Tan Boo Liat (, 1875 – 3 October 1934) was a wealthy Singaporean Chinese philanthropist. He was the son of Tan Soon Toh (), grandson of Tan Kim Ching and great-grandson of Tan Tock Seng.

Educated in Singapore, Tan was a member of the Singapore Volunteer Infantry and was among the contingent present at King Edward's coronation. As a descendant of the illustrious Tan Tock Seng family, he was the leader of the Hokkien Chinese community in Singapore, and chairman of the Po Chiak Keng Committee of Management, which the temple was built as the Tan clan ancestral temple and association. He was also a strong supporter of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, being a member of the Singapore Tongmenghui along with Lim Boon Keng and Dr. S. C. Yin and a president of the Kuomintang in Singapore. He headed the Fukien Protection Fund together with Tan Kah Kee collecting $130,000 during a nine-month campaign. He was appointed by the Government of the Republic of China as a member of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Commission (OCAC) on 31 August 1931 due to his prominent leadership in the Singapore Chinese diaspora and his deep political and financial support for Sun Yat-sen’s revolutionary movement. On 2 April 1932, he was formally removed as a member of the OCAC but was immediately re-appointed during an administrative reshuffle of the executive branches.

Tan was a trustee of the Anglo-Chinese School's Boarding School. Together with Lim, Sir Song Ong Siang and a few other Straits-born Chinese leaders, he initiated the Singapore Chinese Girls' School. He also proposed the establishment of the Tao Nan School

Tan had a stable of a dozen racehorses. In 1898 his famous horse, Vanitas won the Viceroy's cup in Calcutta, India, the first time that a horse from the Straits Settlements or the Federated Malay States won this trophy, earning Tan Boo Liat $100,000.

Tan had strong commercial links to Thailand and was honoured by the King of Thailand, two of the things he had in common with his famous grandfather Tan Kim Ching. In 1920 he was awarded the title Phra Anukul Sayamkich.

Personal life

Tan's sister, Lilian Tan Luck Neo, married Seow Poh Leng and later died of Influenza during a flu epidemic in Singapore. Tan's daughter, Polly Tan Poh Li, then married the widowed Seow.

Tan owned Golden Bell Mansion (built 1901) on Pender Road at the Mount Washington side of Mount Faber, Singapore. Sun Yat-sen stayed there on 15 December 1911 as did his wife and daughters (February 1912). After his death in Shanghai in 1934, the house was sold. It is currently occupied by the Danish Seaman's Mission.

Death and burial

Tan Boo Liat died in Shanghai, China on 3 October 1934. He was cremated and his remains were brought back to Singapore on 19 October 1934. His funeral was held on the following day and he was interred at the Bukit Brown Municipal Cemetery.

References

Further reading

1. Singapore: days of old - "A special commemorative history of Singapore published on the 10th Anniversary of Singapore Tatler."—Cover—published by Illustrated Magazine Publishing Co. Ltd. (Hong Kong), 1992, ,

2. The Singapore house, 1819–1942, by Kip Lin Lee, Gretchen Liu, Published by Times Editions, Preservation of Monuments Board, 1988, ,

3. A social history of the Chinese in Singapore and Malaya, 1800-1911 Volume 11 of Southeast Asia Publications, by Chʻing-huang Yen, Published by the Oxford University Press, 1986

4. Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Volumes 50-51 by Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Malaysian Branch, Singapore, Published 1977

5. Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Volumes 56-58 by Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Malaysian Branch, Singapore, Published 1983

6. A portrait of Malaysia and Singapore (Oxford progressive history) by Ding Eing Tan Published by the Oxford University Press, 1978, ,

7. Parliamentary papers, Volume 61 By Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Item notes: v. 61 - 1909, Published by HMSO, 1909

8. Singapore: a pictorial history, 1819-2000 by Gretchen Liu, published by Routledge 2001, ,

9. Journal of Southeast Asian studies, Volume 12 by Cambridge University Press, Published by McGraw-Hill Far Eastern Publishers, 1981

10. Journal of Southeast Asian history, Volume 2 By University of Singapore. Dept. of History, University of Malaya (Singapore, Singapore). Dept. of History, Item notes: v. 2 - 1961

11. The 1911 revolution: the Chinese in British and Dutch Southeast Asia (Asian studies series) by Lai To Lee, Published by Heinemann Asia, 1987, ,

12. Studies in the Social History of China and South-east Asia - Essays in memory of Victor Purcell, edited by Jerome Ch'en & Nicholas Tarling, Cambridge University Press, 1970, Standard Book Number 521 07452 5

13. A History of Singapore By Ernest Chin Tiong Chew, Edwin Lee, Southeast Asian Studies Program (Institute of Southeast Asian Studies), Oxford University Press, 1991, ,

14. Reconstructing identities: a social history of the Babas in Singapore by Jürgen Rudolph, Published by Ashgate, 1998, ,

15. Tanjong Pagar, Singapore's cradle of development by Tanjong Pagar Citizens' Consultative Committee, Published by Tanjong Pagar Constituency, 1989, ,

16. Plague fighter: the autobiography of a modern Chinese physician by Lien-tê Wu, Published by W. Heffer, 1959

17. Index to the correspondence of the Foreign Office for the year ..., Part 4 by Great Britain. Foreign Office, Published by Kraus-Thomson, 1969

18. Community and politics: the Chinese in colonial Singapore and Malaysia by Ching-huang Yen, Published by Times Academic Press, 1995, ,

19. Wayang: a history of Chinese opera in Singapore by Gretchen Liu, Kuan Wah Pitt, Angelina Phillips, National Archives (Singapore) Published by the National Archives of Singapore, ,

20. Street names of Singapore by Peter K. G. Dunlop Published by Who's Who Pub., 2000, ,

21. The first 150 years of Singapore by Donald Moore, Joanna Moore Published by Donald Moore Press; [distributed by Cellar Book Shop, Detroit, Mich., 1969