Thomas Austin (civil servant)

Sir Thomas Austin KCIE
Austin in 1953.
Diwan of Travancore
In office 1932–1934
Monarch	Chithira Thirunal
Preceded by	V. S. Subramanya Iyer
Succeeded by	Muhammad Habibullah
Personal details
Born	(1887-07-20)20 July 1887 United Kingdom
Died	1976 (age 89) United Kingdom

Sir Thomas Austin, KCIE (20 July 1887 – 27 June 1976) was a British civil servant of the Indian civil service and administrator who served as the Diwan of Travancore from 1932 to 1934.

Early life

Thomas Austin was born in 1887 to a British clergyman, Rev. T. Austin. He was educated at Plymouth College and Jesus College, Cambridge.

Indian civil service

Thomas Austin entered the Indian Civil Service in 1910 and served in various junior positions before being appointed District Collector of Nilgiris in 1929. He served as Collector of Nilgiris from 1929 to 1932 when he was appointed the Diwan of Travancore on a two-year contract. In his later life, Austin also served as Chief Secretary of the Government of Madras.

Honours

Austin was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire in 1945.

Austin Town in the city of Bangalore, India is named after Thomas Austin who had built houses for low-income groups in the Cantonment section of the city.

References

• Kelly's handbook to the titled, landed and official classes, Volume 95. Kelly's Directories. 1969. p. 182.