James Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan

Lieutenant-General The Right Honourable The Earl of Cardigan
Lieutenant General James Thomas Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan
Nickname(s)	Jim the Bear[1]
Born	(1797-10-16)16 October 1797 Hambleden, Buckinghamshire, England
Died	28 March 1868(1868-03-28) (aged 70) Deene Park, Northamptonshire, England
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1824–1866
Rank	Lieutenant-General
Unit	8th King's Royal Irish Hussars 15th The King's Hussars 11th Hussars
Commands held	Light Cavalry Brigade
Battles/wars	Crimean War Battle of Balaclava
Awards	Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Commander of the Legion of Honour (France)

Lieutenant-General James Thomas Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan KCB (16 October 1797 – 28 March 1868), styled as Lord Cardigan, was an officer in the British Army who commanded the Light Brigade during the Crimean War, leading its charge at the Battle of Balaclava.^[2]

Throughout his life in politics and his long military career, Brudenell characterised the arrogant and extravagant aristocrat of the period. His progression through the Army was marked by many episodes of extraordinary incompetence, but also by generosity to the men under his command and genuine bravery. As a member of the landed aristocracy, he had actively and steadfastly opposed any political reform in Britain, but in the last year of his life, he relented and came to acknowledge that such reform would bring benefit to all classes of society.