Career
He authored several pioneering descriptions of Sino-Tibetan and Tai-Kadai languages in the area. Jack Francis Needham (often referenced as J F Needham) was an Officer in the Bengal Police in the mid-to-late 19th century, later appointed Political Officer at the British outpost of Sadiya in Assam in 1882. Needham conducted a tour of the "Abor" (Adi) area in the Siang River Valley (modern-day East Siang District in Arunachal Pradesh state) in 1884, which established British relations with a small segment of the Tani hill tribes.