Gustav Detring Explained

Gustav Detring
Birth Date:	1842
Death Date:	4 January 1913
Nationality:	British

Gustav Detring (1842 - 4 January 1913) was a German-born British official of Chinese Customs. He was appointed Customs Commissioner at Tianjin in 1877 where he worked under the patronage of Li Hongzhang. From 1878 to 1893 he was chairman of the board of directors of the British municipal council in Tianjin.^[1]

Early life

Gustav Detring was born in Germany in 1842.

Career

He was appointed Customs Commissioner at Tianjin in 1877 where he worked under the patronage of Li Hongzhang. From 1878 to 1893 he was chairman of the board of directors of the British municipal council in Tianjin.^[2] An avid supporter and speculator in China's burgeoning railroad and mining market, Detring resigned from his post in Tianjin in 1904 following a dispute on the ownership of the Kaiping Mining Company and subsequent conflict with Yuan Shikai.^[3]

Death

Detring died on 4 January 1913.^[2]

External links

• https://www.hpcbristol.net/visual/hv35-48
• https://www.sothebys.com/en/articles/detring-and-von-hanneken-the-highest-ranking-westerners-in-china

Notes and References

1. News: Detring and von Hanneken, the Highest Ranking Westerners in the Chinese Court . www.sothebys.com.
2. "The Birth of China's First Set of Postage Stamps Delayed by James Campbell", Liu Jiawei & Zhang Huadong, The London Philatelist, Vol. 28, No. 1469 (Oct. 2019), pp. 370-381.
3. van de Ven . Hans . 2006 . Robert Hart and Gustav Detring during the Boxer Rebellion . . en . 40 . 3 . 659–60 . 0026-749X . 10.1017/S0026749X06002058 . 145187267 .