Background
Robert Hart was born on February 20, 1835 in Portadown, Ireland.
Robert Hart was born on February 20, 1835 in Portadown, Ireland.
He was educated at Queen's College in Belfast.
He entered the British consular service in 1854.
In 1859 he resigned from the consular service in order to join the new Chinese imperial customs service as deputy commissioner of customs at Canton.
In 1863 he was made inspector general of the imperial maritime customs, a position he held until 1906.
He gained the confidence of the Chinese government and was able to place Chinese finance on a secure basis, and thus give assurance to foreign traders and investors.