Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
British field marshal and prime minister who defeated Napoleon at Waterloo.
His exact birth date is not known, but biographers mostly follow contemporary newspaper evidence stating he was born on 1 May 1769.[1] The Protestant Ascendancy and an aristocratic Anglo-Irish background were the circumstances of Arthur Wellesley's birth.[2]
Quick Facts
- Office
- Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
- Took office
- 17 November 1834
- Left office
- 9 December 1834
- Monarch
- William IV
- Predecessor
- The Viscount Melbourne
- Successor
- Robert Peel
Facts from the source article.
Life and work
He attended Eton College from 1781 to 1784, but his loneliness there caused him to hate it.[3] He enrolled in the French Royal Academy of Equitation in Angers in 1786, where he became a good horseman and learned French.[4] In 1793 he proposed to Kitty Pakenham but was turned down, and he resolved to pursue a military career in earnest.[5] He arrived in Calcutta in February 1797 and later changed the spelling of his surname to "Wellesley" in 1798.[6][7]
He married Kitty Pakenham on 10 April 1806, and they had two children.[3] During his childhood, Wellesley resided primarily at Mornington House in Dublin and at Dangan Castle in County Meath.[4] Moving to Brussels in 1785 became necessary for Wellesley and his mother due to his poor performance at Eton and the family's financial constraints.[4] The 73rd Regiment of Foot recorded Wellesley's ensign commission on 7 March 1787.[8]
What the cited sources add
The sculptor Thomas Kirk carved the figure of Wellington for this column.[9]
References
- Wikipedia, "Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Artware Fine Art 2020; Guedalla 1997, p. 480; Lloyd 1899, p. 170 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Wellesley 2008, p. 16 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Holmes 2002, p. 6–7 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Holmes 2002, p. 6–7; Holmes 2002, p. 6–7 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; Holmes 2002, p. 6–7; Number10 2011; Holmes 2002, p. 6–7; Holmes 2002, p. 6–7; Holmes 2002, p. 6–7; ; Holmes 2002, p. 6–7; (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Holmes 2002, p. 6–7; Holmes 2002, p. 6–7; Compton, "A MASTER MARINER. BEING THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN ROBERT WILLIAM EASTWICK", T. Fisher Unwin, 1891, p. 118–125 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Holmes 2002, p. 6–7; Longford 1971, p. 53 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Holmes 2002, p. 6–7; Holmes 2002, p. 6–7; ; Holmes 2002, p. 6–7; Holmes 2002, p. 6–7; (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- "Wellington Pillar, Wellington Place, Summerhill Road". facts only, no text reused. buildingsofireland.ie
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
More in Notable Figures
Elsewhere in Historical Figures
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced