George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, KG, GCSI, GCIE, PC (11 January 1859 – 20 March 1925) was a British Conservative statesman who served as Viceroy of India and Foreign Secretary. The Governor-General of India (or from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India) was the head of the British administration in India, and Events 1066 - Harold Godwinson is crowned King of England. 1205 - Philip of Swabia becomes King Year 1899 ( MDCCCXCIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 326 - The old St Peter's Basilica is consecrated 1302 - Pope Boniface VIII issues the Papal bull Year 1905 ( MCMV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901 was from 20 June 1837 the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (Arthur Oliver Villiers Russell, 2nd Baron Ampthill GCSI, GCIE, DL, JP ( 19 February. Victor Alexander Bruce 9th Earl of Elgin 13th Earl of Kincardine, KG GCSI, GCIE, PC ( 16 May 1849 – 18 January Gilbert John Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound 4th Earl of Minto, KG, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, PC ( London July 9, 1845 The Secretary of State for Air was a cabinet level British position in charge of the Air Ministry. Events 1252 - Pope Innocent IV issues the Papal bull Ad exstirpanda, which authorizes but also limits the Year 1916 ( MCMXVI) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Events 1431 - Joan of Arc is handed over to the Bishop Pierre Cauchon. Year 1917 ( MCMXVII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Herbert Henry Asquith 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, KG, PC ( 12 September 1852 &ndash 15 February 1928) served David Lloyd George 1st Earl Lloyd George of Dwyfor OM, PC (17 January 1863 &ndash 26 March 1945 was a British Statesman and the only Edward George Villiers Stanley 17th Earl of Derby KG, GCB, GCVO, TD, PC (23 St Weetman Dickinson Pearson 1st Viscount Cowdray GCVO ( July 15, 1856 &ndash May 1, 1927) was an Engineer, Oil Leader of the House of Lords is a function in the British government that is always held in combination with a formal Cabinet position most often Lord President Events 1041 - Empress Zoe of Byzantium elevates her adoptive son to the throne of the Eastern Roman Empire as Michael V Year 1916 ( MCMXVI) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Events 565 - Eutychius is deposed as Patriarch of Constantinople by John Scholasticus. Year 1924 ( MCMXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. David Lloyd George 1st Earl Lloyd George of Dwyfor OM, PC (17 January 1863 &ndash 26 March 1945 was a British Statesman and the only Andrew Bonar Law (16 September 1858 &ndash 30 October 1923 was a Canadian -born British Conservative Party statesman and Prime Minister. Stanley Baldwin 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, KG, PC (3 August 1867 &ndash 14 December 1947 was a British Conservative politician statesman and major Robert Offley Ashburton Crewe-Milnes 1st Marquess of Crewe KG ( 12 January 1858 – 20 June 1945) was a British Statesman Richard Burdon Sanderson Haldane 1st Viscount Haldane, KT, OM, PC, FRS, FSA ( 30 July 1856 - 19 August Events 644 - Umar ibn al-Khattab, the second Muslim Caliph, is killed by a Persian slave in Medina. Year 1924 ( MCMXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1600 - The Linköping Bloodbath takes place on Maundy Thursday in Linköping, Sweden. Year 1925 ( MCMXXV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Stanley Baldwin 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, KG, PC (3 August 1867 &ndash 14 December 1947 was a British Conservative politician statesman and major Richard Burdon Sanderson Haldane 1st Viscount Haldane, KT, OM, PC, FRS, FSA ( 30 July 1856 - 19 August James Edward Hubert Gascoyne-Cecil 4th Marquess of Salisbury, KG, GCVO, CB, PC ( October 23 1861 – April 4 The Lord President of the Council is the fourth of the Great Officers of State of the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord High Treasurer and above Events 1041 - Empress Zoe of Byzantium elevates her adoptive son to the throne of the Eastern Roman Empire as Michael V Year 1916 ( MCMXVI) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Events 4004 BC - Creation of the world begins according to the calculations of Archbishop James Ussher 42 BC - Year 1919 ( MCMXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common David Lloyd George 1st Earl Lloyd George of Dwyfor OM, PC (17 January 1863 &ndash 26 March 1945 was a British Statesman and the only Robert Offley Ashburton Crewe-Milnes 1st Marquess of Crewe KG ( 12 January 1858 – 20 June 1945) was a British Statesman Arthur James Balfour 1st Earl of Balfour, KG, OM, PC (25 July 1848 - 19 March 1930 was a British Conservative politician and Events 644 - Umar ibn al-Khattab, the second Muslim Caliph, is killed by a Persian slave in Medina. Year 1924 ( MCMXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1600 - The Linköping Bloodbath takes place on Maundy Thursday in Linköping, Sweden. Year 1925 ( MCMXXV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Stanley Baldwin 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, KG, PC (3 August 1867 &ndash 14 December 1947 was a British Conservative politician statesman and major Charles Alfred Cripps 1st Baron Parmoor KCVO, QC, PC ( 3 October 1852 &ndash 30 June 1941) was a British Arthur James Balfour 1st Earl of Balfour, KG, OM, PC (25 July 1848 - 19 March 1930 was a British Conservative politician and The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, commonly referred to as the Foreign Secretary, is a member of the United Kingdom Government heading the Events 4004 BC - Creation of the world begins according to the calculations of Archbishop James Ussher 42 BC - Year 1919 ( MCMXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 565 - Eutychius is deposed as Patriarch of Constantinople by John Scholasticus. Year 1924 ( MCMXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. David Lloyd George 1st Earl Lloyd George of Dwyfor OM, PC (17 January 1863 &ndash 26 March 1945 was a British Statesman and the only Andrew Bonar Law (16 September 1858 &ndash 30 October 1923 was a Canadian -born British Conservative Party statesman and Prime Minister. Stanley Baldwin 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, KG, PC (3 August 1867 &ndash 14 December 1947 was a British Conservative politician statesman and major Arthur James Balfour 1st Earl of Balfour, KG, OM, PC (25 July 1848 - 19 March 1930 was a British Conservative politician and James Ramsay MacDonald ( 12 October 1866 &ndash 9 November 1937) was a British politician and twice Prime Minister of the United The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an Order of chivalry, or Knighthood, originating in Medieval England, and presently bestowed on recipients The article is about the order of chivalry known as "Star of India" The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of Chivalry founded by Victoria in 1878 Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council is a body of advisors to the British Sovereign. Events 1055 - Theodora is crowned Empress of the Byzantine Empire. Year 1859 ( MDCCCLIX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 1600 - The Linköping Bloodbath takes place on Maundy Thursday in Linköping, Sweden. Year 1925 ( MCMXXV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The Governor-General of India (or from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India) was the head of the British administration in India, and The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, commonly referred to as the Foreign Secretary, is a member of the United Kingdom Government heading the
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Early life
Curzon was the eldest son and second of eleven children of the 4th Baron Scarsdale (1831–1916), rector of Kedleston in Derbyshire, and his wife Blanche (1837–1875), daughter of Joseph Pocklington Senhouse of Netherhall in Cumberland. The word rector ("ruler" from the Latin regere and Rector meaning "Teacher" In Latin has a number of different meanings but all of them indicate an academic Kedleston is a village and Civil parish in the Amber Valley district of Derbyshire. History The area that is now Derbyshire was first visited probably briefly by humans 200000 years ago during the Aveley Interglacial as evidenced by a Middle His family was of Norman ancestry and had lived on the same site since the twelfth century. The Normans were the people who gave their names to Normandy, a region in northern France. His mother, worn out by childbirth, died when George was sixteen; her husband survived her for forty-one years. Neither parent, however, exerted a major influence on Curzon's life. The Baron was an austere and unindulgent father who believed in the long-held family tradition that landowners should stay on their land and not go "roaming about all over the world". He thus had little sympathy for those travels across Asia between 1887 and 1895 which made his son the most travelled man who ever sat in a British cabinet. A more decisive presence in Curzon's childhood was that of his brutal governess, Ellen Mary Paraman, whose tyranny in the nursery stimulated his combative qualities and encouraged the obsessional side of his nature.
He was educated at Eton College and Balliol College, Oxford. Eton College, or just Eton, is a world-famous British Independent school for boys founded in 1440 by King Henry VI. Balliol College (ˈbeɪlɪəl founded in 1263 is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. At Eton (1872-1878) he was a favourite of Oscar Browning, leading to his tutor's eventual dismissal. Oscar Browning ( January 17, 1837 &ndash October 6, 1923) was an English Writer, Historian and Educational [1][2] While at Eton, he was a controversial figure who was liked and disliked with equal intensity by large numbers of masters and other boys. This strange talent for both attraction and repulsion stayed with him all his life: few people ever felt neutral about him. At Oxford he was President of the Canning Club, the Union and the Presidents' Council, and after a brilliant university career - although he failed to achieve a first class degree in Greats, he won the Lothian and Arnold Prizes, the latter for an essay on Sir Thomas More, about whom he confessed to having known almost nothing before commencing study, literally delivered as the clocks were chiming midnight on the day of the deadline - was elected a fellow of All Souls College in 1883. The University of Oxford (informally "Oxford University" or simply "Oxford" located in the city of Oxford, Oxfordshire, England is the Status and membership The Oxford Union is an Unincorporated association, holding its property in trust in favour of its objectives and members and governed The Oxford University Student Union is the official Students' union of the University of Oxford, representing the interests of its members to the university and the Literae Humaniores is the name given to the study of Classics at Oxford and some other universities Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535 from 1935 Saint Thomas More, was an English Lawyer, author and statesman who in his lifetime gained All Souls College (in full The Warden and College of the Souls of all Faithful People deceased in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges Year 1883 ( MDCCCLXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common
A teenage spinal injury, incurred while horseback riding, left Curzon in lifelong pain, often resulting in insomnia, and required him to wear a metal corset under his clothes, contributing to an unfortunate impression of stiffness and arrogance. While at Oxford, Curzon was the inspiration for a piece of doggerel which stuck with him in later life:
My name is George Nathaniel Curzon,
I am a most superior person.
My cheeks are pink, my hair is sleek,
I dine at Blenheim twice a week. Blenheim Palace is a large and Monumental country house situated in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England.
Life and career
He became Assistant Private Secretary to Lord Salisbury in 1885, and in 1886 entered Parliament as Member for the Southport division of south-west Lancashire. "Lord Salisbury" redirects here For other holders of the title see Marquess of Salisbury. Year 1885 ( MDCCCLXXXV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Year 1886 ( MDCCCLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories Southport is a Borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England, bounded to the west by the Irish Sea His maiden speech, which was chiefly an attack on home rule and Irish nationalism, was regarded in much the same way as his oratory at the Oxford Union: brilliant and eloquent but also presumptuous and rather too self-assured. Subsequent performances in the Commons, often dealing with Ireland or reform of the House of Lords (which he supported), received similar verdicts. He served as Under-Secretary of State for India in 1891-1892 and Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in 1895–1898. This is a list of Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State and Permanent Under-Secretaries of State at the India Office during the period of British rule Year 1891 ( MDCCCXCI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Year 1892 ( MDCCCXCII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs is a junior position in the British government since 1782 subordinate to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Year 1895 ( MDCCCXCV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Year 1898 ( MDCCCXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common
In the meantime he had travelled around the world: Russia and Central Asia (1888-9), a long tour of Persia (1889-90), Siam, French Indochina and Korea (1892), and a daring foray into Afghanistan and the Pamirs (1894), and published several books describing central and eastern Asia and related policy issues. The Russian Empire ( Pre-reform Russian: Pоссійская Имперія Modern Russian: Российская Империя translit: Rossiyskaya Central Asia is a region of Asia from the Caspian Sea in the west to central China in the east and from southern Russia in the north to northern Pakistan in the south For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. The Kingdom of Thailand (ˈtaɪlænd ราชอาณาจักรไทย, râːtɕʰa-ʔaːnaːtɕɑ̀k-tʰɑj First French interventions See also France-Vietnam relations France-Vietnam relations started as early as the 17th century with the mission of the Jesuit Korea is a geographic area composed of two sovereign countries a civilization and a former state situated on the Korean Peninsula in East Asia. Afghanistan /æfˈgænɪstæn/ officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan ( Pashto: د افغانستان اسلامي جمهوریت, The Pamir Mountains are located in Central Asia and are formed by the junction or Knot of the Tian Shan, Karakoram, Kunlun, and A bold and compulsive traveller, fascinated by oriental life and geography, he was awarded the gold medal of the Royal Geographical Society for his exploration of the source of the Oxus. History Founding members of the Society include Sir John Barrow, Sir John Franklin and Francis Beaufort. The Amu Darya (formerly Oxus River the Greeks (Ptolemeus called it Oxiana palus) is the longest river in Central Asia. Yet the main purpose of his journeys was political: they formed part of a vast and comprehensive project to study the problems of Asia and their implications for British India. At the same time they reinforced his pride in his nation and her imperial mission.
First marriage (1895–1906)
In 1895 he married Mary Victoria Leiter, the beautiful daughter of Levi Ziegler Leiter, a Chicago millionaire of German Lutheran origin and a cofounder of the department store Field & Leiter (now known as Marshall Field). Year 1887 ( MDCCCLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Alexandre Cabanel ( 28 September 1823 &ndash 23 January 1889) was a French painter. Mary Victoria Curzon Baroness Curzon of Kedleston, CI ( Order of the Crown of India) nee Mary Victoria Leiter ( 27 May 1870 &ndash 18 July Levi Ziegler Leiter ( November 2, 1834 - July 8, 1904) was a Chicago businessman and partner of Marshall Field who Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the teachings of the sixteenth-century German reformer Martin Luther Marshall Field's ( Marshall Field & Company) was an iconic Chicago Illinois, Department store that grew to become a major chain before being acquired She had a long and nearly fatal illness near the end of summer 1904, from which she never really recovered. Falling ill again in July 1906, she died on the 18th of that month in her husband's arms, at the age of 36 years old. [3] It was the greatest personal loss of his life. She was buried in the church at Kedleston, where Curzon designed his memorial for her, a lovely Gothic chapel added to the north side of the nave. Although he was neither a devout nor a conventional churchman, Curzon retained a simple religious faith; in later years he sometimes said that he was not afraid of death because it would enable him to join Mary in heaven.
They had three daughters during a firm and happy marriage: Mary Irene (who inherited her father's Barony of Ravensdale and was created a life peer in her own right), Cynthia (first wife of Sir Oswald Mosley), and Alexandra Naldera (wife of Edward "Fruity" Metcalfe, the best friend, best man and equerry of Edward VIII); best known as Baba Metcalfe, she later became a mistress of her brother-in-law Oswald Mosley, as did her stepmother, Grace Curzon. Mary Irene Curzon 2nd Baroness Ravensdale' and Baroness Ravensdale of Kedleston CBE (20 January 1896 – 9 February 1966 was the eldest child of George Baron Ravensdale, of Ravensdale in the County of Derby is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Lady Cynthia Blanche ("Cimmie" Mosley ( 23 August 1898 &ndash 16 May 1933) was a British Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley 6th Baronet (16 November 1896 &ndash 3 December 1980 was a British Politician, known principally as the founder of the British Lady Alexandra Naldera Curzon, CBE ( 20 April 1904 - 7 August 1995) was the third and reputably An equerry (ˈɛkwərɪ or /ɪˈkwɛrɪ/ originated from the French word "écurie" ( Stable) and related to the French word "écuyer" ( Squire Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley 6th Baronet (16 November 1896 &ndash 3 December 1980 was a British Politician, known principally as the founder of the British Grace Elvina Marchioness Curzon of Kedleston (1879 - 1958 was born Grace Elvina Hinds in Alabama, U Mary Irene had a short affair with Mosley before either were married.
Viceroy of India (1899–1905)
In January 1899 he was appointed Viceroy of India. The tiger ( Panthera tigris) is a member of the Felidae family the largest and the most powerful of the four " Big cats quot in the Genus The Governor-General of India (or from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India) was the head of the British administration in India, and He was created a Peer of Ireland as Baron Curzon of Kedleston, in the County of Derby, on his appointment. The Peerage of Ireland is the term used for those peers created by British monarchs in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland. This peerage was created in the Peerage of Ireland (the last ever to be so created), so that he would be (like other Viceroys) a peer in India, but free, until his father's death, to re-enter the House of Commons on his return to Britain. The House of Commons' is the Lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords
Reaching India shortly after the suppression of the frontier risings of 1897–1898, he paid special attention to the independent tribes of the north-west frontier, inaugurated a new province called the North West Frontier Province, and pursued a policy of forceful control mingled with conciliation. The North-West Frontier Province (NWFP ( Urdu: śimāl maġribī sarhadī sūba) is the smallest of the four main provinces of Pakistan. The only major armed outbreak on this frontier during the period of his administration was the Mahsud-Waziri campaign of 1901. Masood ( Pashto: مسعود،مسيد، محسود is a Pashtun tribe in Waziristan, Pashtunistan. The Wazirs or Waziris are a Pashtun tribe settled in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA of Pakistan, the North West Frontier
His deep mistrust of Russian intentions led him to encourage British trade in Persia, paying a visit to the Persian Gulf in 1903. Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending The Persian Gulf, in the Southwest Asian region is an extension of the At the end of that year, he sent a military expedition into Tibet led by Francis Younghusband, ostensibly to forestall a Russian advance. The British expedition to Tibet in 1903 and 1904 was an invasion of Tibet by British Indian forces, seeking to prevent the Russian Empire from interfering Definitions of Tibet See also Definitions of Tibet Name In English The English word Tibet, like the word for Tibet in most European Lieutenant Colonel Sir Francis Edward Younghusband KCSI KCIE ( 31 May, 1863 - 31 July, 1942, Dorsetshire After bloody conflicts with Tibet's poorly-armed defenders, the mission penetrated to Lhasa, where a treaty was signed in September 1904. Lhasa, ( in English l̥ʰásə or in Tibetan; Chinese: 拉萨 Pinyin: Lāsà sometimes spelled Lasa, is the administrative capital of the No Russian presence was found in Lhasa.
Within India, Lord Curzon of Kedleston appointed a number of commissions to inquire into Indian education, irrigation, police and other branches of administration, on whose reports legislation was based during his second term of office as viceroy. Reappointed Governor-General in August 1904, he presided over the partition of Bengal (July 1905), which roused such bitter opposition among the people of the province that it was later revoked (1912). The Partition of Bengal in 1905, was made on 16 October by then Viceroy of India, Lord Curzon.
Also, a major famine coincided with Curzon's time as viceroy. Owing to its almost entire dependence upon the Monsoon rains India is more liable Large parts of India were affected and millions died, but Curzon is nowadays criticised for having done little to fight the famine. [4]. Curzon did, however, implement a variety of measures to fight the famine, including opening up famine reliefs works that fed between 3 million and five million, reducing taxes and spending vast amounts of money on irrigation works. [5].
A difference of opinion with the British military Commander-in-Chief in India, Lord Kitchener, regarding the position of the military member of council in India, led to a controversy in which Lord Curzon of Kedleston failed to obtain support from the home government. Field Marshal Horatio Herbert Kitchener 1st Earl Kitchener, KG, KP, GCB, OM He resigned in August 1905 and returned to England.
During his tenure, Curzon undertook the restoration of the Taj Mahal, and expressed satisfaction that he had done so. The Taj Mahal (tɑdʒ
Representative peer for Ireland (1908)
In 1908, Curzon was elected a representative peer for Ireland, and thus relinquished any idea of returning to the House of Commons. In 1909-1910 he took an active part in opposing the Liberal government's proposal to abolish the legislative veto of the House of Lords, and in 1911 was created Baron Ravensdale, of Ravensdale in the County of Derby, with remainder (in default of heirs male) to his daughters, Viscount Scarsdale, of Scarsdale in the County of Derby, with remainder (in default of heirs male) to the heirs male of his father, and Earl Curzon of Kedleston, in the County of Derby, with the normal remainder, all in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The Peerage of the United Kingdom comprises most Peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Act of Union in 1801 when He served in Lloyd George's War Cabinet as Leader of the House of Lords from December 1916. David Lloyd George 1st Earl Lloyd George of Dwyfor OM, PC (17 January 1863 &ndash 26 March 1945 was a British Statesman and the only Year 1916 ( MCMXVI) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Despite his continued opposition to votes for women (he had earlier headed the Anti-Suffrage League), the House of Lords voted conclusively in its favour. The Anti-Suffrage League was an organization that was opposed to Women's suffrage.
Second marriage (1917)
After a long affair with the romance novelist Elinor Glyn, Curzon married, in 1917, the former Grace Elvina Hinds, the wealthy Alabama-born widow of Alfred Hubert Duggan; in later years wags joked that despite his political disappointments Curzon still enjoyed "the means of Grace". Elinor Glyn ( October 17, 1864 - September 23, 1943) born Elinor Sutherland was a British Year 1917 ( MCMXVII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Grace Elvina Marchioness Curzon of Kedleston (1879 - 1958 was born Grace Elvina Hinds in Alabama, U Alabama (formally the State of Alabama;) is a State located in the southern region of the United States of America. Elinor Glyn, who was staying with Curzon at the time, read of his engagement in the morning newspapers.
His wife had three children from her first marriage. Despite fertility-related operations and several miscarriages, she was never able to give Curzon the son and heir he desperately desired, a fact that eroded their marriage, which ended in separation, though not divorce.
In 1917, Curzon bought Bodiam Castle in East Sussex, a 14th century building which had been gutted during the English Civil War. Bodiam Castle is a Quadrangular castle located near Robertsbridge in East Sussex, England ( East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the The English Civil War (1642-1651 was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists. He restored it extensively, then bequeathed it to the National Trust. The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organization in England, Wales [6]
Foreign Secretary (1919–24)
Appointed Foreign Secretary from January 1919, Curzon gave his name to his line which became the British government's proposed Soviet-Polish boundary, the Curzon Line of December 1919. The Curzon Line was a Demarcation line proposed in 1920 by the British Foreign Secretary George Nathaniel Curzon 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston Although during the subsequent Russo-Polish War Poland conquered ground in the east, Poland was shifted westwards after the Second World War, leaving the Curzon Line approximately the border between Poland and its eastern neighbours today. The Curzon Line was a Demarcation line proposed in 1920 by the British Foreign Secretary George Nathaniel Curzon 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston
Curzon did not have Lloyd George's support. The Prime Minister thought him overly pompous and self-important, and it was said that he used him as if he were using a Rolls-Royce to deliver a parcel to the station; Lloyd George said much later that Churchill treated his Ministers in a way that Lloyd George would never have treated his; "They were all men of substance — well, except Curzon. " [7] Curzon nevertheless helped in several Middle Eastern problems: He negotiated Egyptian independence (granted in 1922) and divided the British Mandate of Palestine, creating the Kingdom of Jordan for Faisal's brother, which may also have delayed the problems there. This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. The Palestine Mandate, was a set of protocols or articles that formed a multilateral legal and administrative agreement Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (الأردنّ al-Urdunn) is an Arab country in Southwest Asia spanning the southern
Curzon was largely responsible for the first Armistice Day ceremonies on 11 November 1919. Events 308 - The Congress of Carnuntum: Attempting to keep peace within the Roman Empire, the leaders of the Tetrarchy declare Year 1919 ( MCMXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common These included the plaster Cenotaph, designed by the noted British architect Sir Edwin Lutyens, for the Allied Victory parade in London, and it was so successful that it was reproduced in stone, and still stands. A cenotaph is a tomb or a Monument erected in honour of a person or group of persons whose remains are elsewhere Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens, OM, KCIE, PRA, FRIBA, LLD ( 29 March 1869 – 1 January 1944 In 1921 he was created Earl of Kedleston, in the County of Derby, and Marquess Curzon of Kedleston.
Unlike many leading Conservative members of Lloyd George's Coalition Cabinet, Curzon ceased to support Lloyd George over the Chanak Crisis and had just resigned when the Conservative backbenchers voted at the Carlton Club Meeting to end the Coalition in October 1922. Curzon was thus able to remain Foreign Secretary when Andrew Bonar Law formed a purely Conservative ministry. Andrew Bonar Law (16 September 1858 &ndash 30 October 1923 was a Canadian -born British Conservative Party statesman and Prime Minister. In 1922-3 Curzon had to negotiate with France after French troops occupied the Ruhr to enforce the payment of German reparations; he described the French Prime Minister (and former President) Raymond Poincaré as a "horrid little man". Raymond Poincaré (20 August 1860 – 15 October 1934 was a French conservative Statesman who served as Prime Minister of France on five
The Conference of Lausanne was Curzon's finest moment as foreign secretary. The Conference of Lausanne was a conference held in Lausanne, Switzerland during 1922 and 1923 Through diplomatic skill and force of personality, he dominated the eleven weeks of the proceedings, dealing with his allies, France and Italy, as shrewdly as he managed the Turks. His achievements were embodied in the Treaty of Lausanne of 1923 which secured the freedom of the straits, achieved a relatively high level of regional stability, and, by restoring Turkish sovereignty to the Turkish heartland, enabled the new country to make the transition from enfeebled empire to nation state. The Treaty of Lausanne ( July 24, 1923) was a Peace treaty signed in Lausanne that settled the Anatolian part of the Partitioning It was the most successful and the most lasting of the post-war treaties.
On Andrew Bonar Law's retirement as Prime Minister in May 1923, Curzon was passed over for the job in favour of Stanley Baldwin, despite having written Bonar Law a lengthy letter earlier in the year complaining of rumours that he was to retire in Baldwin's favour, and listing the reasons why he should have the top job. Andrew Bonar Law (16 September 1858 &ndash 30 October 1923 was a Canadian -born British Conservative Party statesman and Prime Minister. Stanley Baldwin 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, KG, PC (3 August 1867 &ndash 14 December 1947 was a British Conservative politician statesman and major Many reasons are often cited for this decision - taken on the private advice of leading members of the party including former Prime Minister Arthur Balfour - but amongst the most prominent are that Curzon's character was objectionable, that it was felt to be inappropriate for the Prime Minister to be a member of the House of Lords when Labour, who had few peers, had by then become the main opposition party in the Commons (though this did not prevent Lord Halifax being considered for the premiership in 1940, possibly with a special Act to allow him to sit in the House of Commons; in 1963 Lords Home and Hailsham were only able to be candidates owing to recent legislation permitting them to disclaim their peerages) and that in a democratic age it would be dangerous for a party to be led by a rich aristocrat. The House of Lords is the second house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is also commonly referred to as "the Lords" A letter purporting to detail the opinions of Bonar Law but in actuality written by Baldwin sympathisers was delivered to the King's Private Secretary Lord Stamfordham, though it is unclear how much impact this had in the final outcome. Balfour advised the monarch that it was essential for the prime minister to be in the House of Commons, but in private admitted that he was prejudiced against Curzon. George V, who shared this prejudice, was grateful for the advice and authorised Stamfordham to summon the foreign secretary to London and inform him that Baldwin would be chosen. Curzon travelled by train assuming he was to be appointed Prime Minister, and is said to have burst into tears when told the truth. He later described Baldwin as "a man of the utmost insignificance", although he served under Baldwin and proposed him for leadership of the Conservative Party.
Curzon remained Foreign Secretary under Baldwin until the government fell in January 1924. When Baldwin formed a new government in November 1924, he did not reappoint Curzon as Foreign Secretary but instead as Lord President of the Council. The Lord President of the Council is the fourth of the Great Officers of State of the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord High Treasurer and above Curzon held this post until the following March. That month, while staying the night at Cambridge, he suffered a severe haemorrhage of the bladder. He was taken to London the next day, and on 9 March an operation was performed. But he knew it was the end, that the suffering and overburdened body, which he had pushed so hard for so long, was giving up. He died in London on 20 March 1925 at the age of sixty-six. His coffin, made from the same tree at Kedleston that had encased Mary, was taken to Westminster Abbey and from there to his ancestral home, where he was interred beside Mary in the family vault on 26 March. The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, which is almost always referred to by its original name of Westminster Abbey, is a large mainly Gothic church Upon his death the Barony, Earldom and Marquessate of Curzon of Kedleston and the Earldom of Kedleston became extinct, whilst the Viscountcy and Barony of Scarsdale were inherited by a nephew. The Barony of Ravensdale was inherited by his eldest daughter Mary and is today held by Cynthia's son Nicholas Mosley. Nicholas Mosley 3rd Baron Ravensdale 7th Baronet MC (born June 25, 1923) is a British novelist
Titles
Upon his father's death in 1916, he became 5th Baron Scarsdale, in the Peerage of Great Britain. Viscount Scarsdale, of Scarsdale in the County of Derby is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The Peerage of Great Britain comprises all extant Peerages created in the Kingdom of Great Britain after the Act of Union 1707 but before the Act of The title had been created in 1761.
In 1898 he was created Baron Curzon of Kedleston in the Peerage of Ireland. Viscount Scarsdale, of Scarsdale in the County of Derby is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The Peerage of Ireland is the term used for those peers created by British monarchs in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland. This was intended to allow him to stand for re-election to the House of Commons, since Irish peers did not, at that time, have the right to sit in the House of Lords. The House of Commons' is the Lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords In the event, however, he did not return to the House of Commons.
In 1911 he was created Earl Curzon of Kedleston, Viscount Scarsdale, and Baron Ravensdale, all in the Peerage of the United Kingdom; these titles precluded a return to the House of Commons, but conferred a right to sit in the House of Lords. Viscount Scarsdale, of Scarsdale in the County of Derby is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Viscount Scarsdale, of Scarsdale in the County of Derby is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Baron Ravensdale, of Ravensdale in the County of Derby is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The Peerage of the United Kingdom comprises most Peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Act of Union in 1801 when
In the 1921 Birthday Honours he was created Marquess Curzon of Kedleston and Earl of Kedleston. The title Marquess Curzon of Kedleston was created in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1921 for the Foreign Secretary, the 1st Earl Curzon of Kedleston The title Marquess Curzon of Kedleston was created in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1921 for the Foreign Secretary, the 1st Earl Curzon of Kedleston [8]
Assessment
Few statesmen have experienced such changes in fortune in both their public and their personal lives. Curzon's career was an almost unparalleled blend of triumph and disappointment. Although he was the last and in many ways the greatest of Victorian viceroys, his term of office ended in resignation, empty of recognition and devoid of reward. After ten years in the political wilderness, he returned to government yet, in spite of his knowledge and experience of the world, he was unable to assert himself fully as foreign secretary until the last weeks of Lloyd George's premiership. And finally, after he had restored his reputation at Lausanne, his ultimate ambition was thwarted by George V.
There was a feeling after his death that Curzon had failed to reach the heights that his youthful talents had seemed destined to reach. This sense of opportunities missed was summed up by Winston Churchill in his book Great Contemporaries (1937):
The morning had been golden; the noontide was bronze; and the evening lead. Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC, PC (Can ( 30 November 1874 But all were polished till it shone after its fashion.
It is believed that his name was given to a new school built in 1938 - Curzon Crescent Nursery School, Willesden, Middlesex, due to the area's links with All Souls.
Notes
- ^ ". . . Oscar Browning (1837-1923), who had been sacked from Eton in September 1875 under suspicion of paederasty, partly because of his involvement with young George Nathaniel Curzon" in Michael Kaylor, Secreted Desires 2006 p. Pederasty or paederasty refers to an erotic relationship sexually expressed or not between an adolescent boy and an adult male outside his immediate family 98
- ^ "His intimate, indiscreet friendship with a boy in another boarding-house, G. N. Curzon [. . . ] provoked a crisis with [Headmaster] Hornby […. ] Amid national controversy he was dismissed in 1875 on the pretext of administrative inefficiency but actually because his influence was thought to be sexually contagious" in Richard Davenport-Hines, Oscar Browning DNB)
- ^ Maximilian Genealogy Master Database, Mary Victoria LEITER, 2000[1]
- ^ Mike Davis (scholar): Late Victorian Holocausts
- ^ David Gilmour's Curzon and Ruling Caste. Mike Davis (born 1946 is an American Social commentator, urban theorist historian and political activist Late Victorian Holocausts El Niño Famines and the Making of the Third World is a Book by Mike Davis concerning the connection between global climate patterns In Curzon he writes that 3. 5 million were on famine relief, in Ruling Caste he writes it was over five million.
- ^ Channel 4 history microsites: Bodiam Castle
- ^ Michael Foot: Aneurin Bevan
- ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 32346, page 4529, 4 June 1921. The London Gazette is one of the official journals of record of the British government, and the most important among such official journals in the UK in which certain Events 781 BC - The first historic Solar eclipse is recorded in China. Year 1921 ( MCMXXI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1921 calendar of the Gregorian calendar
Bibliography
George Nathaniel Curzon's writings:
- Curzon, Russia in Central Asia in 1889 and the Anglo-Russian Question, (1889) Frank Cass & Co. Year 1889 ( MDCCCLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Ltd. , London (reprinted Cass, 1967), Adamant Media Corporation ISBN 978-1402175435 (February 27, 2001) Reprint (Paperback) Details
- Curzon, Persia and the Persian Question (1892) Longmans, Green, and Co. Year 1892 ( MDCCCXCII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year , London and New York. ; facsimile reprint:
- Curzon, Problems of the Far East (1894; new ed. Year 1894 ( MDCCCXCIV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common , 1896) George Nathaniel Curzon Problems of the Far East. Japan -Korea - China, reprint, ISBN 1-402-18480-8, ISBN 978-1402184802 (December 25, 2000) Adamant Media Corporation (Paperback)Abstract
- Curzon, "The Pamirs and the Source of the Oxus", 1897, The Royal Geographical Society. Year 1897 ( MDCCCXCVII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common Geographical Journal 8 (1896): 97-119, 239-63. A thorough study of the region’s history and people and of the British - Russian conflict of interest in Turkestan based on Curzon’s travels there in 1894. Reprint (paperback): Adamant Media Corporation, ISBN 978-1402159831 (April 22, 2002) Abstract. Unabridged reprint (2005): Elbiron Classics, Adamant Media Corporation. ISBN 1-4021-5983-8 (pbk); ISBN 1-4021-3090-2 (hardcover).
- Curzon, The Romanes Lecture 1907, "FRONTIERS", By the Right Honorable Lord Curzon of Kedleston G.C.S.I., G.C.I.E., P.C., D. Year 1907 ( MCMVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year The article is about the order of chivalry known as "Star of India" The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of Chivalry founded by Victoria in 1878 Political correctness (adjectivally politically correct; both forms commonly abbreviated to PC) is a term applied to Language, ideas policies or behavior C. L. , LL.D., F.R.S., All Souls College, Chancellor of the University, Delivered in the Sheldonian Theater, Oxford, November 2, 1907full text. Doctor of Laws ( Latin: Legum Doctor, LLD) is a Doctorate -level Academic degree in Law. The Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge, known simply as The Royal Society, is a Learned society for science that was founded in 1660
- Curzon, "Tales of Travel" First published by Hodder & Stoughton 1923, (Century Classic Ser. Year 1923 ( MCMXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. ) London, Century. 1989, Facsimile Reprint. ISBN 0-7126-2245-4, Soft Cover. Reprint with Foreword by Lady Alexandra Metcalfe, Introduction by Peter King. A slection of Curzon's travel writing including essays on Egypt Afghanistan Persia Iran India Iraq Waterfalls etc. 12 + 344p. , Includes the future viceroy’s escapade into Afghanistan to meet the “Iron Emir”, Abdu Rahman Khan, in 1894.
- Curzon, "Travels with a Superior Person", London, Sidgwick & Jackson. 1985, Reprint. Year 1985 ( MCMLXXXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays 1985 Gregorian calendar) ISBN 978-0283992940, Hardcover,Details A selection from Lord Curzon's travel books between 1889 and 1926, "The quintessence of late Victorian travel writing and a delight for modern readers " Illustrated with 90 contemporary photographs most of them from Curzon's own collection. Includes "Greece in the Eighties" pp. 78-84, " Edited by Peter King. Introduced by Elizabeth Longford. 191p. illus. maps on endpapers.
Secondary sources
- Bennet, G. H. (1995). British Foreign Policy During the Curzon Period, 1919–1924. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0312126506.
- Carrington, Michael. A PhD thesis, "Empire and authority: Curzon, collisions, character and the Raj, 1899–1905. ", discusses a number of interesting issues raised during Curzon's Viceroyalty, (Available through British Library).
- Goudie A. S. (1980). "George Nathaniel Curzon: Superior Geographer", The Geographical Journal, Vol. 146, No. 2 pp. 203-209, doi:10. 2307/632861Abstract
- Gilmour, David (2003). Curzon: Imperial Statesman. Farrar, Straus & Giroux. ISBN 0374133565.
- Katouzian, Homa. "The Campaign Against the Anglo-Iranian Agreement of 1919. " British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies 25 (1) (1998): 5–46.
- Nicolson, Harold George (1934). Curzon: The Last Phase, 1919–1925: A Study in Post-war Diplomacy. London: Constable. ASIN B0006AMLTW
- Ronaldshay, Earl of (1927). The Amazon Standard Identification Number ( ASIN) is a unique identification number assigned by Amazon The life of Lord Curzon. Vol. 1-2. (London)
- Wright, Denis. "Curzon and Persia. " The Geographic Journal 153 (3) (1987): 343–350.
References
- Mosley, Leonard Oswald. The glorious fault: The life of Lord Curzon
- Nicolson, Harold. Sir Harold George Nicolson KCVO CMG ( November 21 1886 &ndash May 1 1968) was an English Diplomat Curzon: the last phase
- Gilmour, David (2003). Curzon - Imperial Statesman. Farrar, Straus and Giroux / John Murray. Farrar Straus and Giroux is an American book Publishing company founded in 1946 by Roger W ISBN 0-7195-5547-7. Retrieved on 2006-05-25. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1085 - Alfonso VI of Castile takes Toledo Spain back from the Moors.
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain. The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911 is a 29-volume reference work that marked the beginning of the Encyclopædia Britannica The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone
External links
- Problems of the Far East: Japan - Korea - China by George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston at archive.org
- Modern parliamentary eloquence; the Rede lecture, delivered before the University of Cambridge, November 6, 1913 by George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston at archive.org
- Russia In Central Asia In 1889 by George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston at archive.org
- War poems and other translations by George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston at archive.org
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