James W. Davidson

He was decorated by the Emperor of Japan in 1895 with Order of Rising Sun for services rendered to the Japanese army in capturing the capital of Formosa.In June 1897, he was appointed by President Cleveland consular agent for the island of Formosa, where he remained nine years, during which time he wrote numerous monographs on Formosan affairs.[2] In 1904, Davidson was appointed to Dalny, Manchuria, one of the political consulates, where he was expected to promote Secretary Hay's "open door" policy.[3] Davidson was an enthusiastic member of the Rotary club in Calgary, and when the organisation wanted to extend its reach throughout the Mediterranean, Middle East, Southeast Asia and Australasia, he was the logical choice as envoy to the region because of his prior international experience.Leaving in 1914, he spent CAN$250,000 of his own money to establish branches of Rotary International in Australia, New Zealand, Turkey, Greece, Egypt, Jerusalem, Burma, Siam (Thailand), Java, and in several of the Malay states including Seremban, Kuala Lumpur, Malacca, Penang, Ipoh, Klang and Singapore.
Austin, MinnesotaCalgary, AlbertaRotary InternationalFormosahistory of TaiwanGreenlandNorth PoleQing ruleJapanese ruleRepublic of FormosaTamsuiPresident ClevelandTrans-Siberian RailwayCentury MagazineManchuriaSecretary HayAndongPekingDepartment of StatePresident Rooseveltconsul generalNanjinglumberMediterraneanAustralasiaNew ZealandTurkeyGreeceJerusalemSerembanKuala LumpurMalaccaPenangRoyal Geographical SocietyAsiatic Societythe Explorers ClubPeary Arctic ClubNorth DakotaMount Davidson (Alberta)Encyclopedia Americana