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William Light (27 April 1786 – 6 October 1839), also known as Colonel Light, was a British- Malayan naval and army officer.
William Light (1786-1839), soldier and surveyor, was born on 27 April 1786 in Kuala Kedah, Malaya, the second son of Captain Francis Light (1740?-1794) and Martinha Rozells, traditionally a Princess of Kedah but almost certainly a Portuguese Eurasian.
Colonel William Light. Date of Birth: April 27, 1786. Place of Birth: Kuala Kedah, Kedah, Malaysia. Date of Death: October 6, 1839. Place of Death: Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. Occupations: surveyor, surveyor-general, artist. Cultural heritages: English. You are here. Home ›. Topics ›. People ›.
William Light (1786 – 1839), son of Captain Francis Light, was born in Kedah and grew up in Penang. After a notable military career in Europe and Egypt, Colonel William Light became the first Surveyor-General of the Colony of South Australia.
William Light was a naval officer and the first surveyor-general of South Australia. He made numerous sketches and watercolours of Egypt during his travels in 1830-1831, which are held by the State Library of SA.
William Light was born on 27 th April 1786 at Kuala Kedah in Malaya, the son of Captain Francis Light and Martinha Rozells. His mother was not married to Francis Light, who was himself illegitimate and something of an Imperial adventurer.
Colonel William Light was appointed by the South Australian Colonization Commissioners in February 1836 as South Australia's first surveyor-general. He was both a soldier and a sailor, ably captaining the Rapid on its journey to South Australia, where he arrived in August 1836.
