Sir Arthur Wellesley

Field Marshal His Grace The Duke of Wellington KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS
The Duke of Wellington, by Sir Thomas Lawrence. Painted c. 1815–16, after the Battle of Waterloo.
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
In office 14 November 1834 – 10 December 1834
Monarch	William IV
Preceded by	The Viscount Melbourne
Succeeded by	Sir Robert Peel
In office 22 January 1828 – 16 November 1830
Monarch	George IV William IV
Preceded by	The Viscount Goderich
Succeeded by	The Earl Grey
Leader of the House of Lords
In office 3 September 1841 – 27 June 1846
Prime Minister	Sir Robert Peel
Preceded by	The Viscount Melbourne
Succeeded by	The Marquess of Lansdowne
In office 14 November 1834 – 18 April 1835
Prime Minister	Sir Robert Peel
Preceded by	The Viscount Melbourne
Succeeded by	The Viscount Melbourne
In office 22 January 1828 – 22 November 1830
Preceded by	The Viscount Goderich
Succeeded by	The Earl Grey
Foreign Secretary
In office 14 November 1834 – 18 April 1835
Prime Minister	Sir Robert Peel
Preceded by	The Viscount Palmerston
Succeeded by	The Viscount Palmerston
Home Secretary
In office 17 November 1834 – 15 December 1834
Preceded by	The Viscount Duncannon
Succeeded by	Henry Goulburn
Secretary of State for War and the Colonies
In office 17 November 1834 – 9 December 1834
Preceded by	Thomas Spring Rice
Succeeded by	The Earl of Aberdeen
Personal details
Born	Arthur Wesley 1 May 1769 6 Merrion Street, Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland
Died	14 September 1852(1852-09-14) (aged 83) Walmer Castle, Kent, England
Resting place	St Paul's Cathedral, London
Political party	Tory (until 1834), Conservative (1834 onward)
Spouse(s)	Catherine Pakenham (m. 1806; d. 1831)
Children	Arthur Wellesley, 2nd Duke of Wellington Lord Charles Wellesley
Religion	Church of Ireland
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1787–1852
Rank	Field Marshal
Commands	Commander-in-Chief of the British Army
Battles/wars	Flanders Campaign Fourth Anglo-Mysore War Second Anglo-Maratha War English Wars Peninsular War Waterloo campaign
Awards	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 Golden Fleece Knight Grand Cross of the Military William Order

Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852), was an Anglo-Irish soldier and statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain. His defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 put him in the top rank of Britain's military heroes.

Wellesley was born in Dublin, belonging to the Protestant Ascendancy 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. He was a colonel by 1796, and saw action in the Netherlands and in India, where he fought in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War at the Battle 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.