Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley

The Marquess Wellesley
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
In office
8 December 1821 – 27 February 1828
MonarchGeorge IV
Prime Minister
Preceded byThe Earl Talbot
Succeeded byThe Marquess of Anglesey
In office
12 September 1833 – November 1834
MonarchWilliam IV
Prime MinisterThe Earl Grey
Preceded byThe Marquess of Anglesey
Succeeded byThe Earl of Haddington
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
In office
6 December 1809 – 4 March 1812
MonarchGeorge III
Prime MinisterSpencer Perceval
Preceded byThe Earl Bathurst
Succeeded byViscount Castlereagh
Governor-General of the Presidency of Fort William
In office
18 May 1798 – 30 July 1805
MonarchGeorge III
Prime Minister
Preceded bySir Alured Clarke
(provisional)
Succeeded byThe Marquess Cornwallis
Personal details
Born(1760-06-20)20 June 1760
Dangan Castle, County Meath
Died26 September 1842(1842-09-26) (aged 82)
Knightsbridge, London
Resting placeEton College Chapel
NationalityBritish
Political partyTory
Spouses
  • (m. 1794; died 1816)
  • (m. 1825)
Parents
Alma materChrist Church, Oxford
Signature

Richard Colley Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley,[1] KG, KP, PC, PC (Ire) (20 June 1760 – 26 September 1842) was an Anglo-Irish politician and colonial administrator. He was styled as Viscount Wellesley until 1781, when he succeeded his father as 2nd Earl of Mornington. In 1799, he was granted the Irish peerage title of Marquess Wellesley of Norragh. He was also Lord Wellesley in the Peerage of Great Britain.

Richard Wellesley first made his name as fifth Governor-General of Bengal between 1798 and 1805. He later served as Foreign Secretary in the British Cabinet and as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. In 1799, his forces invaded Mysore and defeated Tipu, the Sultan of Mysore, in a major battle. He also initiated the Second Anglo-Maratha War.

Wellesley was the eldest son of The 1st Earl of Mornington, an Irish peer, and Anne, the eldest daughter of The 1st Viscount Dungannon. His younger brother, Arthur, was Field Marshal The 1st Duke of Wellington.

  1. ^ "Richard Colley Wellesley, Marquess Wellesley summary | Britannica". www.britannica.com.