Sir Matthew Nathan, first Jew to serve as Governor of a British colony, died yesterday at the age of 77. Sir Matthew, who held the rank of Lieut. Col. in the British Army, in which he saw long service, started his career as a Colonial official in 1899, when he was named Governor of Sierra Leone. In the following years, he was Governor of the Gold Coast, Hong Kong, Natal and Queensland.
Other Government posts held by Sir Matthew included Secretary to the Ministry of Pensions, Undersecretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, Chairman of the Board of Inland Revenue and Secretary to the Post Office. His most recent position was High Sheriff of Somerset. Sir Matthew visited the United States in 1926, when he made a study of some government departments. He was vice-president of the Anglo-Jewish Society in London.
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