PottingerJazz, Bt, GCB (Sir Henry Pottinger, October 3, 1789 - March 18, 1856), translated by the Qing courtPottinger, a British soldier and colonial official, became the first Governor of Hong Kong in 1843.

Pottinger was born in 1789 in Mount Pottinger, a suburb of Belfast, Ireland. His ancestors served as the first governor of Belfast in the 17th century, and his father was Eldred Curwen Pottinger, a radical who organized a legion of the willing in 1799. Pottinger studied at Belfast Royal College in his early years, but later dropped out of school due to financial difficulties and went to the East with his four older brothers in search of development opportunities.

Arriving in India in 1804, he joined the army in Sindh (present-day Pakistan), then joined the East India Company in 1806, and fought as a lieutenant in Mahratta in 1809. Afterwards, he went on expeditions in India and Persia, dressed as a Muslim merchant, learned the local dialect, and wrote the book "Travels in Beloochistan and Sinde" in 1816.

Pottinger was appointed administrator of Sindh in 1820, where he was said to have facilitated local traffic; he later held the same position in Hyderabad (in present-day India). But he later returned home for health reasons to recuperate, and was made a baron on April 27, 1840.