Sir Edward Youde Is the Only Governor of Hong Kong Who Died in Office

In the 155 years of British rule over Hong Kong, 28 governors have represented the British Crown in the colony. Among these governors, Sir Edward Youde, the 26th governor, had a particularly eventful tenure. In 1984, the Sino-British Joint Declaration was signed while he was in office.

Two years later, however, on December 5, 1986, he suddenly died of a fatal heart attack, becoming the first and only governor of Hong Kong to die in office. His funeral was also the first state funeral held in Hong Kong, and a 17-gun salute was fired from HMS Tamar.

Superstitious people claim that the negative feng shui of the Bank of China Tower—whose construction had started a year and a half earlier—caused Governor Youde’s death. It is believed that one of the “edges” of the Bank of China Tower, nicknamed 一把刀 (“One Knife” in Cantonese), cuts through Government House, the then-official residence of the governor.

However, these claims do not hold up, as the nearest edge of Bank of China Tower misses Government House by 80 meters (260 feet). Moreover, Governor Youde did not die at Government House but at the British Embassy in Beijing.

In 1992, the Edward Youde Aviary in Hong Kong Park was named after him.