Henry Arthur Mornington Wellesley, 3rd Earl Cowley (14 January 1866 – 15 January 1919), styled as Viscount Dangan between 1884 and 1895, was an English aristocrat.

Early life

Henry was born at Wilton Place, London, on 14 January 1866. He was the eldest son of

William Wellesley, 2nd Earl Cowley Lieutenant Colonel William Henry Wellesley, 2nd Earl Cowley (25 August 1834 - 28 February 1895) was an English aristocrat and soldier. Early life Wellesley was born on 25 August 1834 at Stuttgart, Kingdom of Württemberg. Retrieved March 26, 20 ...

(1834–1895), and the former Emily Gwendoline Peers-Williams (1839–1932). His only sibling, Lady Eva Wellesley, married, as his second wife, Randolph Wemyss, Laird of

Wemyss Castle Wemyss Castle (pronounced eems is situated in Wemyss on the sea cliffs between the villages of East Wemyss and West Wemyss in Fife, Scotland. Wemyss Castle is considered to be a multi-period building, and today's castle includes many elemen ...

and Chief of Clan Wemyss. His mother was the second daughter of Col.

Thomas Peers Williams Thomas Peers Williams (27 March 1795 – 8 September 1875) was a British politician, military officer and landowner who was a Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), member of Parliament for Great Marlow (UK Parliament constituency), Great Marlow ...

, MP for

Great Marlow Great Marlow is a civil parishes in England, civil parish within Wycombe district in the England, English county of Buckinghamshire, lying north of the town of Marlow, Buckinghamshire, Marlow and south of High Wycombe. The parish includes the ...

, and the former Emily Bacon (a daughter of

Anthony Bushby Bacon Anthony Bushby Bacon (also known as Anthony Bushby or Anthony Smith or, occasionally, Anthony Bacon II; and, as a child, William Addison) (1772 - 11 August 1827) was a British industrialist turned landed gentleman. Anthony was the eldest of the fi ...

of Elcott). His paternal grandparents were

Henry Wellesley, 1st Earl Cowley Henry Richard Charles Wellesley, 1st Earl Cowley (17 June 1804 – 15 July 1884), known as The Lord Cowley between 1847 and 1857, was a British diplomat. He served as British Ambassador to France between 1852 and 1867. Background and educat ...

(the eldest son of

Henry Wellesley, 1st Baron Cowley Henry Wellesley, 1st Baron Cowley Order of the Bath, GCB (20 January 1773 – 27 April 1847) was an Anglo-Irish people, Anglo-Irish diplomat and politician. He was the younger brother of the soldier and politician Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of ...

, and Lady Charlotte Cadogan, the daughter of the 1st Earl Cadogan), and the Hon. Olivia Cecilia FitzGerald (a daughter of the 20th Baroness de Ros and

Lord Henry FitzGerald Lord Henry FitzGerald PC (Ire) (30 July 1761 – 9 July 1829) was the fourth son of the 1st Duke of Leinster and the Duchess of Leinster (née Lady Emily Lennox). A younger brother was the revolutionary Lord Edward FitzGerald. Life Fitzgeral ...

, the fourth son of the 1st Duke of Leinster). His grandfather, the 1st Earl Cowley, was

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

's Ambassador to France for fifteen years and was a nephew of the

1st Duke of Wellington Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (; 1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was a British Army officer and statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures in Britain during the late 18th and early 19th cent ...

and the 1st Marquess Wellesley. Lord Cowley's aunt, Lady Feodorowna Wellesley, was married to

Francis Bertie, 1st Viscount Bertie of Thame Francis Leveson Bertie, 1st Viscount Bertie of Thame, ( "barty of tame"; 17 August 1844 – 26 September 1919) was a British diplomat. He was Ambassador to Italy between 1903 and 1905 and Ambassador to France between 1905 and 1918. Background ...

, who also served as the British ambassador to France.

Career

He attended

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

between 1880 and 1881. He was a Captain in the

Wiltshire Regiment The Wiltshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 62nd (Wiltshire) Regiment of Foot and the 99th Duke of Edinburgh's (Lanarkshire) Regiment of Foot. T ...

and gained the rank of Lieutenant in 1893 in the

Royal Gloucestershire Hussars The Royal Gloucestershire Hussars was a volunteer yeomanry regiment which, in the 20th century, became part of the British Army Reserve. It traced its origins to the First or Cheltenham Troop of Gloucestershire Gentleman and Yeomanry raised i ...

. Upon his father's death in 1895, he became the third

Earl Cowley Earl Cowley is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1857 for the diplomat Henry Wellesley, 2nd Baron Cowley. He was Ambassador to France from 1852 to 1867. He was made Viscount Dangan, of Dangan in the County of M ...

. Between 1899 and 1900, Lord Cowley fought in the

Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic an ...

with the

Imperial Yeomanry The Imperial Yeomanry was a volunteer mounted force of the British Army that mainly saw action during the Second Boer War. Created on 2 January 1900, the force was initially recruited from the middle classes and traditional yeomanry sources, but s ...

. He held the office of Justice of the Peace for Wiltshire.

Personal life

In 1888 he was sued for

breach of promise Breach of promise is a common-law tort, abolished in many jurisdictions. It was also called breach of contract to marry,N.Y. Civil Rights Act article 8, §§ 80-A to 84. and the remedy awarded was known as heart balm. From at least the Middle ...

by the actress and Gaiety Girl

Phyllis Broughton Phyllis Broughton born Phyllis Harriet Wright became Phyllis Harriet Thomson (1862 – 21 July 1926) was a British dancer and actress who was known as a Gaiety Girl. She was awarded £2,500 in a breach of promise case and she then left another at ...

. The case was settled for £2,500. His lawyers emphasised that the ending of the engagement was not related to the actress's character. On 17 December 1889, at St George's Church in

Hanover Square, Westminster Hanover Square is a green square in Mayfair, Westminster, south west of Oxford Circus where Oxford Street meets Regent Street. Six streets converge on the square which include Harewood Place with links to Oxford Street, Princes Street, Hanover S ...

, he was married to Lady Violet Nevill, the daughter of

William Nevill, 1st Marquess of Abergavenny William Nevill, 1st Marquess of Abergavenny (16 September 1826 – 12 December 1915), styled Viscount Neville between 1845 and 1868 and known as The Earl of Abergavenny between 1868 and 1876, was a British peer. Background and education He was ...

, and the former Caroline Vanden-Bempde-Johnstone (a daughter of

Sir John Vanden-Bempde-Johnstone, 2nd Baronet Sir John Vanden-Bempde-Johnstone, 2nd Baronet (28 August 1799 – 24 February 1869) was a British Member of Parliament. Vanden-Bempde-Johnstone was the son of Sir Richard Vanden-Bempde-Johnstone, 1st Baronet. He succeeded as second Baronet in ...

). Before she divorced him on 2 February 1897 alleging "misconduct", they were the parents of one son: *

Christian Arthur Wellesley, 4th Earl Cowley Lieutenant Christian Arthur Wellesley, 4th Earl Cowley (25 December 1890 – 29 August 1962), known as Viscount Dangan from 1895 to 1919, was an English aristocrat and actor known by the name Arthur Wellesley. Early life Wellesley was born on 25 ...

(1890–1962), an actor and army officer who married actress Mae Pickard in 1914. They divorced in 1933 and he remarried to Mrs Mary Himes (''née'' Mary Elsie May) in 1933. He married, secondly, Hon. Millicent Florence Eleanor (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Wilson) Cradock-Hartopp (1872–1952) on 14 December 1905 at

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. Millicent, the divorced wife of

Sir Charles Cradock-Hartopp, 5th Baronet The Cradock-Hartopp Baronetcy, of Freathby in the County of Leicester and of Four Oaks Hall in the County of Warwick, was a title in the Baronetage of Great Britain. It was created on 12 May 1796 for Edmund Cradock-Hartopp, Member of Parliame ...

, was a daughter of

Charles Wilson, 1st Baron Nunburnholme Charles Henry Wilson, 1st Baron Nunburnholme (22 April 1833 – 21 October 1907), was a prominent English shipowner who became head of the Thomas Wilson Sons & Co. shipping business. Together with his brother he expanded the activities of the ...

, and the former Florence Jane Helen Wellesley. In 1912, while still married to his second wife, Lord Cowley was a named as a correspondent in the divorce suite of Geoffrey Charles Buxton against his wife. Before she divorced him in 1913, citing his "desertion and misconduct with Mrs. G.C. Buxton", they were the parents of: * Hon. Henry Gerald Valerian Francis Wellesley (1907–1981), who married Doris Caroline Sabia Kennedy, daughter of Edward Robert Kennedy, in 1929. They divorced in 1953 and he married Nancy Joan Hilliam, daughter of Bentley Collingwood Hilliam, in 1954. His second marriage was annulled in 1955 and he married Marina Isabel Sherlock Eustace, daughter of Frank Rowland Eustace, in 1957. They divorced in 1969 and he married, fourthly, Valerie Rose Pitman, daughter of Christian Ernest Pitman, in 1969. His third and final marriage was to Clare Florence Mary (née Stapleton) Buxton on 19 January 1914. Clare, who was by then divorced from her husband Geoffrey Buxton of Dunston Hall, was a daughter of Sir Francis Stapleton, 8th Baronet, and Mary Catherine Gladstone. They were the parents of: * Lady Diana Mary Wellesley (c. 1914 – 1984). She married Col.

Daniel Dixon, 2nd Baron Glentoran Daniel Stewart Thomas Bingham Dixon, 2nd Baron Glentoran, KBE (19 January 1912 – 22 July 1995), was a Northern Irish soldier and politician. Glentoran was the son of Herbert Dixon, 1st Baron Glentoran. After being educated at Eton and S ...

, son of Herbert Dixon, 1st Baron Glentoran, and Hon. Emily Bingham (a daughter of John Bingham, 5th Baron Clanmorris). * Lady Cecilia Katherine Wellesley (1917–1952), who married John Claude Smiley, son of Maj. Sir John Smiley, 2nd Baronet, in 1936. They divorced in 1942 and she married Lt.-Col. Norman David Melville Johnstone, son of Major Charles Melville Johnstone, in 1942. They divorced in 1950 and she married, thirdly, to Norman Hyman Wachman, son of Woolf Wachman, in 1950. Lord Cowley died at Draycot House in

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

on 15 January 1919, at age 53. He was buried at St James' Church Draycot Cerne, near Chippenham. His widow, the Dowager Countess of Cowley, died in a fire on 8 May 1949.

References

;Notes ;Sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cowley, Richard Wellesley, 6th Earl 1866 births 1919 deaths People educated at Eton College

Henry Wellesley, 3rd Earl Cowley Henry Arthur Mornington Wellesley, 3rd Earl Cowley (14 January 1866 – 15 January 1919), styled as Viscount Dangan between 1884 and 1895, was an English aristocrat. Early life Henry was born at Wilton Place, London, on 14 January 1866. He was t ...

Earls in the Peerage of the United Kingdom English people of Irish descent