Sir John Fiennes Twisleton Crampton, 2nd Baronet, KCB (1805 – 7 December 1886) was a British diplomat, minister to the United States from 1852 to 1856 and Minister to Russia from 1858 to 1860.

Early life

The son of

Sir Philip Crampton, 1st Baronet Sir Philip Crampton, 1st Baronet, FRS (7 June 1777 – 10 June 1858) was an eminent Irish surgeon and anatomist. He was President of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) in 1811, 1820, 1844 and 1855. Life Crampton was born in Dublin, ...

, a Dublin doctor and scientist, one of the founders of the Pitt Street Institution in Dublin, and his wife Selina Cannon, Crampton was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

and at

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, and became a career diplomat. He should not be confused with his cousin John Fiennes Twisleton Crampton (1817–1888), a clergyman of the

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the second ...

. Both were descended from John Fiennes Twistleton Crampton (1732–1792), who was the son of the Reverend John Crampton (1706–1771),

Archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that o ...

Tuam Tuam ( ; ga, Tuaim , meaning 'mound' or 'burial-place') is a town in Ireland and the second-largest settlement in County Galway. It is west of the midlands of Ireland, about north of Galway city. Humans have lived in the area since the Bron ...

, by his marriage to Charlotte Fiennes Twisleton (1710–1776), a daughter of

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

Fiennes Twisleton, 11th Baron Saye and Sele (''ca.'' 1670–1730).

Career

Crampton was appointed as Secretary of the British legation at Washington in July, 1845, after previous diplomatic service in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

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 ...

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, and

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. In January, 1852, he succeeded Sir Henry Bulwer as head of the Washington mission. He was obliged to resign in 1856, on the demand of U.S. President

Franklin Pierce Franklin Pierce (November 23, 1804October 8, 1869) was the 14th president of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857. He was a northern Democrat who believed that the abolitionist movement was a fundamental threat to the nation's unity ...

, whose administration accused him of attempting to enlist recruits for the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

during the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

. As some consolation, Crampton was appointed a

Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

(KCB) on 30 September 1856. His later postings included serving as British Minister Plenipotentiary and Envoy Extraordinary at Hanover, from 2 March 1857 until early in 1858, then returned to St Petersburg as Minister Plenipotentiary to the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

from 31 March 1858 to 1860. He was finally posted as Minister to Madrid, where he served from 11 December 1860.John Wodehouse, Earl of Kimberley, ed. Angus Hawkins & John Powell, ''The journal of John Wodehouse, first Earl of Kimberley for 1862-1902'' (1997), p. 78 He resigned from his post in Spain with effect from 1 July 1869, when he retired with a pension, after more than forty years' diplomatic service. Crampton succeeded his father as 2nd Baronet on 10 June 1858. He died on 7 December 1886 at Bushy Park,

Enniskerry Enniskerry (historically ''Annaskerry'', from ) is a village in County Wicklow, Ireland. The population was 1,889 at the 2016 census. Location The village is situated on the Glencullen River in the foothills of the Wicklow Mountains in the ea ...

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ga, Contae Chill Mhantáin ) is a county in Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is bordered by t ...

, aged 81.

Marriage

On 31 March 1860, Crampton married

Victoria Balfe y Roser Victoria Balfe (1 September 1835 or 1837 – 22 January 1871) was a French noblewoman and singer. Balfe was also known as Victoire Crampton and Victoire Fernández de Velasco, duchess of Frías. She was the second daughter of the composer Micha ...

(1835 or 1837–1871), who had been born in Paris, a daughter of the Irish author and composer

Michael William Balfe Michael William Balfe (15 May 1808 – 20 October 1870) was an Irish composer, best remembered for his operas, especially ''The Bohemian Girl''. After a short career as a violinist, Balfe pursued an operatic singing career, while he began to co ...

(1808–1870), a protégée of

Gioachino Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards f ...

, and of

Lina Roser Lina (pronounced "Leena") is a feminine given name. Languages of origin include: English, Italian, Lithuanian, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Persian, Kurdish, Arabic. It is also the short form of a variety of names ending in -lina including Catalin ...

, a singer. In 1860, during Crampton's posting in Madrid, his wife eloped with the 15th Duke of Frías, whom she married in 1864 after her marriage to Crampton was annulled (on her petition) on 20 November 1863 on grounds of his impotence. The affair was considered a scandal by Queens

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

and

Isabel Isabel is a female name of Spanish origin. Isabelle is a name that is similar, but it is of French origin. It originates as the medieval Spanish form of '' Elisabeth'' (ultimately Hebrew ''Elisheva''), Arising in the 12th century, it became popul ...

. The 16th and 17th Dukes of Frías were the sons of Victoria Crampton's second marriage.

Notes

External links

*
American Material in the Crampton Papers, 1844-1856: the private and confidential correspondence of Sir John Fiennes Twisleton Crampton, Bart, KCB
', selected by Mary Silverstein, introduced by Colin Bonwick; from the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second- ...

, Oxford
La Casa de Velasco
(Microfilms of the Papers of Sir John Crampton as Ambassador to the United States of America)
p. 108
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crampton, John Fiennes Twisleton 1805 births 1886 deaths Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Diplomats from Dublin (city) Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to the United States Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Russia People educated at Eton College Ambassadors of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to Spain