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 Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

Kingdom of Württemberg The Kingdom of Württemberg ( ) was a German state that existed from 1806 to 1918, located within the area that is now Baden-Württemberg. The kingdom was a continuation of the Electorate of Württemberg, which existed from 1803 to 1806. Geogr ...

. Retrieved March 26, 2025.

He was the eldest son of the former Hon. Olivia Cecilia FitzGerald (d. 1885) and

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 ...

, who served as the

British Ambassador to France The British Ambassador to France is the United Kingdom's foremost diplomatic representative in France, and is the head of Britain's diplomatic mission in Paris. The official title is ''His Majesty's Ambassador to France''. Traditionally, the ...

between 1852 and 1867. ; , .

''See Dod's Peerage''.

His younger siblings included Lady Feodorowna Cecilia (wife of the 1st Viscount Bertie), Lady Sophia Georgiana Robertina (wife of the 5th Earl of Hardwicke), Hon. Cecil Charles Foley (who served in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

and died unmarried), and Col. Hon. Frederick Arthur (who married three times, including lastly to Evelyn, Duchess of Wellington, the widow of Henry Wellesley, 3rd Duke of Wellington and sister to William's wife Emily). His father was 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 (daughter of

Charles Cadogan, 1st Earl Cadogan Charles Sloane Cadogan, 1st Earl Cadogan (29 September 1728 – 3 April 1807) was a British peer and Whig politician. Early life Cadogan was the only son of Charles Cadogan, 2nd Baron Cadogan and his wife, the former Elizabeth Sloane. His m ...

). William was a grand-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. His maternal grandparents were 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 ...

(fourth son of the 1st Duke of Leinster).

Career

Wellesley was educated at Eton before becoming a Lieutenant in the

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarchy; due to this, it often ...

in 1852. He was made a captain in 1854. He served in the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

in 1855 and the Oudh campaign in India in 1858 for which he was awarded the

Order of the Medjidie Order of the Medjidie (, August 29, 1852 – 1922) was a military and civilian order of the Ottoman Empire. The order was instituted in 1851 by Sultan Abdulmejid I. History Instituted in 1851, the order was awarded in five classes, with the Firs ...

, 5th Class. From 1860 to 1863, he was Lt.-Col. of the Coldstream Guards. In 1859, he was Military Secretary to

Lord Elphinstone Lord Elphinstone is a title in the Peerage of Scotland created by King James IV in 1510. History The title of Lord Elphinstone was granted by King James IV in 1510 to Sir Alexander Elphinstone of Elphinstone, who was killed at the Battle ...

, the

Governor of Bombay Until the 18th century, Bombay consisted of seven islands separated by shallow sea. These seven islands were part of a larger archipelago in the Arabian sea, off the western coast of India. The date of city's founding is unclear—historians tr ...

. Upon the death of his father on 15 July 1884, he succeeded as 3rd Baron Cowley of Wellesley, 2nd Viscount Dangan, and 2nd

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 ...

Personal life

On 8 August 1863, Wellesley was married to Emily Gwendolen Peers-Williams (1839–1932), 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, of Temple House and the former Emily Bacon (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 Benham Park). Together, they were the parents of: * Henry Arthur Mornington Wellesley, 3rd Earl Cowley (1866–1919), who married 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 ...

). * Lady Eva Cecilia Margaret Wellesley (d. 1948), who married, as his second wife, Randolph Gordon Erskine-Wemyss, eldest son of James Hay Erskine Wemyss MP, in 1898. 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 28 February 1895, and was succeeded by his son,

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

. His widow died on 9 November 1932.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cowley, Henry Wellesley, 1st Earl 1834 births 1895 deaths People educated at Eton College W Earls in the Peerage of the United Kingdom English people of Irish descent Recipients of the Order of the Medjidie, 5th class