General Henry Beauchamp Lygon, 4th Earl Beauchamp DL (5 January 1784 – 8 September 1863), styled The Honourable Henry Lygon from 1806 until 1853, was a British Army officer and politician.

Background

Beauchamp was the third son of

William Lygon, 1st Earl Beauchamp William Lygon, 1st Earl Beauchamp (25 July 1747 – 21 October 1816), known as Lord Beauchamp of Powyke between 1806 and 1815, was a British politician. Early life Lygon was the son of Reginald Lygon (originally Reginald Pyndar), of Madresfiel ...

, by his wife Catharine, the only daughter of James Denn. A younger brother was

Edward Pyndar Lygon General the Hon. Edward Pyndar Lygon, CB (3 April 1786 – 11 November 1860) was a senior officer in the British Army and a Member of Parliament. Background Edward was the fourth son of William Lygon, 1st Earl Beauchamp, by his wife Catharine, ...

, who also became a General.

Military career

Beauchamp was educated at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

and Christ Church, Oxford and entered the British Army in 1803 as a cornet in the 13th Dragoons. Made a captain in the

16th Light Dragoons The 16th The Queen's Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1759. It saw service for two centuries, before being amalgamated with the 5th Royal Irish Lancers to form the 16th/5th Lancers in 1922. History Early war ...

, Beauchamp served with the regiment during the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...

from 1809 until its end in 1814. He took part in the

First Battle of Porto In the First Battle of Porto (29 March 1809) the French under Marshal Soult defeated the Portuguese, under General Parreiras, outside the city of Porto during the Peninsular War. Soult followed up his success by storming the city. Backgrou ...

and then in the

Battle of Talavera The Battle of Talavera (27–28 July 1809) was fought just outside the town of Talavera de la Reina, Spain some southwest of Madrid, during the Peninsular War. At Talavera, a British army under Sir Arthur Wellesley combined with a Spanish a ...

. After the

Battle of the Côa A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

in 1810, he was wounded in the

Battle of Bussaco The Battle of Buçaco () or Bussaco, fought on 27 September 1810 during the Peninsular War in the Portuguese mountain range of Serra do Buçaco, resulted in the defeat of French forces by Lord Wellington's Anglo-Portuguese Army. Having o ...

. Beauchamp was promoted to major in the

1st Life Guards The 1st Regiment of Life Guards was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry. It was formed in 1788 by the union of the 1st Troop of Horse Guards and 1st Troop of Horse Grenadier Guards. In 1922, it was amalgamated ...

in 1815, to major-general in 1837 and received the colonelcy of the 10th Royal Hussars for life in 1843. Three years later he became lieutenant-general and finally general in 1853.

Political career

Apart from his military career Beauchamp also entered the British House of Commons in 1816, sitting as Member of Parliament for

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see H ...

until 1831. He represented the county also as a Deputy Lieutenant. Beauchamp was returned to the House for the newly established constituency Worcestershire West in 1832, holding the seat until 1853. In that year he succeeded his elder brother

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

in the earldom and took his seat in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

Family

Lord Beauchamp married Lady Susan Caroline, second daughter of

William Eliot, 2nd Earl of St Germans William Eliot, 2nd Earl of St Germans (1 April 1767 – 19 January 1845), known as William Elliot until 1823, was a British diplomat and politician. Eliot was born at Port Eliot, Cornwall, the third son of Edward Craggs-Eliot, 1st Baron Eliot a ...

, in 1824. They had three sons and three daughters. Lady Susan died in January 1835, aged 37. Lord Beauchamp remained a widower until his death in September 1863, aged 79. He was succeeded in the earldom by his second but eldest surviving son,

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Beauchamp, Henry Lygon, 4th Earl 1784 births 1863 deaths 10th Royal Hussars officers People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford British Army generals British Life Guards officers Deputy Lieutenants of Worcestershire Henry 4

Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Worcestershire UK MPs 1812–1818 UK MPs 1818–1820 UK MPs 1820–1826 UK MPs 1826–1830 UK MPs 1830–1831 UK MPs 1832–1835 UK MPs 1835–1837 UK MPs 1837–1841 UK MPs 1841–1847 UK MPs 1847–1852 UK MPs 1852–1857 Beauchamp, E4 British Army personnel of the Peninsular War