Born Arthur Wesley (later Wellesley) in Dublin to Irish parents. After the Battle of Waterloo in which 60,000 died Wellington wrote to a friend "Next to a battle lost, the greatest misery is a battle gained". His view of the ordinary soldier: "the scum of the earth".
Master-General of the Ordnance 1819–1827.
Odd fact: As Constable of the Tower of London (1826-52) it was Wellington who, in 1832, moved the troublesome wild animals out of the Tower to Regents Park to join the other creatures in the newly formed Zoological Society of London.
Died at home in Kent. His funeral was quite something - see the London Historians' post.
Wellington is seen by many as a colonial adventurer in India who, as prime minister, oversaw Britain’s brutal colonial policy around the world.
Something about Wellington inspired huge monuments to him: the equestrian statue erected on the Wellington Arch but moved to Aldershot is 30 feet (9 m) high; the Achilles statue is 36 feet (11 m, from ground to top of head; the Wellington Monument in Dublin is the largest obelisk in Europe at a stunning 203 ft (62 m).
2024: On a recent guided tour (which we can recommend) of the Speaker's House at the Houses of Parliament our guide made a interesting aside. One of the Speakers, Arthur Wellesley Peel (1829 – 1912), was named for his godfather, the Duke. Peel was the fifth and youngest son of Sir Robert Peel by his wife, Julia. Our guide drew our attention to a portrait of Speaker Peel and suggested that, when compared with the well-know visage of the Duke, Julia "had some explaining to do". Wellington was Peel's long term political mentor. At the time in question Wellington was 59 and Robert Peel 40. We've done Google image searches on the 3 men involved and would now like a word with Julia.
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