Sir John Douglas KCMG, born 1835 in Ireland, was the son of Lt Gen Sir James Dawes Douglas (1795–1862) and Marianne Bullock.

He was in the Civil Service of Mauritius

Mauritius

Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...

 1859-1869 when he tranferred to Ceylon where he was Auditor-General between 1869-1876. He became Colonial Secretary of the Straits Settlements

Straits Settlements

The Straits Settlements were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia.Originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Company, the Straits Settlements came under direct British control as a crown colony on 1 April 1867...

 in 1876-1878 before returning to Ceylon as Lieut.-Governor and Colonial Secretary, 1878-1880. He was appointed Acting Governor, 10 July 1883–3 December 1883.

Sir John married, in 1871, Alice Anne, daughter of Right Rev. Piers Calveley Claughton

Piers Calverley Claughton

Piers Calverley Claughton was a Bishop in the Anglican church.He was Archdeacon of London and Assistant Bishop of London. Chaplain-General of Her Majesty's Forces, First Bishop of St Helena 1859 - 1861 and Bishop of Colombo 1862-1871.A memorial was placed in the crypt of St. Paul's Cathedral,...

 (d1884), Bishop of Colombo

Bishop of Colombo

The Anglican Bishop of Colombo is the bishop of the Diocese of Colombo, a diocese in the Church of Ceylon which is part of the Anglican Communion.- List:#James Chapman D.D. 1845-1861...

, Ceylon. They had five children.