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 politician and colonial administrator. He served as
Governor of Bengal
In 1644, Gabriel Boughton procured privileges for the East India Company which permitted them to build a factory at Hooghly district, Hughli, without fortifications. Various chief agents, Governors and presidents were appointed to look after co ...
between 1922 and 1927 and was briefly
Acting Viceroy of India in 1926. He headed the Lytton Commission for the League of Nations in 1931–1932, producing the
Lytton Report
The Report of the Commission of Enquiry, commonly referred to as the refers to the findings of the Lytton Commission, entrusted in 1931 by the League of Nations in an attempt to evaluate the Mukden Incident, which was used to justify the Empire ...
which condemned the
Japanese invasion of Manchuria
The Empire of Japan's Kwantung Army invaded the Manchuria region of the Republic of China on 18 September 1931, immediately following the Mukden incident, a false flag event staged by Japanese military personnel as a pretext to invade. At the ...
and denounced
Manchukuo
Manchukuo, officially known as the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of Great Manchuria thereafter, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Northeast China that existed from 1932 until its dissolution in 1945. It was ostens ...
as a
Japanese puppet state.
Early life
He was born in
Simla
Shimla, also known as Simla (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Himachal Pradesh, 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 the summe ...
in
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...
on 9 August 1876, during the time when his father was
Viceroy of India
The governor-general of India (1833 to 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 in their capacity as the Emperor of ...
. Lytton was the fourth, but eldest surviving, son of
the 2nd Baron Lytton (later created, in 1880, the 1st
Earl of Lytton) 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),
Elizabeth Edith Bulwer-Lytton (wife of
the 2nd Earl of Balfour, the brother of the future
Prime Minister
A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
Arthur Balfour
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour (; 25 July 184819 March 1930) was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1902 to 1905. As Foreign Secretary ...
),
Constance Bulwer-Lytton (a prominent suffragette), Henry Meredith Edward Bulwer-Lytton (who died young),
Emily Bulwer-Lytton (who married architect
Edwin Lutyens
Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens ( ; 29 March 1869 – 1 January 1944) was an English architect known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era. He designed many English country houses, war memorials ...
), and
Neville Bulwer-Lytton, 3rd Earl of Lytton. He was the grandson of the English novelist, writer, and politician
Edward Bulwer-Lytton
Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton (; 25 May 1803 – 18 January 1873) was an English writer and politician. He served as a Whig member of Parliament from 1831 to 1841 and a Conservative from 1851 to 1866. He was Secr ...
.
He was educated at
Eton and
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, 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 ...
, 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

Lytton took his seat in the
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
as a
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
in January 1902, where he was an advocate for female suffrage, being influenced by his sister, the suffragette,
Lady Constance Bulwer-Lytton
Lady Constance Georgina Bulwer-Lytton (12 February 1869 – 22 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 ...
. 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 between 1916 and 1920, before being appointed
Under-Secretary of State for India, a post which he held between 1920 and 1922. He was made a
Privy Counsellor
The Privy Council, formally His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its members, known as privy counsellors, are mainly senior politicians who are current or former ...
in 1919. On 16 February 1922 he was posted as
Governor of Bengal
In 1644, Gabriel Boughton procured privileges for the East India Company which permitted them to build a factory at Hooghly district, Hughli, without fortifications. Various chief agents, Governors and presidents were appointed to look after co ...
, 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 biography 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 Companion of the Garter in 1933.
He was chairman of
London Associated Electricity Undertakings Limited 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 (LN or LoN; , SdN) 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 (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...
on a fact-finding mission to determine who was to blame in the 1931 war between Japan and China. The commission's
Lytton Report
The Report of the Commission of Enquiry, commonly referred to as the refers to the findings of the Lytton Commission, entrusted in 1931 by the League of Nations in an attempt to evaluate the Mukden Incident, which was used to justify the Empire ...
, officially issued on 1 October 1932, blames Japanese aggression. In response Japan withdrew from the League of Nations.
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 the Virgin, Margaret of Antioch, and forms part of a single World Heritage Site with the Pal ...
. Pamela was a daughter of Sir Trevor Chichele Plowden and Millicent Frances Foster (eldest daughter of Gen. Sir Charles John Foster). Her elder brother was
Alfred Chichele Plowden. She had been an early flame of
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...
, 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 (1903–1933), an
MP for
Hitchin
Hitchin () is a market town in the North Hertfordshire Districts of England, district of Hertfordshire, England. The town dates from at least the 7th century. It lies in the valley of the River Hiz at the north-eastern end of the Chiltern Hills ...
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 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 choosing and mentoring a successor. The governor ...
,
Lord Chamberlain
The Lord Chamberlain of the Household is the most senior officer of the Royal Households of the United Kingdom, Royal Household of the United Kingdom, supervising the departments which support and provide advice to the Monarchy of the United Ki ...
and
Baron Cobbold in 1960.
* Lady Davidema Katharine Cynthia Mary Millicent Bulwer-Lytton (1909–1995), who married
John Crichton, 5th Earl Erne, in 1931. After his death, she married
Montague Woodhouse, 5th Baron Terrington, in 1945.
* Alexander Edward John Bulwer-Lytton, Viscount Knebworth,
MBE (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 station, railway halt of El Alamein. The First Battle of El Alamein and the Battle of Alam el Halfa ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.
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 Listed building#Categories of listed building, Grade II* listed building. Its gardens are also listed Register of Historic Parks and Gar ...
passed to his daughter
Lady Hermione Cobbold. She was interviewed about her father by the historian Brian Harrison, as part of the Suffrage Interviews project, titled ''Oral evidence on the suffragette and suffragist movements: the Brian Harrison interviews.''
She talks about her father's childhood; his love of skating, mountaineering and skiing; the family's move to India; his interest in health and his experience with depression. His second daughter, Davina, was also interviewed as part of the project and outlines his support for the suffrage movement.
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
20th-century Royal Navy personnel
20th-century English biographers
Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge
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
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Burials at Knebworth
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British people in colonial India
Younger sons of earls