Robert Carr Woods (1816–1875), a native of Lincolnshire, England, is best known from his time in Singapore as first editor of The Straits Times, and subsequently as a lawyer.[1][2]
Biography
Born in Burgh in England, Woods first published papers on meteorology (including description of a meteor storm in 1837) and was Registrar of the Meteorological Society of London.[3]
In 1845, Woods moved on to Singapore and was founding editor of The Straits Times. In 1849, an article about James Brooke's anti-piracy activities was instrumental in encouraging Joseph Hume to raise questions in the British Parliament and, together with a petition from Singapore traders which he took round for signature in 1851, eventually culminated in an Inquiry held in Singapore in the autumn of 1854.
Having registered as a law agent in 1849, Woods went on to found Singapore's first law firm, Woods & Davidson, in 1861 The firm then became Rodyk & Davidson in 1877, and Dentons Rodyk in 2014.
