Sir Everard Fawkener (1694–1758) was an English merchant and

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

, chiefly remembered for his friendship with Voltaire. His daughter was the celebrated political hostess Harriet Bouverie.

Career

Fawkener was born into a family of silk merchants. His father, William (1642–1716) was a leading member of the

Levant Company The Levant Company was an English chartered company formed in 1592. Elizabeth I of England approved its initial charter on 11 September 1592 when the Venice Company (1583) and the Turkey Company (1581) merged, because their charters had expired, ...

. Everard was sent out to

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

(a city presently located in

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 ...

) in 1716 and remained there until 1725. He then worked in the family firm of Snelling and Fawkener, leading Levant merchants of their day until 1735.Haydn Mason, ‘Fawkener, Sir Everard (1694–1758)’, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Jan 2008

accessed 8 Aug 2008 He met the philosopher

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his ...

in Paris, on his way home from Aleppo in 1725. Voltaire dedicated his tragedy ''Zaïre'' to Fawkener in 1733, and earlier stayed in Fawkener's house in

Wandsworth Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan The London Plan is the statutory spatial development strategy for the Gre ...

during his lengthy stay in England in 1726. The two men kept up a warm and affectionate correspondence for many years. In November 1748 Voltaire wrote to Fawkener "Now you are a husband and a father and I hope a happy one". Fawkener was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in 1735, being appointed as

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

to the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

on 19 August 1735. He arrived at

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 (" ...

on 19 December. He did not like it much there and got leave to return home on 8 November 1742. His credentials were finally recalled on 4 September 1746. Upon his return, he became secretary to the

Duke of Cumberland Duke of Cumberland is a peerage title that was conferred upon junior members of the British Royal Family, named after the historic county of Cumberland. History The Earldom of Cumberland, created in 1525, became extinct in 1643. The dukedo ...

, a post which he held for the rest of his life. He was an eyewitness to the

Battle of Fontenoy The Battle of Fontenoy was a major engagement of the War of the Austrian Succession, fought on 11 May 1745 near Tournai in modern Belgium. A French army of 50,000 under Marshal Saxe defeated a Pragmatic Army of roughly the same size, led by th ...

. He accompanied the Duke on his campaign in the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Sco ...

to suppress the

Jacobite rising of 1745 The Jacobite rising of 1745, also known as the Forty-five Rebellion or simply the '45 ( gd, Bliadhna Theàrlaich, , ), was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the Monarchy of Great Britain, British throne for his father, James Franci ...

. In 1745 he became

Postmaster General A Postmaster General, in Anglosphere countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters. The practice of having a government official respons ...

. In this period he was a financial backer in the foundation of the Chelsea Porcelain Manufactory.

Family

Harriet Churchill, Lady Fawkener, by Jean-Etienne Liotard

Fawkener did not marry until 1747, when aged 53. His wife was Harriet, the natural daughter of Lieutenant General Charles Churchill. A portrait of her by

-based artist

Jean-Étienne Liotard Jean-Étienne Liotard (; 22 December 1702 – 12 June 1789) was a Swiss painter, art connoisseur and dealer. He is best known for his portraits in pastel, and for the works from his stay in Turkey. A Huguenot of French origin and citizen of the R ...

hangs in

Compton Verney House Compton Verney House () is an 18th-century country mansion at Compton Verney near Kineton in Warwickshire, England. It is located on the west side of a lake north of the B4086 about north-west of Banbury. Today, it is the site of the Compton ...

. They had a daughter, also named Harriet, who married Edward Bouverie and became the noted society hostess Mrs. Bouverie, and two sons,

William Augustus Fawkener William Augustus Henry Fawkener (c.1750–1811) was a British civil servant and diplomat. Background William Fawkener was one of the sons of Sir Everard Fawkener, a merchant and then British Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, who did not marry un ...

William Augustus Fawkener (c.1750-1811)
/ref> and Everard Fawkener of the 11th dragoons. Fawkener lived at

Westhorpe House Westhorpe House is a Grade II listed building near Little Marlow which was the home of Maria Nugent and Field marshal Sir George Nugent. The Main House is and the Coach House is . History The house was built for James Chase MP in the classic ...

near

Little Marlow Little Marlow is a village and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England. History The Church of England parish church of Saint John the Baptist lies at the heart of the village, not far from the river and next to the Manor House. The origina ...

Career

Family

References

Further reading