Who was Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington?
Military Commander and Statesman.
Date and Place of Birth:
1st May 1769. Dublin, Ireland. Christened Arthur
Wellesley.
Family Background:
Son of the 1st Earl of Mornington.
Education:
Eton College. Military School in Angers, France.
Chronology/Biography of Arthur Wellesley, Duke
of Wellington:
Never very successful at school it was only at
military college that he found his true vocation.
1787: He was appointed
to an Ensign's Commission in the 73rd Foot and then rose rapidly
through the ranks in other regiments to the post of Captain.
1790: He became
a Member of Parliament for Trim in the Irish Parliament. He also
served as Aide-de-camp for two Lord Lieutenants of Ireland. His
brother bought him command of the 33rd Regiment of Foot which he
led in combat in Flanders.
1797: He took his
Regiment to India and took part in the invasion of Mysore and the
defeat of the ruler Tippoo Sahib He then became ruler of the conquered
lands of Seringapatam.
1803: He had helped
to break the influence of the Mahratta power at Ahmednagar, Assaye
and Argaum.
1805: Returned home
to England and was knighted.
1806: He was elected
as the Member of Parliament for Rye in Sussex.
1807: The Government
appointed him Irish Secretary but he soon led a force to fight against
the Danes at Sjaelland. Apsley House, London bought by his elder
brother RIchard before it was passed on to Arthur.
Apsley House, Piccadilly London named after its first owner
and often known as Number 1 London due to its proximity to the Toll
Gate. Taken over by the Wellesley family in 1807.
(© A Blagg)
1808: Lieutenant
-General Wellesley was given command of a British Expeditionary
Force in Portugal and won a battle at Vimeiro.
1809: He assumed
overall control of the British, Portuguese and Spanish forces in
the Peninsula War against Napoleon and after a faltering start achieved
several minor victories and was elevated to Viscount Wellington.
1812: Decisive Victory
at the Battle of Salamanca. After a long campaign lasting several
years he at last saw the French out of the area.
1814: After Napoleon's
abdication he returned to England and was feted by all and sundry
and created the Duke of Wellington. He was appointed Ambassador
to the Court of King Louis the Eighteenth in France and took part
in the Congress of Vienna.
1815: Napoleon managed
to escape from imprisonment on the island of Elba and rally his
forces. Wellington again became allied commander and on Sunday 18th
June he led his army against Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo,
near Brussels in Belgium. It was, as he described it, "a damn
near run thing" and the finely balanced battle only went in
the Allied favour with the arrival of the Prussian army, led by
General Von Blucher, late in the day . Thus Napoleon was finally
defeated and went into permanent exile on the lonely British island
of St. Helena in the North Atlantic. Wellington became military
ruler of France until 1818.
1818: On his return
to England he took a post in the British Government and became a
confirmed Tory, believing in strong government and isolation from
the rest of Europe. He was appointed as Master-General of the Ordnance.
1826: He was made
Constable of the Tower of London.
1828: He became
Prime Minister, although rather reluctantly. The former victor over
Napoleon was now not one of Britain's strongest Prime Ministers
and he allowed the repealing of the Test Act and the Corporation
Act and the setting up of the Catholic Emancipation Act, all of
which he had actually opposed in the past, but which the public
groundswell demanded.
Wellington Statue near Apsley House
(© A Blagg)
1829: He assisted
Sir Robert Peel in his efforts to reorganise the Metropolitan Police
Force in London.
1830: He received
the nickname the "Iron Duke" after iron shutters were
placed on the windows of his London home after rioters smashed them
after his opposition to parliamentary reform. He was forced to resign
after a parliamentary defeat in the House of Commons, on the 15th
November.
1834: When the Tory's
were again in power he refused to continue as Prime Minister again
and stepped down in favour of Sir Robert Peel.
He was still in government however, and was named as Foreign Secretary.
1835: Thereafter
he took several other government posts including Chief of the Army
and became a mentor to Queen Victoria.
1846: He retired
from public life.
1848: He was brought
out of retirement to organise a military force to protect London
against possible Chartist violence at a large meeting held at Kennington
Common.
Marriage:
1806 to Lady Katherine Packenham.
Places of Interest:
LONDON:
Apsley House, now the Wellington Museum, Piccadilly.
Wellington Arch.
Wellington Arch, London, near Apsley House
(© A Blagg)
The Guard's Museum, Wellington Barracks, Birdcage Walk.
St. Paul's Cathedral.
HAMPSHIRE:
Stratfield Saye House, given to him by the British
Government for his victory at the Battle of Waterloo.
KENT:
Walmer Castle, his residence as Lord Warden of
the Cinque Ports.
Royal Engineers Museum, Gillingham.
SCOTLAND:
Statue to Wellington in Waterloo Place, Edinburgh.
Wellington directs the traffic on North Bridge from
Waterloo Place, Edinburgh
(© A Blagg)
WALES:
Regimental Museum of the First Queen's Dragoon
Guards, Cardiff.
Date and Place of Death:
14th September 1852. Walmer Castle, Kent, England.
Age at Death:
83.
Site of Grave:
Crypt, St. Paul's Cathedral, London, England.
Wellington's Tomb, St Paul's Cathedral
(© A Blagg)
