Robert Chalmers, 1st Baron Chalmers, (18 August 1858 – 17 November 1938) was a British civil servant, and a Pali and Buddhist scholar. In later life, he served as the Master of Peterhouse, Cambridge. Background and education Chalmers was born in Stoke Newington, Middlesex, the son of John Chalmers and his wife Julia (née Mackay). He was educated at the City of London School and Oriel College, Oxford with a BA in 1881. He eventually went on to become the Master of Peterhouse, Cambridge. Career Civil Servant and Governor of Ceylon He joined the Treasury in 1882 and served as Assistant Secretary to the Treasury from 1903 to 1907. He was then Chairman of the Board of Inland Revenue between 1907 and 1911, and Permanent Secretary to the Treasury from to 1911 to 1913. In June 1913 Chalmers was appointed Governor of Ceylon, a post he held from 18 October 1913 to 4 December 1915. Chalmers is frequently accused of having been anti-Buddhist. These accusations are unfounded, for before being appointed Governor of Ceylon in 1913, he was a prominent member of the Pali Text Society. As such, he had already translated many Buddhist texts into English, from Pali, a language he masters perfectly. Also, when he arrived in Ceylon, his fame as a scholar was greatly appreciated by dignitaries of Buddhism. One of the first official ceremonies he presided over was the presentation of the Vidyodaya Pirivena Awards, named after a famous Buddhist university in Colombo. He delivered his speech not in English, but in Pali, thus arousing the admiration of the scholars present. In 1915, a series of riots broke out in British Ceylon between Buddhists and Muslims. In response to the riots, Chalmers declared martial law in Ceylon, and deployed the Ceylon Defence Force, the Ceylon Police Force and the 28th Punjabis alongside Brigadier-General Henry Huntly Leith Malcolm and police chief Herbert Dowbiggin to quell the rioting. Hastily-formed units of European auxiliaries modelled after the Colombo Town Guard were formed to assist these efforts. The soldiers, policemen and auxiliaries were authorised by Chalmers, Malcolm and Dowbiggin to summarily execute anyone they deemed to be a rioter. After the riots, Ceylonese barrister E. W. Perera travelled to the United Kingdom to inform the British government of what had occurred in Ceylon. As a result, Chalmers was recalled to England and a Royal Commission of Inquiry was appointed to