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Thomas Ludlam (colonial administrator)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Thomas Ludlam (ca. 1775 – 25 July 1810) was thrice Governor of Sierra Leone.
![Memorial tablet to Thomas Ludlam in St Mary de Castro church, Leicester. Placed in the church by his mother.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/22/Ludlam%2C_Thomas%2C_d1810_memorial_tablet_St_Mary_de_Castro%2C_Leicester.jpg/640px-Ludlam%2C_Thomas%2C_d1810_memorial_tablet_St_Mary_de_Castro%2C_Leicester.jpg)
Thomas Ludlam was the son of William Ludlam and Frances Ludlam,[1] née Dowley,[2] and nephew to Thomas Ludlam the clergyman. He was baptised in Leicester on 15 September 1775.[1]
He received a classical education. He shared his father's practical abilities and trained as a printer, being apprenticed to John Nichols. However shortly following the completion of his apprenticeship the opportunity for him to take up a post with the Sierra Leone Company (SLC) arose, and he moved to their colony in Africa.[3]
Having previously served on the Council of the SLC, he subsequently rose to become governor,[3] fulfilling the role three times: May 1799 – 1800, 28 August 1803 – January 1805 and 1806 – 27 July 1808.[4]
On 19 November 1807, Ludlam arrested the American slave ship Triton, enacting the newly established Slave Trade Act 1807.[5]
He died on board HMS Crocodile on 25 July 1810.[3]