David Marshall: His Thoughts and Convictions

by Kevin Khoo
This year marks the hundredth anniversary of the birth of David Marshall (1908–1995), the celebrated Singapore nationalist, politician, lawyer and diplomat. Born on 12 March 1908 into a Sephardic Jew family, Marshall rose to prominence in the late 1940s as a brilliant young criminal lawyer whose extraordinary legal acumen and oratorical skill left… »

Mental Health in Singapore: Into the Twentieth Century

by Tan Mei Yan 
Continuing The First Hospital for the Mentally Ill
The Grand Jury made their last Presentment on 18 October 1865, and was abolished by Ordinace VI on 1873 passed on 9 September 1873 (Lee 1978, 204). At that point of time, doctors had both clinical and administrative duties to fulfil (Ng 2001, 15). As… »

Mental Health in Singapore: The First Hospital for the Mentally Ill (1841-1928)

by Tan Mei Yan 
Continuing The Early Years (1819-1840)
Completed in 1841, the Insane Hospital was situated at the corner of Bras Basah Road and Bencoolen Street (Ng 2001, 9; IMH 2003, 16). In spite of the unfortunate death that occurred, due regard was still not given to mental health care. Conditions at the Hospital were not better… »

Mental Health in Singapore: The Early Years (1819-1840)

by Tan Mei Yan
Mental health in Singapore has its roots in the West. The first medical personnel in the field were mostly from Britain. Medical education in the early years was almost exclusively for the British, until the establishment of King Edward VII College of Medicine on the island in 1907. Hence, many ideas influential… »

The Makers and Keepers of Singapore History

Tangent Special Issue, 6 (2), 2007, edited by Loh Kah Seng
Synopsis
In this special issue of Tangent, the twelve contributors will examine an oft untold side of history. What follow are our reflections on ongoing or recently-completed research into Singapore’s history after World War Two. We write of our engagements with the “makers” and “keepers” of… »

The POSB Students’ Savings Scheme: A Largely Forgotten Childhood Experience

by Sim I Lin Melissa

During a Chinese New Year gathering, a conversation between my mother and her friends somehow shifted to how various Post Office Savings Bank (POSB) branches were silently being renovated into Development Bank of Singapore (DBS) outlets instead. They agreed that this was a “smart move that will not cause a lot… »

Researching History: List of Academic Exercises (Honours) - 1970s

Compiled by Ho Chi Tim
The following is a list of academic exercises completed by honours students graduating from AY (academic year) 1970/1971 to 1979/1980. Aside from showcasing student works which may otherwise go unnoticed, we also hope that such a compilation will aid historical research and stimulate ideas for further study.
This list hopes to continue… »

Review: Guardians of the South Seas: Thian Hock Keng and Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan

by Chia Meng Tat Jack
Guardians of the South Seas: Thian Hock Keng and Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan. By Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan. Singapore: Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan, 2006. 155 pp.

Guardians of the South Seas is the English translation of Bojing nanming: Tianfugong yu fujian huiguan 波靖南溟: 天福宮与福建会馆 (2005), a commemorative book published by the Singapore… »

A Singapore History Proposal: Reminiscing the Singaporean Identity

by Andrew Cai

My proposed documentary would be entitled “Reminiscing the Singaporean Identity”. As suggested by the title, it aims to challenge Singaporeans to consider whether the Singapore’s identity is really constant and unchanging. The onslaught of globalization has led to the creation of an increasingly borderless world and foot-loose “global citizens”. Hence we need to… »

The Dim Sum Dollies (in the History of Singapore) are BACK!

Dim Sum Dollies are back! With their hilarious version of the History of Singapore!
Triumphant after a sold-out run last year, the Dollies (and Hossan Leong) will be strutting and singing in the Esplanade Theatre for a second time from 21 to 28 February 2008. So if you have not seen it, do catch them before… »