Morton Frederick Eden, 1st Baron Henley (8 July 1752 – 6 December 1830), was a British diplomat and peer.

Early life and education

Eden was the fifth son of Sir Robert Eden, 3rd Baronet, and Mary Davison, youngest daughter of William Davison of

Beamish, County Durham Beamish, previously named "Pit Hill", is a village in County Durham, England, situated to the north east of Stanley, County Durham, Stanley. The village is contained within Hell Hole Wood and is home to Beamish Museum, an open-air museum seek ...

. His three eldest brothers were

Sir John Eden, 4th Baronet Sir John Eden, 4th Baronet (16 September 1740 – 23 August 1812), was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1774 and 1790. Eden was the eldest son of Sir Robert Eden, 3rd Baronet and his wife Mary Davison of Beamish, c ...

Sir Robert Eden, 1st Baronet, of Maryland Sir Robert Eden, 1st Baronet (14 September 1741 – 2 September 1784) was a British colonial administrator who was the last colonial Governor of Maryland. Although a popular governor and an able administrator, Eden's authority was overthrown by ...

, and

William Eden, 1st Baron Auckland William Eden, 1st Baron Auckland, Privy Council of Ireland, PC (Ire), Royal Society, FRS (3 April 174528 May 1814) was a British diplomat and politician who sat in the British House of Commons, House of Commons from 1774 to 1793. Early life A m ...

. 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 depa ...

and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

Career

From 1776 to 1779, Eden was Minister to

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

, then to

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

1779–1782,

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

1783–1791,

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

1791–1793 and

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

1793–1794. From 1794 to 1795, he was Ambassador to Spain, and returned as Minister to Vienna in 1794–1799. He then retired with a pension of £2000. Eden was knighted in 1791 and admitted to the Privy Council in 1794. In 1799, Eden was created Baron Henley (Henly), of

Chardstock Chardstock is a village and civil parish located on the eastern border of Devon, England off the A358 road between Chard and Axminster. The parish population at the 2011 Census was 828. The parish also contains the hamlets of Bewley Down, Bi ...

, in the

Peerage of Ireland The peerage of Ireland consists of those Peerage, titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lordship of Ireland, Lord or Monarchy of Ireland, King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great B ...

, in honour of his wife's family. His wife was the co-heiress to her brother,

Robert Henley, 2nd Earl of Northington Robert Henley, 2nd Earl of Northington (3 January 1747 – 5 July 1786), was a British politician. He was born the eldest son of Robert Henley, 1st Earl of Northington, and educated at Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford. He succeed ...

, who died unmarried in 1786, and his earldom and subsidiary title of

Baron Henley Baron Henley is a title that has been created twice: first in the Peerage of Great Britain and then in the Peerage of Ireland. The first creation came in 1760 in favour of Sir Robert Henley, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, when he was cr ...

in the Peerage of Great Britain had become extinct. The Irish peerage did not allow Henley to sit in the House of Lords.

Marriage and issue

On 7 August 1783, Eden married Lady Elizabeth Henley (the youngest daughter of the 1st Earl of Northington) and they had four children: * Hon. Frederick Eden (19 August 1784 – 5 November 1823), barrister; died unmarried at his chambers at

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

* Hon. Robert Eden (1789–1841), succeeded his father in the barony * Hon. Rev. William Henley (7 November 1792 – 4 May 1859), Rector of Bishopsbourne, Kent; married in 1820 Anna Maria Yelverton, daughter of William Kellam and widow of the 19th Lord Grey de Ruthyn * Hon. Mary Jane (22 November 1795 – 12 September 1843); married in 1824 Sir Edmund Cradock-Hartopp, 2nd Baronet Lord Henley died in 1830 and was succeeded by his eldest surviving son,

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...

, who adopted the surname Henley.

References

External links

* 1752 births 1830 deaths Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Barons in the Peerage of Ireland Peers of Ireland created by George III Diplomatic peers Morton Eden Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain People educated at Eton College Eden, Morton Fellows of the Royal Society Ambassadors of Great Britain to Denmark Ambassadors of Great Britain to Spain Ambassadors to Bavaria Ambassadors of Great Britain to the Holy Roman Emperor Barons Henley {{Ireland-baron-stub