Page:Dictionary of Indian Biography.djvu/461

 WEGUELIN, THOMAS MATTHIAS ( ? –1828)

Son of John Christopher Weguelin: went to Calcutta in the E.I. Co's military service, 1782: served against Tippoo, 1790–2: at Seringapatam, 1791–2: in the Mahratta war of 1803, at sieges of Gwalior and Bhartpur; commanded expedition to defend the Portuguese at Macao against the French: in the Mauritius expedition, 1810–2: Commissary-General there: and of Bengal, 1812: in the Nipal war, 1814–6, and in the Pindari war, 1816–8: resigned, 1820: Colonel Commandant, 1823: died May 23, 1828.

WELLDON, RIGHT REV. JAMES EDWARD COWELL, D.D. (1854–)

Son of Rev. Edward Welldon, Master at Tonbridge: educated at Eton (Newcastle Scholarship, 1873) and King's College, Cambridge (Senior Classic and Senior Chancellor's Medallist, 1877): Master of Dulwich College, 1885: Headmaster of Harrow, 1885–98: Bishop of Calcutta and Metropolitan of India, 1898–1902: Canon of Westminster since 1901: author of Translation of Aristotle's Politics, Rhetoric and Ethics; Sermons, etc.

WELLESLEY, RICHARD COLLEY, MARQUESS (1760–1842)

Governor-General: born June 20, 1760: eldest son of first Earl of Mornington: educated at Trim, Harrow, Eton, Christ Church, Oxford: Student: Latin Verse Prize, 1780: became Earl Mornington, 1781: M.P., 1787–96: Knight of St. Patrick, 1783: Lord of the Treasury, 1786: Member of the Board of Control, 1793: Privy Councillor, 1793: made Baron Wellesley, 1797; accepted Governorship of Madras, 1797: became Governor-General of India, May 18, 1798, to July 30, 1805: met high Indian officers at the Cape, on his voyage outwards: reversed his predecessor's policy of non-interference: induced the Nizam to remove his French officers, and made the Mahrattas neutral: opposed French intrigues: found Tippoo seeking help from the French at Mauritius: when negotiations failed, declared war on Tippoo: went to Madras: Tippoo defeated and killed at Seringapatam, May 4, 1799: Hindu dynasty restored in Mysore: some Mysore territory annexed: the Nizam ceded districts for support of troops and became an ally and a protected ruler: Wellesley created a Marquess, Dec. 1799: assumed the administration of Tanjore, maintaining the Raja: annexed the Carnatic, pensioning the Nawab with a fifth of its revenues: made treaty with Saadat Ali, Nawab of Oudh, for cession of territory and for reforms: sent Malcolm (q.v.) to Persia to make treaty against Afghanistan: sent Baird's expedition to Egypt against the French: refused to restore, as ordered, the French possessions in India: resigned his appointment, but requested to remain: made Commander-in-Chief: made treaty of Bassein, Dec. 1802, with the Peshwa: compelled to make war against Mahratta Chiefs, Sindia, Bhonsla, Holkar: defeated them at Assaye, Argaum, Delhi, Laswari,. but, in consequence of Monson's disastrous retreat before Holkar, Wellesley was recalled, 1805. He established, in 1800, the College of Fort William for education of civilians: it was only allowed by Court of Directors, on a reduced scale, for native languages: ordered the observance in India of Sunday as a day of rest: after retirement, was unsuccessfully attacked in Parliament by Paull and others, for his policy in Oudh: sent to Spain as Ambassador Extraordinary in 1809, in furtherance of Peninsular war: became Foreign Secretary, 1809–12: K.G., 1812: failed to form a coalition ministry, 1812: differed in opinion on important subjects from the Duke of Wellington: Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, 1821–8 and 1833–4, advocated Catholic emancipation, suppressed disturbances, combated famine: Lord Steward of the Household, 1832–3: Lord Chamberlain, 1835: retired, 1835: granted £20,000 by the E. I. Co.: his Despatches, Minutes, etc. printed, 1836–7: his statues erected in London and Calcutta: died Sep. 26, 1842: he maintained his classical scholarship and studies to the end: he, also, was called "The great Proconsul."

WELLINGTON, ARTHUR WELLESLEY, FIRST DUKE OF (1769–1852)

Commander-in-Chief and Prime Minister: fourth son of the first Earl of Mornington: born May 1, 1769: educated at Chelsea, Eton, and Angers in France: gazetted Ensign in March, 1787. and