Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, FRS (July 6, 1781 – July 5, 1826) is a British statesman, Lieutenant-Governor of British Java (1811–1815) and Governor-General of Bencoolen (1817–1822), best known for his founding of Singapore.

He is also heavily involved in the conquest of the Indonesian island of Java from Dutch and French military forces during the Napoleonic Wars and contributes to the expansion of the British Empire.

He is also an amateur writer and writes a book titled The History of Java (1817).