Sir Charles Richard Vaughan,
GCH,
PC, (20 December 1774 – 15 June 1849) was a British diplomat.
Vaughan born at
Leicester
Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city l ...
, the son of James Vaughan, a physician, and his wife, Hester ''née'' Smalley. His brothers were
Sir Henry Halford (Vaughan), who dropped the family name;
Sir John Vaughan John Vaughan may refer to:
Gentry
*John Vaughan, 1st Earl of Carbery (1574/75–1634), Welsh courtier and MP for Carmarthenshire 1601, 1621
*John Vaughan, 3rd Earl of Carbery (1639–1713), Governor of Jamaica and President of the Royal Society, M ...
(1769–1839), a
Baron of the Exchequer
The Barons of the Exchequer, or ''barones scaccarii'', were the judges of the English court known as the Exchequer of Pleas. The Barons consisted of a Chief Baron of the Exchequer and several puisne (''inferior'') barons. When Robert Shute was a ...
; and Peter Vaughan, Warden of
Merton College, Oxford
Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is one of the Colleges of Oxford University, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the ...
. Vaughan was educated at
Rugby School
Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England.
Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. Up ...
, where he entered on 22 January 1788, and at Merton College, Oxford, matriculating on 26 October 1791. He graduated
BA in 1796 and MA in
1798
Events
January–June
* January – Eli Whitney contracts with the U.S. federal government for 10,000 muskets, which he produces with interchangeable parts.
* January 4 – Constantine Hangerli enters Bucharest, as Prince of Wa ...
, in which year he was also elected a fellow of
All Souls College, Oxford
All Souls College (official name: College of the Souls of All the Faithful Departed) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full members of t ...
. He intended to follow the medical profession, attending lectures in both
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
and London, and took the degree of
MB in 1800. He was, however, elected
Radcliffe Travelling Fellow on 4 December 1800, and spent the next three years in Germany, France, and Spain. In 1804, he visited
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
,
Asia Minor
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
, and
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
. The following year, he made his way from
Aleppo
)), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black".
, motto =
, image_map =
, mapsize =
, map_caption =
, image_map1 =
...
to
Persia
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
, fell ill near the
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asia ...
, and was indebted perhaps for his life to the kindness of some Russian officers. With them, he sailed for the
Volga
The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the List of rivers of Europe#Rivers of Europe by length, longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Cas ...
in November, was shut out by the ice, and had to spend the winter on the desert island of
Kulali, but eventually arrived at
Astrakhan
Astrakhan ( rus, Астрахань, p=ˈastrəxənʲ) is the largest city and administrative centre of Astrakhan Oblast in Southern Russia. The city lies on two banks of the Volga, in the upper part of the Volga Delta, on eleven islands of the ...
in April 1806, reaching England by way of
St Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
on 11 August 1806.
In 1808, in a private capacity, Vaughan accompanied
Charles Stuart to Spain, and was present at the assembly of the northern juntas at
Lugo
Lugo (, ; la, Lucus Augusti) is a city in northwestern Spain in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia. It is the capital of the Lugo (province), province of Lugo. The municipality had a population ...
; thence he went to
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
, and travelled to
Saragossa
Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributari ...
with
Colonel Charles Doyle. On his return to Madrid, he was sent with dispatches relating to the
Battle of Tudela
The Battle of Tudela (23 November 1808) saw an Imperial French army led by Marshal Jean Lannes attack a Spanish army under General Castaños. The battle resulted in the complete victory of the Imperial forces over their adversaries. The comba ...
to Sir John Moore at
Salamanca
Salamanca () is a city in western Spain and is the capital of the Province of Salamanca in the autonomous community of Castile and León. The city lies on several rolling hills by the Tormes River. Its Old City was declared a UNESCO World Heritag ...
, and returned to England in December 1808. In 1809, he published his ''Narrative of the Siege of Zaragoza'',
which reached a fifth edition within the year.
In 1809, Vaughan was also appointed private secretary to
Henry Bathurst, 3rd Earl Bathurst
Henry Bathurst, 3rd Earl Bathurst, (22 May 176227 July 1834) was a High Tory, High Church Pittite. He was an MP for thirty years before ennoblement. A personal friend of William Pitt the Younger, he became a broker of deals across cabinet fac ...
,
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
The secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, known as the foreign secretary, is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom and head of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Seen as ...
. On 5 January 1810, he became secretary of
legation
A legation was a diplomatic representative office of lower rank than an embassy. Where an embassy was headed by an ambassador, a legation was headed by a Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, minister. Ambassadors diplomatic rank, out ...
(later of embassy) in Spain, whither he returned with the minister,
Henry Wellesley. He was sent to Britain in 1811 to give information as to the state of politics in Spain. He acted as
minister-plenipotentiary during the absence of his chief from August 1815 until December 1816, and his correspondence during these years throws much light on Spanish politics. On 5 April 1820, he went to Paris as secretary of embassy under his old friend Sir Charles Stuart, and on 8 February 1823, became
minister-plenipotentiary to the confederated states of Switzerland. He was appointed
envoy-extraordinary and minister-plenipotentiary to the United States in 1825, and on 23 March, he was appointed to the
Privy Council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...
. Between 11 July and 13 August 1826, he travelled nearly 1800 miles in the United States; three years later he accomplished another long tour. From 1831 to 1833 he was on leave of absence in England, and during this time had a personal conference with the king on American affairs. In 1833 he was appointed a
GCH. Ill health caused his retirement from
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...
in October 1835. Though, in Sir Charles Webster's view, a man of 'no great ability', he dealt with important matters such as the
Canadian boundary, the Latin American republics, the
slave trade
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
, and the tariff. On one occasion, he was fiercely reprimanded by
Canning
Canning is a method of food preservation in which food is processed and sealed in an airtight container (jars like Mason jars, and steel and tin cans). Canning provides a shelf life that typically ranges from one to five years, although u ...
for exceeding instructions.
Palmerston Palmerston may refer to:
People
* Christie Palmerston (c. 1851–1897), Australian explorer
* Several prominent people have borne the title of Viscount Palmerston
** Henry Temple, 1st Viscount Palmerston (c. 1673–1757), Irish nobleman and ...
thought him 'a steady sensible man, though not very showy'.
In 1835, Vaughan made a protracted tour of Europe. On 4 March 1837, he was sent on a special mission to Constantinople, and proceeded by way of
Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
, where he heard that the mission was no longer required; he therefore went to
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
, and thence travelled home through Italy and
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
. In such travel, he spent most of the years that were left to him. He left minute itineraries of his later journeys. He died unmarried in
Hertford Street
Hertford Street is a street in central London's Mayfair district.
It runs between a junction with Park Lane and Old Park Lane at its western end, to Curzon Street at its north-east end.
In 1771, Anne, Duchess of Cumberland and Strathearn marrie ...
,
Mayfair
Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in the world. ...
, London, on 15 June 1849. He is buried at
Kensal Green Cemetery
Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in the Kensal Green area of Queens Park in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. Inspired by Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, it was founded by the barrister George Frederic ...
.
References
Sources
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaughan, Charles Richard
Alumni of Merton College, Oxford
Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford
Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
People educated at Rugby School
1774 births
1849 deaths
Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to the United States
Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Switzerland
Burials at Kensal Green Cemetery