James Macdonald (British Army officer)

Sir James Macdonald
Born(1862-02-08)8 February 1862
Rajamundry, Madras Presidency, British India
Died27 June 1927(1927-06-27) (aged 65)
Bournemouth, England
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
BranchBritish Army
Years of service1882–1912
RankMajor General
Battles / warsMahdist War
Second Boer War
Boxer Rebellion
Tibetan expedition
AwardsKnight Commander of the Order of the Star of India
Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire
Companion of the Order of the Bath

Major General Sir James Ronald Leslie Macdonald, KCSI, KCIE, CB, DL, FRGS (8 February 1862 – 27 June 1927) was a British engineer, explorer, military officer and cartographer. Born in the Madras Presidency, he was a balloon observer as a young man, surveyed for railways in British India and East Africa, explored the upper Nile region, commanded balloon sections during the Second Boer War and Boxer Rebellion and led the British expedition to Tibet in 1903–1904.