Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington

Field Marshal His Grace The Duke of Wellington KG GCB GCH PC FRS
Portrait, c. 1815–16
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
In office 17 November 1834 – 9 December 1834
Monarch	William IV
Preceded by	The Viscount Melbourne
Succeeded by	Robert Peel
In office 22 January 1828 – 16 November 1830
Monarchs	George IV William IV
Preceded by	The Viscount Goderich
Succeeded by	The Earl Grey
Commander-in-Chief of the British Army
In office 15 August 1842 – 14 September 1852
Monarch	Victoria
Preceded by	The Viscount Hill
Succeeded by	The Viscount Hardinge
In office 22 January 1827 – 22 January 1828
Monarch	George IV
Preceded by	The Duke of York and Albany
Succeeded by	The Viscount Hill
Leader of the House of Lords
In office 3 September 1841 – 27 June 1846
Prime Minister	Robert Peel
Preceded by	The Viscount Melbourne
Succeeded by	The Marquess of Lansdowne
In office 14 November 1834 – 18 April 1835
Prime Minister	Robert Peel
Preceded by	The Viscount Melbourne
Succeeded by	The Viscount Melbourne
In office 22 January 1828 – 22 November 1830
Prime Minister	Himself
Preceded by	The Viscount Goderich
Succeeded by	The Earl Grey
Additional positions
(see § Offices and distinctions)
Personal details
Born	Arthur Wesley (1769-05-01)1 May 1769 Dublin, Kingdom of Ireland
Died	14 September 1852(1852-09-14) (aged 83) Walmer, Kent, United Kingdom
Resting place	St Paul's Cathedral
Nationality	British
Other names	Arthur Wellesley
Political party	Tory (until 1834) Conservative (from 1834)
Spouse	Catherine Pakenham ​ ​ (m. 1806; died 1831)​
Children	Arthur Wellesley, 2nd Duke of Wellington Lord Charles Wellesley
Parents	Garret Wesley, 1st Earl of Mornington (father) Anne Hill-Trevor (mother)
Awards	See list Knight of the Order of the Garter Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Guelphic Order Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece Knight Grand Cross of the Military William Order[1]
Signature
Nickname	(see § Nicknames)
Military service
Allegiance	Kingdom of Great Britain United Kingdom
Branch/service	British Army
Years of service	1787–1852
Rank	Field marshal
Battles/wars	French Revolutionary Wars Flanders Campaign Fourth Anglo-Mysore War Maratha-Nizam War Cotiote War Second Anglo-Maratha War Napoleonic Wars Hanover Expedition Copenhagen Expedition Peninsular War Hundred Days

Selected battles

5000km
3,100miles

Waterloo

6

Vitoria

5

Torres Vedras

4

Køge

3

Assaye

2

Seringapatam

1

  

     1799–1803      1807–1813      1815

Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS (né Wesley; 1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish military officer and statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures in Britain during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, serving twice as British Prime Minister. He is among the commanders who ended the Napoleonic Wars in a victory when the Seventh Coalition defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.

Wellesley was born into a Protestant Ascendancy family in Ireland. He was commissioned as an ensign in the British Army in 1787, serving in Ireland as aide-de-camp to two successive lords lieutenant of Ireland. He was also elected as a member of Parliament in the Irish House of Commons. Rising to the rank of colonel by 1796, Wellesley saw service in the Low Countries and India, where he fought in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War at the Siege of Seringapatam. He was appointed governor of Seringapatam and Mysore in 1799 and, as a newly appointed major-general, won a decisive victory over the Maratha Confederacy at the Battle of Assaye in 1803.

Rising to prominence as a general officer during the Peninsular War, Wellesley was promoted to the rank of field marshal after leading British-led forces to victory against the French at the Battle of Vitoria in 1813. Following Napoleon's first exile in 1814, he served as the British ambassador to France and was made Duke of Wellington. During the Hundred Days campaign in 1815, Wellington commanded another British-led army which, together with the Prussian Army under Field Marshal Gebhard von Blücher, defeated Napoleon at Waterloo. Wellington's battle record is exemplary; he ultimately participated in some 60 battles during the course of his military career.

Wellington is famous for his adaptive defensive style of warfare, resulting in several victories against numerically superior forces while minimising his own losses. He is regarded as one of the greatest commanders in the modern era,^[2] and many of his tactics and battle plans are still studied in military academies around the world. After the end of his active military career, Wellington returned to politics. He was twice British prime minister as a member of the Tory party from 1828 to 1830 and for a little less than a month in 1834. Wellington oversaw the passage of the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829, while he opposed the Reform Act 1832. He continued to be one the leading figures in the House of Lords until his retirement and remained Commander-in-Chief of the Forces until his death.