Sir Nicholas Roderick O'Conor ( ga, Nioclás Ruairí Ó Conchobhair Donn 1843 – 19 March 1908) was an Anglo-Irish diplomat. When he died, Sir Nicholas was the British Ambassador to Turkey."Sir Nicholas O'Conor Dead,"
''New York Times.'' 20 March 1908.

Early life

He was born, the youngest of three sons, to Patrick A. C. O'Conor and Jane French, into a cadet branch of the Catholic

O'Conor Don The O'Conor family (Middle Irish: ''Ó Conchubhair''; Modern ga, Ó Conchúir) are an Irish noble house and were one of the most influential and distinguished royal houses in Ireland. The O'Conor family held the throne of the Kingdom of Co ...

family of

County Roscommon "Steadfast Irish heart" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Roscommon.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Connacht , subdi ...

. He was raised on his family estate Dun Dermot on the Roscommon-

County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

border. He was educated at

Stonyhurst College Stonyhurst College is a co-educational Catholic Church, Roman Catholic independent school, adhering to the Society of Jesus, Jesuit tradition, on the Stonyhurst, Stonyhurst Estate, Lancashire, England. It occupies a Grade I listed building. Th ...

Career

O'Conor entered the diplomatic service in 1866. In his early years, he was attached to the Embassy in Berlin, achieving the rank of Third Secretary in 1870. He served as Secretary at the Hague, Madrid. Rio de Janeiro, and Paris. He was trained in the diplomatic service by

Richard Lyons, 1st Viscount Lyons Richard Bickerton Pemell Lyons, 1st Earl Lyons (26 April 1817 – 5 December 1887) was a British diplomat, who was the favourite diplomat of Queen Victoria, during the four great crises of the second half of the 19th century: Italian unificat ...

, and was a member of the

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...

-sympathetic 'Lyons School' of British diplomacy. He was Secretary and Chargé d'Affaires at Peking and Washington, Political Agent and Consul-General in Bulgaria.

Head of Mission

O'Conor's first ministerial appointment was at the British Legation at Peking. * 1892: In Seoul, O'Conor was the British Minister to the

Empire of Korea The Korean Empire () was a Korean monarchical state proclaimed in October 1897 by Emperor Gojong of the Joseon dynasty. The empire stood until Japan's annexation of Korea in August 1910. During the Korean Empire, Emperor Gojong oversaw the Gwan ...

. * 1895: In St. Petersburg, he was Ambassador of His Britannic Majesty in the Imperial court of the Russian Czar. * 1898: In Constantinople, he was Ambassador to the Court of the

Sublime Porte The Sublime Porte, also known as the Ottoman Porte or High Porte ( ota, باب عالی, Bāb-ı Ālī or ''Babıali'', from ar, باب, bāb, gate and , , ), was a synecdoche for the central government of the Ottoman Empire. History The nam ...

of the Ottoman Empire. In 1896, O'Conor was made a

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a privy council, formal body of advisers to the British monarchy, sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises Politics of the United King ...

. O'Conor died in Constantinople following hemorrhage of the stomach. He was the first British Ambassador to die in post in Turkey since Sir Edward Barton, Ambassador of

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

to Sultan

Mehmet III Mehmed III (, ''Meḥmed-i sālis''; tr, III. Mehmed; 26 May 1566 – 22 December 1603) was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1595 until his death in 1603. Mehmed was known for ordering the execution of his brothers and leading the army in the L ...

, died in 1598 at the

Panagia Apsinthiotissa Panagia Apsinthiotissa or Absinthiotissa ( el, Παναγία Αψινθιώτισσα) is a Greek Orthodox monastery located at the southern foot of the Pentadaktylos range in the Republic of Cyprus. The nearest settlements are Sychari (Συγχ ...

(now in Cyprus).

Family

He was married to Minna Margaret Hope-Scott, daughter of James Robert Hope-Scott, Q.C. (1812–1873) and

Lady Victoria Hope-Scott James Robert Hope-Scott (15 July 1812 – 29 April 1873) was a British barrister and Tractarian. Early life and conversion Born at Great Marlow, in the county of Buckinghamshire, and christened James Robert, Hope was the third son of Ge ...

(1840–1870). They had three daughters: His eldest daughter Fearga Victoria Mary O'Conor (b. 1892, d. 22 Mar 1969) married Rear-Admiral Malcolm Raphael Joseph Constable-Maxwell-Scott, son of Hon. Joseph Constable-Maxwell-Scott and Mary Monica Hope-Scott, on 6 September 1918. She died on 22 March 1969. They had three children. 1. Sir Michael Fergus Constable-Maxwell-Scott, 13th Bt. of the

Constable Maxwell-Scott baronets There have been two baronetcies created for members of the Haggerston, later Constable Maxwell-Scott family, one in the Baronetage of England and one in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. Only one creation is extant as of 2008. The Haggerston, ...

(b. 23 Jul 1921, d. 29 Nov 1989) 2. Elizabeth Mary Constable-Maxwell-Scott (b. 28 May 1924, d. 1991) 3. Ian Malcolm Constable-Maxwell-Scott (b. 18 July 1927, d. 27 November 1993) His second daughter, Muriel Margaret Minna O'Conor (b. 1894) married Charles Joseph Nevile, son of Ralph Henry Christopher Nevile, on 21 April 1919. In 1918, at the

Brompton Oratory Brompton Oratory is a large neo-classical Roman Catholic church in the Knightsbridge area of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London. Its full name is the Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, or as named in its Grade II* archite ...

, his youngest daughter Eileen Winifred Madeleine O'Conor (1897-1963) married Prince

Matyla Ghyka Prince Matila Costiescu Ghyka (; born ''Matila Costiescu''; 13 September 1881 – 14 July 1965), was a Romanian naval officer, novelist, mathematician, historian, philosopher, academic and diplomat. He did not return to Romania after World ...

(1881–1965) of

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

Arms

References

External links

The Papers of Sir Nicholas and Lady (Minna) O'Conor
held at

Churchill Archives Centre The Churchill Archives Centre (CAC) at Churchill College at the University of Cambridge is one of the largest repositories in the United Kingdom for the preservation and study of modern personal papers. It is best known for housing the papers of ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oconor, Nicholas Roderick People from County Roscommon Irish diplomats 1843 births 1908 deaths Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Korea Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to the Ottoman Empire Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Russia Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Nicholas Roderick Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People educated at St Stanislaus College