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 Dictionary of Indian Biography (Buckland) |
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 Dictionary of Indian Biography D to F
| Date transcribed | 2011-03-01 | | Transcribed by | Peter Bailey | | Comment | Note that notables of Indian, Afghan, etc. origin do not always follow the alphabetical name pattern established by Buckland in his original work. |
| | Surname | Ellenborough | | | First Name(s) | Edward Law | | | Titles | First Earl Of | | | Year of Birth | 1790 | | | Year of Death | 1871 | | | Entry | Governor-General : son of Edward, Baron Ellenborough, Lord Chief Justice of England : born Sep. 8, 1790 : educated at Eton and St. John's College, Cambridge : M.P. for St. Michael's, Cornwall, 1813 : was Lord Privy Seal, 1828 : President of the Board of Control, from 1828 to 1830, from Dec, 1834 to April, 1835, and for a third time in Sep.-Oct., 1841. He, in 1832, sent Alexander Burnes (q.v.) to Lahore, and on to Central Asia : was for a forward policy and for the transfer of the Government of India to the Crown. In Oct., 1841, he was nominated to be Governor-General, and held the appointment from Feb. 28, 1842, to June 15, 1844. He desired a peace policy, but was never free of war. He pushed on the Chinese war and brought it to a conclusion successfully. He desired to withdraw from interference with Afghanistan, after rescuing the Kabul captives and restoring British prestige, and eventually sanctioned Sir W. Nott's withdrawal from Kandahar vid Ghazni, Kabul and Peshawar. Pollock's Army of retri bution forced its way through the Khyber to Kabul, and Afghanistan was evacuated in Oct-Nov.,1842. Ellenborough's bombastic proclamation, on the recovery of the gates of Somnath from Ghazni, exposed him to ridicule. The troops retiring from Kabul were received at Firozpur with exaggerated pomp. He annexed Sind, by means of Sir Charles Napier's victories, in 1842, though the justification for this act has been seriously questioned. He interfered in the affairs of the Gwalior State, where the Army had rebelled and expelled the regent Mama Sahib : he was present at the battle of Maharajpur, Dec. 28, 1843 : a fresh treaty was made with the State. Being disrespectful and out of control, he was recalled by the Court of Directors in June, 1844, against the views of the Cabinet : was created an Earl : in 1846 he was made First Lord of the Admiralty, and in 1858, Feb. to June, was again President of the Board of Control. In this capacity, he addressed a despatch to Lord Canning regarding the latter's Oudh proclamation, which the Cabinet disavowed, and Ellenborough had to resign his office. During his Indian career, he preferred the military to political officers, and was unpopular with the civilians. His ability and eloquence were brilliant, but his other qualities detracted from his practical usefulness in high office. He died Dec. 22, 1871. |
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A List of eminent persons who served in British India, together with short biographical notes of each
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