John Francis Cradock

General The Right Honourable The Lord Howden GCB
Governor of the Cape Colony
In office 1811–1814
Monarch	George III
Preceded by	The Earl of Caledon
Succeeded by	Lord Charles Somerset
Personal details
Born	11 August 1759
Died	26 July 1839 (aged 79)
Awards	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
Military service
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Rank	General
Commands	Madras Army
Battles/wars	Irish Rebellion

General John Francis Cradock, 1st Baron Howden GCB (11 August 1759 – 26 July 1839) was a British peer, politician and soldier.

He was son of John Cradock, Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin. In 1775 he was admitted to St John's College, Cambridge.

In 1777, he was appointed a Cornet in the 4th Regiment of Horse, which in 1779 he exchanged to become an Ensign in the Coldstream Guards, and in 1781 he was promoted a Lieutenant with the rank of Captain. In 1785 he purchased a commission as a Major in the 12th Dragoons, exchanging this in 1786 for a post in the 13th Foot, where he was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel in 1789.

He commanded the 13th in the West Indies in 1790, and served a second time in the West Indies commanding a battalion of grenadiers in 1793, where he was wounded at the reduction of Martinique and appointed the aide-de-camp of Sir Charles Grey, receiving the thanks of Parliament for his services.

In 1795 he was appointed Colonel of the 127th Foot, and placed on half-pay when that regiment was reduced in 1797. He was appointed Major-General in 1798, and served in the Irish Rebellion of 1798 as Quartermaster-General in Ireland, seeing action the Battle of Vinegar Hill. He accompanied Cornwallis in his campaign against the French forces landed in Ireland, and was severely wounded at the Battle of Ballinamuck.

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