Bibliography

The following shows the list of references which I consulted during my research process:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tan_Tock_Seng

http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_118_2005-01-22.html

Reflections

I found this assignment very useful as I got to know more about Tan Tock Seng. I have learnt about his contributions and his life, though I found the references not really informative. This assignment involves blogging which has in turn helped me improve my typing skills and English. It has also broaden my perspective and increase my interest in History. I have nothing against this assignment. It was truly an eye-opener.

Monuments

I strongly feel that the monument of Tan Tock Seng should stand at the Tan Tock Seng Hospital itself. There visitors could see the monument and learn about the history of the hospital and how it came about. They could also know more about Tan Tock Seng and why this monument is dedicated to him for. The shape of the monument would be a square base, a rectangular body where the infomation is going to be carved and a triangular top which state his name. I am sorry for not being able to produce a sketch of how it would look like.

Contributions

Tan contributed generously to charity and became a renowned philanthropist amongst the Chinese. He was known to provide burial costs for the Chinese poor. His most famous gesture was the donation of Spanish $7,000 to the building of the Chinese Pauper's Hospital (later to be named after him , the Tan Tock Seng Hospital or TTSH) in 1844 at Pearl's Hill. The building was designed by John Turnbull Thomson and it was opened in 1849. The hospital was later shifted to Tan Tock Seng Road because the building at Pearl's Hill was too small to cater to enough patients and it was too old.

He was also a founder of the Taoist Thian Hock Keng Temple at Telok Ayer Street, Singapore's oldest temple, which had been the centre of worship for the Fujian Chinese. Tan Tock Seng was the first Asian to be made a Justice of the Peace by the Governor Butterworth. His role in helping the early Chinese immigrants settle disputes earned him the title "Captain of the Chinese."

Biography

Tan Tock Seng was a Singaporean merchant and philanthropist. Born in Malacca in 1798 to an immigrant Fukien (Hokkien) father and Hokkien Peranakan mother, Tan rose from humble origins. In 1819, Tan moved to Singapore to sell fruit, vegetable and fowl. He worked diligently and was able to set up a shop in Boat Quay and became a notable business.

Through a joint business in land speculation with J. H. Whitehead of Shaw, Whitehead & Co., Tan eventually became a wealthy businessman. His landed properties included 50 acres of land where the railway station at Tanjong Pagar is located, and the plot of land from the Padang to High Street and Tank Road. He also owned a block of shop houses at Ellenborough Building and a 14-acre fruit plantation opposite the St Andrew's Mission Hospital.

Tan Tock Seng died in 1850 at the age of 52, after catching an unknown disease.