(1781–1826)
an English politician. He is best known for buying Singapore for the East India Company in 1819 and for developing the island as a commercial centre. The famous Raffles Hotel there is named after him. He was also the governor of Java (1815–17) and Sumatra (1818–23) and wrote a History of Java (1817). In 1826 Raffles became the first President of London Zoo . He was made a knight in 1817.