James W. Davidson

James Wheeler Davidson (14 June 1872 – 18 July 1933) was an American-born Canadian businessman, diplomat, explorer, journalist, and philanthropist. He is remembered for writing The Island of Formosa, Past and Present (1903), a book on the history of Taiwan. He is also noted for greatly aiding the internationalisation of Rotary International.

Adventure and journalism

In 1893 Davidson was a member of the Peary expedition to Greenland, which was attempting to find a route to the North Pole.^[1] In 1895 he travelled to Taiwan as a war correspondent to report on the transition from Qing rule to Japanese rule, and witnessed the resistance to the Japanese takeover which centred on the short-lived Republic of Formosa. He was decorated by the Emperor of Japan in 1895 with Order of Rising Sun for services rendered to the Japanese army in capturing the capital of Formosa.^[2] Once the Japanese established control over the island, he took up a job as a trader based in the town of Tamsui. In June 1897, he was appointed by President Cleveland consular agent for the island of Formosa, where he remained nine years, during which time he wrote numerous monographs on Formosan affairs.^[2]

Disappointed by the lack of a comprehensive general history of the island in English, Davidson undertook eight years of research on the subject, poring through accounts in many languages until he was able to write his magnum opus in 1903, which he called The Island of Formosa, Past and Present. The book has gone through several reprints, and remains a central work in the study of the history of Taiwan, with one commentator describing it as "the major English language survey of Taiwan for its days and still the most frequently consulted English language source".^[3]

In 1903, he obtained leave of absence, and under the auspices of the Russian Communications Department made a careful survey of the territory adjacent to the Asian section of the

Davidson died in Vancouver in his adopted homeland of Canada on 18 June 1933.[5] Mount Davidson (Alberta) was named after him.^[6][7]

Bibliography

• Davidson, James W. (1895). Formosa Camphor and Its Future.
• Davidson, James W. (1895). "A Review of the History of Formosa, and a Sketch of the Life of Koxinga, the First King of Formosa". Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan. 24: 112–136. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
• Davidson, James W. (1903). Formosa under Japanese rule. London: Japan Society.
  OCLC 860694076
  .
• Davidson, James W. (1903). The Island of Formosa, Past and Present : history, people, resources, and commercial prospects : tea, camphor, sugar, gold, coal, sulphur, economical plants, and other productions. London and New York: Macmillan.
  OL 6931635M
  .
• Davidson, James W. (1903). The Island of Formosa : historical view from 1430 to 1900, history, people, resources and commercial prospects, tea, camphor, sugar, gold, coal, sulphur, economical plants and other productions.
  OCLC 780197423
  .
• Davidson, James W. (2005) [1903]. The Island of Formosa, Past and Present : history, people, resources, and commercial prospects : tea, camphor, sugar, gold, coal, sulphur, economical plants, and other productions. Taipei, Taiwan: Southern Materials Center.
  OCLC 155703226
  .

Sources

• Lampard, J. Robert (2006). The Life and Times of James and Lillian Davidson.
  ISBN 978-1-55383-111-2
  .
• Wright, David Curtis and Lin, Hsin-yi (2017). From Province to Republic to Colony: The James Wheeler Davidson Collection on the Origins and Early Development of Japanese Rule in Taiwan, 1895-1905.
  ISBN 978-986-05-3164-0.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link
  )