Lieutenant-General William Augustus Johnson (15 October 1777, in

Kenilworth Kenilworth ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Warwick District in Warwickshire, England, south-west of Coventry, north of Warwick and north-west of London. It lies on Finham Brook, a tributary of the River Sowe, which joins the ...

– 26 October 1863, in

Witham Witham () is a town in the county of Essex in the East of England, with a population ( 2011 census) of 25,353. It is part of the District of Braintree and is twinned with the town of Waldbröl, Germany. Witham stands between the city of Che ...

, Lincolnshire) was an English soldier and

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

. He was the eldest son of

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

clergyman the Rev. Robert Augustus Johnson and Anna Rebecca (youngest sister of Lord Craven) and a descendant of Archdeacon Robert Johnson. He 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. ...

.History of Parliament Online article
/ref> He married Lucy Foster (1815–1890) on 17 February 1835. Commissioned as an

ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

of foot in 1793, and promoted captain in 1794, he served in the campaign of 1808–9 in 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 ...

, as Major in the 32nd Regiment, and was present at the battles of Roliça, Vimiero, and Corunna. Johnson then served through the

Walcheren expedition The Walcheren Campaign ( ) was an unsuccessful British expedition to the Netherlands in 1809 intended to open another front in the Austrian Empire's struggle with France during the War of the Fifth Coalition. Sir John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chath ...

in 1809. In 1810 he became lieutenant-colonel in the 3rd

Ceylon Regiment Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. Johnson inherited the Witham on the Hill estate in

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...

from an uncle in 1814 and left active duty on

half-pay Half-pay (h.p.) was a term used in the British Army and Royal Navy of the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries to refer to the pay or allowance an officer received when in retirement or not in actual service. Past usage United Kingdom In the En ...

to run the estate. He continued to receive promotions, to full colonel in 1819, major-general in 1830 and lieutenant-general in 1841. He retired from the army in 1842. He stood many times for Parliament, and served as Member of Parliament for

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, 1821–1826 and for

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham ...

, 1837–1847. He was a Magistrate, Deputy Lieutenant of Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire, and

High Sheriff of Lincolnshire This is a list of High Sheriffs of Lincolnshire. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilit ...

for 1830. When slavery was abolished in 1833, he received compensation for the loss of slaves in Antigua. He died, following a fall at his home, in 1863 aged 86.

References

External links

* 1777 births 1863 deaths People from South Kesteven District People educated at Rugby School British Army personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars 32nd Regiment of Foot officers Deputy Lieutenants of Lincolnshire Deputy Lieutenants of Northamptonshire Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies UK MPs 1820–1826 UK MPs 1837–1841 UK MPs 1841–1847 High Sheriffs of Lincolnshire People from Kenilworth {{England-UK-MP-stub