Sir Francis Henry May GCMG KStJ
15th Governor of Hong Kong
In office 24 July 1912 – 12 September 1918
Monarch	George V
Colonial Sec.	Sir Claud Severn
Preceded by	Sir Frederick Lugard
Succeeded by	Sir Edward Stubbs
11th Colonial Secretary of Hong Kong
In office 1902–1911
Monarchs	Edward VII George V
Preceded by	Sir James Stewart Lockhart
Succeeded by	Warren Delabere Barnes
Acting Administrator of Hong Kong
In office 21 November 1903 – 29 July 1904
Monarch	Edward VII
Preceded by	Sir Henry Blake
Succeeded by	Sir Matthew Nathan
In office 20 April 1907 – 29 July 1907
Monarch	Edward VII
Preceded by	Sir Matthew Nathan
Succeeded by	Sir Frederick Lugard
8th High Commissioner for the Western Pacific
In office 21 February 1911 – 25 July 1912
Monarch	George V
Preceded by	Sir Everard im Thurn
Succeeded by	Sir Bickham Sweet-Escott
9th Governor of Fiji
In office 21 February 1911 – 25 July 1912
Monarch	George V
Preceded by	Sir Everard im Thurn
Succeeded by	Sir Bickham Sweet-Escott
Personal details
Born	(1860-03-14)14 March 1860 Dublin, Ireland
Died	6 February 1922(1922-02-06) (aged 61) Suffolk, England
Resting place	Clare, Suffolk
Nationality	British
Spouse(s)	Helena Barker, Lady May
Children	4
Alma mater	Trinity College, Dublin
Occupation	Colonial administrator
Chinese name
Chinese	梅含理
Transcriptions Yue: Cantonese Jyutping mui4 ham4 lei5

Sir Francis Henry MayGCMG KStJ (Chinese:梅含理; 14 March 1860 – 6 February 1922) was a British colonial administrator who served asGovernor of Fiji from 1911 to 1912 andGovernor of Hong Kong from 1912 to 1918.

May was born inDublin, Ireland on 14 March 1860. He was the 4th son of Rt. Hon.George Augustus Chichester May,Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, and his wife Olivia Barrington. May was educated atHarrow School andTrinity College, Dublin, where a few of his predecessors to the Governorship of Hong Kong attended school. May received the 1st Honourman and Prizeman Classics and Modern Languages and B.A. in 1881.

In 1881, May was appointed to a Hong Kong Cadetship after a competitive examination. In 1886, he became the Assistant Protector of Chinese and private secretary to Governor SirWilliam Des Vœux. He was also the private secretary to Acting AdministratorDigby Barker from 1889 to 1891.^[1]

May would hold the office of AssistantColonial Secretary in 1891 and Acting Colonial Treasurer in 1892. He was made a member of theLegislative Council in 1895.

From 1893 to 1901, May was theCaptain Superintendent of theHong Kong Police Force, and Superintendent of Victoria Gaol and Fire Brigade between 1896 and 1902.^[1][2]

He was appointed to the position ofColonial Secretary for Hong Kong in April 1902,^[3] serving until 21 January 1911,^[4] and as such was appointed acting administrator of Hong Kong during transitions totalling almost a year between governors in 1903-1904 and 1907.^[1] In 1911, May was appointedGovernor of Fiji and High Commissioner Western Pacific, a position he would hold until 1912.

In 1912, May was appointedGovernor of Hong Kong, a position he occupied in his own right until 1918. It was also his last post in the Colonial Service.

May was the only Governor of Hong Kong to be the target of an assassination attempt. He was fired upon near theGeneral Post Office as he rode in asedan chair after arriving from Fiji in July 1912. May was not injured; the bullet lodged in the sedan of his wife. The gunman, Li Hung-hung, had a grudge against May. Several years before, this former Police Superintendent had imprisoned Li's father, an undesirable mainland immigrant.^[5] May used a car for daily transport from then onwards.^[1]

On 22 January 1918, May personally negotiated with the remaining member of a gang holed up in the "Siege ofGresson Street", following a running gun battle through the streets ofWanchai in which five police officers were killed.^[2]

In 1919, due to deteriorating health condition, May was relieved of his duty as the Governor.^[1]

In 1891 May married Helena Barker, the daughter and heiress of Acting Administrator Major-GeneralDigby Barker^[1] ofClare Priory in Suffolk. They had four daughters, Stella, Phoebe, Iris and Dionne. Stella marriedGeneral Philip de Fonblanque.^[6] Iris (Olivia Helena) marriedEdward Hamilton Johnston the Sanskritist in the early 1920s.^[7]

He died atClare Priory, Suffolk, England. He is buried atClare, Suffolk.

• K.St.J.
• J.P. for Suffolk
• C.M.G., 1895
• G.C.M.G., 1919

• Guide to Cantonese Colloquial
• Yachting in Hong-Kong

May Road, a roadway in the UpperMid-Levels area inHong Kong Island, and May Hall of theUniversity of Hong Kong^[8] were named after him. Also,the Helena May Foundation was named after his wife.^[1]

• British Hong Kong
• Charles May, after which some "May" places are also named in Hong Kong, includingMay House.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toFrancis Henry May.

• Portraits of Francis Henry May at theNational Portrait Gallery, London
• "May, Sir Francis Henry" .Thom's Irish Who's Who . Dublin:Alexander Thom and Son Ltd. 1923. p. 162  – viaWikisource.

• High commissioners for the Western Pacific
• Governors of Fiji
• Governors of Hong Kong
• 1860 births
• 1922 deaths
• Chief secretaries of Hong Kong
• Alumni of Trinity College Dublin
• People educated at Harrow School
• Knights of the Order of St John
• Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George
• Politicians from Dublin (city)
• 20th-century British politicians

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from June 2020
• Articles containing Chinese-language text
• Articles containing traditional Chinese-language text
• Commons category link is on Wikidata