Victor Alexander George Robert Bulwer-Lytton, 2nd Earl of Lytton, (9 August 1876 – 25 October 1947), styled Viscount Knebworth from 1880 to 1891, was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

politician and colonial administrator. He served as Governor of Bengal between 1922 and 1927 and was briefly Acting Viceroy of India in 1926. He headed the Lytton Commission for the League of Nations, in 1931–32, producing the Lytton Report which condemned Japanese aggression against China in Manchuria.

Early life

He was born in

Simla Shimla (; ; also known as Simla, the official name until 1972) is the capital and the largest city of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared as the summer capital of British India. After independence, th ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

on 9 August 1876, during the time when his father was

Viceroy of India The Governor-General of India (1773–1950, from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, commonly shortened to Viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom and after Indian independence in 19 ...

. Lytton was the fourth, but eldest surviving, son of

Robert Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Earl of Lytton Edward Robert Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Earl of Lytton, (8 November 183124 November 1891) was an English statesman, Conservative politician and poet who used the pseudonym Owen Meredith. He served as Viceroy of India between 1876 and 1880durin ...

and Edith Villiers, daughter of Edward Ernest Villiers and granddaughter of George Villiers. His six siblings were Edward Rowland John Bulwer-Lytton (who died young), Lady Elizabeth Edith "Betty" Bulwer-Lytton (wife of

Gerald Balfour, 2nd Earl of Balfour Gerald William Balfour, 2nd Earl of Balfour, PC (9 April 1853 – 14 January 1945), known as Gerald Balfour or The Rt Hon. G. W. Balfour until 1930, was a senior British Conservative politician who became a peer on the death of his brother, for ...

, the brother of the future

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

Arthur Balfour Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour, (, ; 25 July 184819 March 1930), also known as Lord Balfour, was a British Conservative statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1902 to 1905. As foreign secretary in the ...

Lady Constance Bulwer-Lytton Lady Constance Georgina Bulwer-Lytton (12 February 1869 – 2 May 1923), usually known as Constance Lytton, was an influential British suffragette activist, writer, speaker and campaigner for prison reform, votes for women, and birth control. S ...

(a prominent suffragette), Henry Meredith Edward Bulwer-Lytton (who died young), Lady Emily Bulwer-Lytton (who married architect Edwin Lutyens), and

Neville Bulwer-Lytton, 3rd Earl of Lytton Neville Stephen Bulwer-Lytton, 3rd Earl of Lytton, OBE (6 February 1879 – 9 February 1951) was a British military officer, Olympian and artist. Early life Neville Lytton was born in British India on 6 February 1879 while his parents ...

. He was the grandson of the English novelist, writer, and politician Edward Bulwer-Lytton. He 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

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

, where he was secretary of the University Pitt Club. In 1905 he was President of the Edinburgh Sir Walter Scott Club and gave the Toast to Sir Walter at the club's annual dinner.

Career

2nd Earl of Lytton Vanity Fair 19 September 1906

Shield of Arms of Victor Bulwer-Lytton, 2nd Earl of Lytton, KG, GCSI, GCIE, PC, DL

Lytton 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 ...

as a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

in January 1902, where he was an advocate for female suffrage, being influenced by his sister, the suffragette,

. He chaired the all-party ‘Conciliation Committee’ that drafted the Parliamentary Franchise (Women) Bill, known as the Conciliation Bill, in 1910. The wartime coalition gave Lytton the chance to hold government office, and he started his official career by filling various posts in the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...

between 1916 and 1920, before being appointed

Under-Secretary of State for India This is a list of Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State and Permanent Under-Secretary of State, Permanent Under-Secretaries of State at the India Office during the British India, period of British rule be ...

, a post which he held between 1920 and 1922. He was made a

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises senior politicians who are current or former members of ei ...

in 1919. On 16 February 1922 he was posted as Governor of Bengal, remaining there until 3 March 1927. For a short while, when there was a vacancy caused by change in incumbents in 1926, he functioned as Viceroy, his father's old post. After this he filled miscellaneous positions in various capacities when matters concerning India arose. He wrote two books, the first being a life of his grandfather Lord Lytton, while the other book dealt with his experiences in India and was called ''Pundits and Elephants'', published in 1942. He was made a

Knight of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. It is the most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, outranked in precedence only by the Victoria Cross and the George ...

in 1933. He was chairman of

London Associated Electricity Undertakings Limited London Associated Electricity Undertakings Limited was an electricity supply company that operated in central and west London from 1935 to 1948. It was founded to acquire, combine and coordinate the electricity distribution interests of six west L ...

from 1937 to 1947. Lytton is best known for his chairmanship of the Lytton Commission, which was sent by the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...

on a fact-finding mission to determine who was to blame in the 1931 war between Japan and China. The commission's Lytton Report, officially issued on 1 October 1932, blames Japanese aggression. In response Japan withdrew from the League of Nations.Arthur K. Kuhn, "The Lytton Report on the Manchurian Crisis." ''American Journal of International Law'' 27.1 (1933): 96-100
in JSTOR
/ref>

Personal life

On 3 April 1902, Lord Lytton married Pamela Frances Audrey Chichele-Plowden (1874–1971) at

St Margaret's, Westminster The Church of St Margaret, Westminster Abbey, is in the grounds of Westminster Abbey on Parliament Square, London, England. It is dedicated to Margaret of Antioch, and forms part of a single World Heritage Site with the Palace of Westminster ...

. Pamela was a daughter of Sir Trevor Chichele Plowden and Millicent Frances Foster (eldest daughter of Gen. Sir Charles John Foster KCB). Her elder brother was Alfred Chichele Plowden. She had been an early flame of

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 during the Second World War, and again from ...

, but that relationship was amicably broken off when she decided to marry Lytton instead. Together, the couple were the parents of two sons, both of whom predeceased Lytton, and two daughters: *

Antony Bulwer-Lytton, Viscount Knebworth Edward Antony James Bulwer-Lytton, Viscount Knebworth (13 May 1903 – 1 May 1933) was a British pilot and Conservative politician. Knebworth was the eldest son of Victor Bulwer-Lytton, 2nd Earl of Lytton, and his wife, Pamela, daughter of Sir Tr ...

(1903–1933), an MP for Hitchin who died aged 30 in an air crash while serving with the Auxiliary Air Force. * Lady Margaret Hermione Millicent Bulwer-Lytton (1905–2004), who married Cameron Fromanteel Cobbold, who became a

Governor of the Bank of England The governor of the Bank of England is the most senior position in the Bank of England. It is nominally a civil service post, but the appointment tends to be from within the bank, with the incumbent grooming their successor. The governor of the Ba ...

Lord Chamberlain The Lord Chamberlain of the Household is the most senior officer of the Royal Household of the United Kingdom, supervising the departments which support and provide advice to the Sovereign of the United Kingdom while also acting as the main c ...

and

Baron Cobbold Baron Cobbold, of Knebworth in the County of Hertford, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1960 for the banker Cameron Cobbold. He was Governor of the Bank of England from 1949 to 1961. The 2nd Baron succeeded ...

in 1960. * Lady Davidema Katharine Cynthia Mary Millicent Bulwer-Lytton (1909–1995), who married

John Crichton, 5th Earl Erne John Henry George Crichton, 5th Earl Erne (22 November 1907 – 23 May 1940), briefly styled Viscount Crichton in 1914, was an Anglo-Irish peer, soldier and politician. Early life Erne was the only son of Henry William Crichton, Viscount Cri ...

in 1931. After his death, she married

Christopher Woodhouse, 5th Baron Terrington Christopher Montague Woodhouse, 5th Baron Terrington, (11 May 1917 – 13 February 2001) was a British Conservative politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Oxford from 1959 to 1966 and again from 1970 to 1974. He was also a visitin ...

in 1945. * Alexander Edward John Bulwer-Lytton, Viscount Knebworth,

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

(1910–1942), who was killed in the

Second Battle of El Alamein The Second Battle of El Alamein (23 October – 11 November 1942) was a battle of the Second World War that took place near the Egyptian railway halt of El Alamein. The First Battle of El Alamein and the Battle of Alam el Halfa had prevented th ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Lord Lytton died in October 1947, aged 71. As neither of his sons had left a son, Lytton's titles were inherited upon his death by his younger brother Neville Bulwer-Lytton.

Knebworth House Knebworth House is an English country house in the parish of Knebworth in Hertfordshire, England. It is a Grade II* listed building. Its gardens are also listed Grade II* on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens. In its surrounding park is t ...

passed to his daughter Lady Hermione Cobbold.

References

External links

*
Portrait of Pamela Frances Audrey Bulwer-Lytton (née Chichele-Plowden), Countess of Lytton
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lytton, Victor Bulwer-Lytton, 2nd Earl Of 1876 births 1947 deaths 19th-century English nobility 20th-century English nobility Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge 20th-century Royal Navy personnel People from Shimla Bailiffs Grand Cross of the Order of St John Deputy Lieutenants of Hertfordshire 102 Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India Knights of the Garter Lords of the Admiralty British governors of Bengal Manchuria Founders of Indian schools and colleges Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Burials at Knebworth

Victor The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

Presidents of the Royal Society of Literature People educated at Eton College