Henry Montague Hozier Vanity Fair 1883-02-10

Sir Henry Montague Hozier (20 March 1838 – 28 February 1907) was a British Army officer who became secretary of

Lloyd's of London Lloyd's of London, generally known simply as Lloyd's, is an insurance and reinsurance market located in London, England. Unlike most of its competitors in the industry, it is not an insurance company; rather, Lloyd's is a corporate body gov ...

Biography

The third son of James C. Hozier of

Newlands Newlands may refer to: Places Australia * Newlands, Queensland, a locality in the Whitsunday Region New Zealand * Newlands, Wellington, a suburb of Wellington South Africa * Newlands, Cape Town, a suburb of Cape Town * Newlands, Johannesbur ...

and

Mauldslie Castle Mauldslie Castle, part of the Mauldslie Estate, was located in Dalserf, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. The nearby village of Rosebank was established before 1816 by the estate's workers. History Developed around a mediaeval tower house dating to ...

, Lanarkshire, Hozier 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 ...

Edinburgh Academy The Edinburgh Academy is an Independent school (United Kingdom), independent day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, which was opened in 1824. The original building, on Henderson Row in the city's New Town, Edinburgh, New Town, is now part of the Se ...

and the

Royal Military Academy, Woolwich The Royal Military Academy (RMA) at Woolwich, in south-east London, was a British Army military academy for the training of commissioned officers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. It later also trained officers of the Royal Corps of Sig ...

. He was successively lieutenant in the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

, lieutenant in the

2nd Life Guards The 2nd 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 2nd Troop of Horse Guards and 2nd Troop of Horse Grenadier Guards. In 1922, it was amalgamated ...

and captain in the

3rd Dragoon Guards The 3rd (Prince of Wales's) Dragoon Guards was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1685 as the Earl of Plymouth's Regiment of Horse. It was renamed as the 3rd Regiment of Dragoon Guards in 1751 and the 3rd (Prince of Wales's) ...

, and passed first into and out of the

Staff College, Camberley Staff College, Camberley, Surrey, was a staff college for the British Army and the presidency armies of British India (later merged to form the Indian Army). It had its origins in the Royal Military College, High Wycombe, founded in 1799, which i ...

. He served with the Royal Artillery in the expedition to Peking, with the German Army in the

War of 1866 The Austro-Prussian War, also by many variant names such as Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), (; "German war of brothers") and by a variety of other names, was fought in 186 ...

, as assistant military secretary to Sir Robert Napier in the

Abyssinian expedition The British Expedition to Abyssinia was a rescue mission and punitive expedition carried out in 1868 by the armed forces of the British Empire against the Ethiopian Empire (also known at the time as Abyssinia). Emperor Tewodros II of Ethiopia, t ...

, and as assistant military attaché during the Franco-Prussian War. He was awarded the

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia est ...

for his service in the latter conflict, made a

Companion of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as on ...

in 1897, and a

Knight Commander of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as on ...

in 1903. Upon his retirement from the military, Hozier shifted his interests to the world of business. In 1872 he joined the Board of the newly formed Patent Cotton-Gunpowder Company. In 1874 he was elected secretary of

Lloyd's Lloyd's of London, generally known simply as Lloyd's, is an insurance and reinsurance market located in London, England. Unlike most of its competitors in the industry, it is not an insurance company; rather, Lloyd's is a corporate body gov ...

where he remained for thirty-two years. His background in military intelligence undoubtedly led to his work to establish a network of signal stations. These Hozier describes in an interview in 1895 as follows: " e of the new features introduced here by myself, and that of which I am perhaps most proud, has been the development of our means of securing early information. We have established a complete network of signal stations at prominent points upon the sea-coast all the world over. We have placed them mostly on barren isolated spots where there are o shipping agents or newspaper reporters, but directly connected to by cable and wire." Hozier, now knighted, retired in 1906. He died while visiting the site of one such signal station in Panama. Hozier's also served as colonel-commandant of the Royal Arsenal Artillery Volunteers. In ''Who's Who'' he gave his recreations as yachting, shooting and hunting. He was the author of ''The Seven Weeks' War'', on the 1866 conflict, and a ''History of the British Expedition to Abyssinia''. He lived at Stonehouse in Lanarkshire and 26A North Audley Street, London, and was a member of the

Turf Sod, also known as turf, is the upper layer of soil with the grass growing on it that is often harvested into rolls. In Australian and British English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', and the word "sod" is limited mainly to agricultu ...

, Junior United Service,

City A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

and Beefsteak Clubs in London, the

New Club, Edinburgh The New Club is a private social club in the New Town area of Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded in 1787, it is Scotland's oldest club. The club occupied premises on St Andrew Square from 1809 until 1837, when it moved to purpose-built rooms on Pri ...

, the Western Club, Glasgow, and the Royal Northern, Royal Clyde and Temple Yacht Clubs.''

Who Was Who ''Who's Who'' is a reference work. It is a book, and also a CD-ROM and a website, giving information on influential people from around the world. Published annually as a book since 1849, it lists people who influence British life, according to i ...

1897–1916'', p. 357. He married Lady Blanche Ogilvy, daughter of

David Ogilvy, 10th Earl of Airlie David Graham Drummond Ogilvy, 10th and 5th Earl of Airlie (4 May 1826 – 25 September 1881), styled Lord Ogilvy from birth until 1849, was a Scottish peer. Background and education He was the oldest son of David Ogilvy, 9th Earl of Airlie, an ...

. He was the legal father of Clementine Hozier Spencer-Churchill, wife of Sir

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

, though Clementine's actual paternity has been debated.

References

Straus, Ralph. Lloyd's: The Gentlemen at the Coffee-House(New York: Carrick & Evans, Inc. 1938. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hozier, Henry 1838 births 1907 deaths People from Lanarkshire People educated at Rugby School People educated at Edinburgh Academy Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley Royal Artillery officers British Life Guards officers 3rd Dragoon Guards officers Royal Army Service Corps officers British Army personnel of the Second Opium War British military personnel of the Abyssinian War People of the Franco-Prussian War Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Recipients of the Iron Cross (1870)