also a Member of Parliament (MP), representing the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) in Jalan Besar Group Representation Constituency. As an MP, she has focused on developing programmes for the disabled and special needs communities in Singapore.
Li Jiawei (Chinese: 李佳薇; pinyin: Lǐ Jiāwēi; born 9 August 1981) is a China born Singaporean table tennis player. Spotted by Singapore talent scouts in Beijing in 1995, she moved to Singapore and commenced her international career in competitive table tennis in 1996. She became a Singapore citizen at the age of 18 years under the Foreign Sports Talent Scheme.
At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Li, together with teammates Feng Tianwei and Wang Yuegu obtained a silver medal in the Women's team event. This was the first time that Singapore had won an Olympic medal since the nation's independence in 1965, and it also comes 48 years after Tan Howe Liang won the country's first medal at the 1960 Summer Olympics. Subsequently, at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Li won the women's team bronze medal with Feng and Wang.
Lieutenant-General Arthur Ernest Percival, CB, DSO & Bar, OBE, MC, OStJ, DL (26 December 1887 – 31 January 1966) was a British Army officer and World War I veteran. He built a successful military career during the interwar period but is most noted for his involvement in World War II, when he commanded the forces of the British Commonwealth during the Battle of Malaya and the subsequent Battle of Singapore.
Percival's surrender to the invading Imperial Japanese Army force is the largest capitulation in British military history, and it permanently undermined Britain's prestige as an imperial power in the Far East. However, the desired air force strength of 300 to 500 aircraft was never reached due to other pressing defense needs in Britain, the Middle East and the Soviet Union. Whereas the Japanese invaded with over two hundred tanks, the British Army in Malaya did not have a single one. This inexperienced, under-equipped nature of the Commonwealth army has enabled certain commentators to hold a more sympathetic view of his command.
Glenn Jeyasingam Knight (born in 1945) is a Singaporean lawyer. He was the deputy public prosecutor in the trial of former magistrate Khoo Hin Hiong, and he also acted for the Prosecution in the trial of Adrian Lim. He later became the first Director of the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) when it was founded in 1984. On National Day 1990, he was awarded the Public Administration Medal, Gold, for his work as Director of the Commercial Affairs Department.
Knight lost his post in 1991 after being convicted of corruption in a much-publicised trial. After this trial, Knight's was terminated as a civil servant. The High Court struck Knight off the roll of advocates and solicitors, meaning that he could no longer practise law. His Public Administration Medal, Gold was also revoked. In a second trial in 1998, he was again tried and convicted for misappropriating money while in office. This subsequent trial rendered him jobless, and he quietly faded from public life.
Laurentia Tan Yen Yi, P.B.M. (/lɒˈrɛnʃə/ lo-REN-shə; Chinese: 陈雁仪; pinyin: Chén Yànyí, pronounced [tʂə̌n jɛ̂n í]; born 24 April 1979), is a United Kingdom-based Singaporean Para-equestrian competitor. Tan developed cerebral palsy and profound deafness after birth, and moved to the United Kingdom with her parents at the age of three. She took up horse riding at age of five years as a form of physiotherapy. She was first invited to join the Singapore team for the World Para Dressage Championships in 2007, and she did well enough to qualify for the 2008 Summer Paralympics.
At the 2008 Summer Paralympics, Laurentia achieved bronze medals in the Individual Championship and Individual Freestyle Tests (class Ia). These were Singapore's first Paralympic medals and Asia's first equestrian medals at the Paralympic Games. Tan was conferred the Pingat Bakti Masyarakat (Public Service Medal) by the President of Singapore on 20 September 2008. Subsequently, at the 2012 Summer Paralympics, Laurentia won a bronze medal in the dressage Individual Championship Test (class Ia) and a silver medal in the Individual Freestyle Test (class Ia).
Tao Li (Chinese: 陶李; pinyin: Táo Lǐ; born 10 January 1990) is a China-born Singaporean competitive swimmer specializing in the backstroke and butterfly stroke. Singapore Sports School student, Tao has represented Singapore at the Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) and Asian Games and holds several national records. She became Singapore's most medalled athlete at the 2007 SEA Games after winning four gold medals. She also became the first Singaporean female swimmer to reach a FINA World Aquatics Championships final, finishing seventh in the 50 metres butterfly.
Tao made her Olympic début for Singapore at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. She qualified for the 100 metres finals, ranking fourth in the semifinals with a time of 57.54 seconds and setting two Asian records in two days. She thus became the first Singaporean swimmer to enter an Olympic final.
Yip Pin Xiu (Chinese: 叶品秀; pinyin: Yè Pǐnxìu), born 1992) is a Singaporean backstroke swimmer. She has muscular dystrophy and competes in the S3 category for the physically impaired. Since 2005, she has won medals in international competitions such as the World Wheelchair and Amputee Games, Japan Paralympic Swimming Championships and International German Paralympic Swimming Championships. At the 2008 Summer Paralympics, she won a gold medal in the 50 metres backstroke and a silver medal in the 50 metres freestyle, setting world records in both events.
Yip was conferred a state medal, the Meritorious Service Medal. Her achievements contributed to public debate about the treatment and recognition of disabled athletes in Singapore. As a result of this debate, the cash rewards for Paralympic medals were doubled and funding for the Singapore National Paralympic Council was increased.
Neila Sathyalingam (Tamil: நீலா சத்யலிங்கம்) (born 1938) is a Singaporean classical Indian dancer, choreographer and instructor of Sri Lankan Tamil origin. She is an alumna of Kalakshetra in Madras (now Chennai) under the tutelage of Srimathi Rukmini Devi Arundale. Neila emigrated with her family to Singapore in 1974. In 1977 she and her husband founded the performance arts company Apsaras Arts, which has staged performances throughout the world. She is the company's artistic director and continues to teach dance. She became a Singapore citizen in 1994.
In 1983, Neila was appointed the dance instructor and choreographer for the Indian Dance Group of the People's Association (PA), and remains its resident choreographer. She is also an artistic adviser to the National Arts Council. Up to 2007, Neila had also choreographed dance segments for the last 13 Chingay Parades. For her contributions to dance, Neila was awarded the Cultural Medallion in 1989.
Walter Woon Cheong Ming (Chinese: 温长明; pinyin: Wēn Chángmíng; born 12 September 1956) is a Singaporean lawyer, academic, diplomat and politician. Educated at NUS and St. John's College, Cambridge, he joined the teaching staff of the NUS Faculty of Law in 1981 and later served as Sub-Dean and Vice-Dean. He was Legal Adviser to the President of Singapore and Council of Presidential Advisors from 1995 to 1997, and was appointed as professor of law in 1999.
Woon was a Nominated Member of Parliament between 1992 and 1996. He became the first Member of Parliament since 1965 to have a private member's bill become a public law in Singapore – the Maintenance of Parents Act, which was passed in 1995. Between 1997 and 2006, Woon served in a number of diplomatic capacities, including the Ambassador to Germany and the Ambassador to Belgium. He served as Attorney-General between 2008 and 2010. He is currently professor of law at the National University of Singapore's Faculty of Law and the Dean of the Singapore Institute of Legal Education.
Han Sai Por (Chinese: 韩少芙; pinyin: Hán Shàofú;born 19 July 1943) is a Singaporean sculptor. A graduate of the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA), East Ham College of Art, Wolverhampton College of Art (now the School of Art and Design of the University of Wolverhampton) and Lincoln University, New Zealand, she worked as a teacher and later as a part-time lecturer at NAFA, the LASALLE-SIA College of the Arts, and the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, before becoming a full-time artist in 1997.
Though Han is probably best known for her stone sculptures with organic forms, her oeuvre is broad. Today, her sculptures can be found in Osaka and Shōdoshima, Kagawa Prefecture, in Japan; Kuala Lumpur and Sarawak in Malaysia; and Washington, D.C.. For her contributions to art, Han was conferred the Cultural Medallion for Art in 1995. She had won awards from the Lalit Kala Akademi in India, as well as the Outstanding City Sculpture Award in China
Theresa Goh Rui Si (Chinese: 吴蕊思; pinyin: Wú Ruǐsī, pronounced [ǔ ʐwèisɨ́]; born 16 February 1987) is a Singaporean Paralympic swimmer. Due to congenital spina bifida, she does not have use of her legs. She started swimming at the age of five years, and began taking part in competitions at age 12. She soon established herself as a top competitor, winning medals at several competitions, including the ASEAN ParaGames, Far East and South Pacific Games Federation for the Disabled (FESPIC) Games (now known as the Asian Para Games), International Stoke Mandeville Wheelchair Sports Federation (ISMWSF) World Wheelchair Games, National Swimming Championships , and International Paralympic Committee (IPC) World Swimming Championships. She also represented Singapore in the 2008 Summer Paralympics.
Theresa held the world record for the 50 metres and 200 metres breaststroke. She was ranked second in the world for the 100 metres breaststroke and third for the 200 metres individual medley. Goh received the 2001 Sportsgirl Merit Award from the Singapore Disability Sports Council (SDSC) and was named Sportsgirl of the Year in 2002 and 2003. From 2004 to 2006, she was the SDSC's Sportswoman of the Year. On 27 February 2008 Goh received a special award at the SDSC's Sports Superstar Awards 2007 for outstanding achievements in swimming, and in August that year she was conferred the Pingat Bakti Masyarakat (Public Service Medal) in the National Day Awards.
Rex Anthony Shelley (27 November 1930 – 21 August 2009) was a Eurasian Singaporean author. He was a graduate of the University of Malaya in Singapore and Cambridge who was trained in engineering and economics. Shelley managed his own business and also worked as member of the Public Service Commission (PSC) for over 30 years. For his service, he was conferred the Bintang Bakti Masyarakat by the Government of Singapore in 1978, and an additional Bar the next year.
Shelley started writing fiction late in life, publishing his first novel, The Shrimp People. at the age of sixty one. This was first substantial work by a Singaporean writer about the Eurasian community in Singapore and it won the 1992 National Book Development Council of Singapore (NBDCS) Award. In 2007, he was the Singaporean winner of the S.E.A. Write Award. Critics have responded positively to his writing, noting its "passionate, humane" style, and observing how his breadth of life experience gave rise to a talent for characterization plus an ability to blend "a sharp sense of observed commentary with historical detail".