George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston,
KGThe Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry, or knighthood, originating in medieval England, and presently bestowed on recipients in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms; it is the pinnacle of the honours system in the United Kingdom...
,
GCSIThe Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes:# Knight Grand Commander # Knight Commander # Companion...
,
GCIEThe Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1878. The Order includes members of three classes:#Knight Grand Commander #Knight Commander #Companion...
,
PCHer Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council is a body of advisors to the British Sovereign. Its members are largely senior politicians, who were or are members of either the House of Commons or House of Lords of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.The Privy Council, the...
(11 January 1859 – 20 March 1925) was a
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
ConservativeThe Conservative and Unionist Party, more commonly known as the Conservatives, the Conservative Party, or Tory Party is a conservative political party in the United Kingdom...
statesman who was Viceroy of India and Foreign Secretary.
Early life
Curzon was the eldest son and second of 11 children of the 4th Baron Scarsdale (1831–1916),
rectorThe word rector has a number of different meanings; they indicate an academic, religious or political administrator...
of
KedlestonKedleston is a village and civil parish in the Amber Valley district of Derbyshire. It lies to the north-west of Derby, and nearby places include Quarndon, Weston Underwood, Muggington, and Kirk Langley.-History:...
in
DerbyshireDerbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains...
, and his wife Blanche (1837–1875), daughter of Joseph Pocklington Senhouse of Netherhall in Cumberland. He was born at
Kedleston HallKedleston Hall is an English country house in Kedleston, Derbyshire, approximately four miles north-west of Derby, and is the seat of the Curzon family whose name originates in Notre-Dame-de-Courson in Normandy...
, built on the site where his family, who were of
NormanThe Normans were the people who gave their names to Normandy, a region in northern France. They descended from Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of mostly Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
ancestry, had lived since the 12th century. His mother, worn out by childbirth, died when George was 16; her husband survived her by 41 years. Neither parent 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. Paraman periodically forced him to parade through the village wearing a conical hat bearing the words 'liar', 'sneak' and 'coward'. Curzon later noted 'No children well born and well-placed ever cried so much and so justly'.
He was educated at
Eton CollegeEton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent boarding school for boys aged approx. 13 to 19. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
and
Balliol College, OxfordBalliol College , founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England.Traditionally, the undergraduates are amongst the most politically active in the university, and the college's alumni include three former prime ministers. H. H...
. At Eton he was a favorite of
Oscar BrowningOscar Browning was an English writer, historian and educational reformer.He was born in London, the son of a merchant, William Shipton Browning, and educated at Eton College, where he was a pupil of William Johnson and at King's College, Cambridge, where he became fellow and tutor, graduating...
, an over-intimate relationship that lead to his tutor's dismissal. 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
OxfordThe University of Oxford , located in the UK city of Oxford, is the oldest surviving university in the English-speaking world and is regarded as one of the world's leading academic institutions. Although the exact date of foundation remains unclear, there is evidence of teaching there as far back...
he was President of the Oxford Canning Club, the
UnionThe Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to simply as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford, UK, whose membership is drawn primarily but not exclusively from the University of Oxford...
and the
Presidents' CouncilThe 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 outside world. It is better known in Oxford by its acronym, OUSU...
, 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 prize fellow of All Souls College in 1883.
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, contributing to an unfortunate impression of stiffness and arrogance. While at Oxford, Curzon was the inspiration for the following
Balliol rhymeA Balliol rhyme is a doggerel verse form with a distinctive meter. They are quatrains consisting of two pairs of rhyming couplets, each line having four beats. The first couplet contains the name of a particular individual, and the second couplet usually elaborates on that person's character or...
, 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
BlenheimBlenheim Palace is a large and monumental country house situated in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England. It is the only non-episcopal country house in England to hold the title "palace". The Palace, one of England's largest houses, was built between 1705 and circa 1724...
twice a week.
Life and career
He became Assistant Private Secretary to Lord Salisbury in 1885, and in 1886 entered
ParliamentThe Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories. It alone has parliamentary sovereignty, conferring upon it ultimate power over all other political bodies in the UK and its territories...
as Member for
SouthportSouthport is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.- Boundaries :...
in south-west
LancashireLancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Lancashire County Council is based in Preston. However, Lancaster is still considered to be the county town...
. His
maiden speechA maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly-elected members of a legislature or parliament.Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country...
, which was chiefly an attack on home rule and Irish nationalism, was regarded in much the same way as his oratory at the
Oxford UnionThe Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to simply as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford, UK, whose membership is drawn primarily but not exclusively from the University of Oxford...
: 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 was
Under-Secretary of State for IndiaThis 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 between 1866 and 1948, and for Burma from 1858-1948....
in 1891-1892 and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in 1895–1898.
In the meantime he had travelled around the world:
RussiaThe Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia, and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
and
Central AsiaAsia 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 India in the south. It is also sometimes known as Middle Asia or Inner Asia, and is within the scope of the wider Eurasian continent.Various definitions of its...
(1888-9), a long tour of
PersiaIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran is a country in Western Asia. The name Iran has been in use natively since the Sassanid period and came into international use from 1935, before which the country was known internationally as Persia...
(1889-90), Siam,
French Indochina||-|French Indochina was part of the French colonial empire in southeast Asia. A federation of the three Vietnamese regions, Tonkin , Annam , and Cochinchina , as well as Cambodia, was formed in 1887. Laos was added in 1893 and Kouang-Tchéou-Wan in 1900...
and
KoreaKorea is a civilization and formerly unified nation currently divided into two states. Located on the Korean Peninsula, it borders China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the east by the Korea Strait....
(1892), and a daring foray into
AfghanistanThe Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is a landlocked country in south central Asia. It is variously described as being located within Central Asia, South Asia, or the Middle East...
and the Pamirs (1894), and published several books describing central and eastern Asia and related policy issues. A bold and compulsive traveller, fascinated by oriental life and geography, he was awarded the gold medal of the
Royal Geographical SocietyThe Royal Geographical Society is a British learned society founded in 1830 with the name Geographical Society of London for the advancement of geographical sciences, under the patronage of King William IV...
for his exploration of the source of the
OxusThe Amu Darya , in antiquity known as Oxus to Greeks and Romans or Vaksu to Indo-Aryans, is a major river in Central Asia. It is formed by the junction of the Vakhsh and Panj rivers...
. 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 LeiterMary Victoria Curzon, Baroness Curzon of Kedleston, CI , née Mary Victoria Leiter, was a British-American peeress who was Vicereine of India, as the wife of Lord Curzon of Kedleston, Viceroy of India.-In America:Mary Victoria Leiter was born in Chicago, the daughter of Levi Leiter, the wealthy...
, the beautiful daughter of
Levi Ziegler LeiterLevi Ziegler Leiter was a Chicago businessman. He co-founded what became the Marshall Field and Company retail empire.-Biography:...
, a Chicago millionaire of
GermanGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
LutheranLutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the teachings of the 16th century German reformer Martin Luther. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
origin and co-founder of the department store Field & Leiter (now Marshall Field). 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. 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 IreneMary Irene Curzon, 2nd Baroness Ravensdale CBE was the eldest child of George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston and Mary Victoria Leiter, a daughter of Levi Zeigler Leiter...
(who inherited her father's
Barony of RavensdaleBaron Ravensdale, of Ravensdale in the County of Derby, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 2 November, 1911 for the Conservative politician George Curzon, 1st Baron Curzon, with remainder, in default of issue male, to his eldest daughter and the heirs male of her...
and was created a life peer in her own right),
CynthiaLady Cynthia Blanche Mosley was a British politician of Anglo-American parentage and the first wife of Conservative MP, Labour MP and British fascist Sir Oswald Mosley, Bt....
(first wife of
Sir Oswald MosleySir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet was a British politician, known principally as the founder of the British Union of Fascists...
), and Alexandra Naldera (wife of
Edward "Fruity" MetcalfeMajor Edward Dudley Metcalfe, MVO, MC, was the best friend and equerry of Edward VIII. Major Metcalfe first met Edward VIII when the latter was touring India in 1922...
, the best friend, best man and
equerryAn equerry An equerry An equerry ( or , originated from the French word "écurie" (stable), and related to the French word "écuyer" (squire) is an officer of honour. Historically, it was a senior attendant with responsibilities for the horses of a person of rank. In contemporary use, it is a...
of
Edward VIIIEdward VIII was King of the United Kingdom and the British dominions, and Emperor of India from 20 January 1936 until his abdication on 11 December 1936, after which he was immediately succeeded by his younger brother, George VI...
); best known as Baba Metcalfe, she later became a mistress of her brother-in-law
Oswald MosleySir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet was a British politician, known principally as the founder of the British Union of Fascists...
, as did her stepmother,
Grace CurzonGrace Elvina, Marchioness Curzon of Kedleston was born Grace Elvina Hinds in Alabama, U.S.A., the daughter of J. Monroe Hinds, former United States Minister to Brazil...
who later bore an illegitate child from the affair, named Edward. Mary Irene had a short affair with Mosley before either were married.
Viceroy of India (1898–1905)
In January 1899 he was appointed Viceroy of India. He was created a
Peer of IrelandThe Peerage of Ireland is the term used for those peers created by British monarchs in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland. This practice ended with the creation of the Irish Free State in 1922...
as
Baron Curzon of Kedleston, in the County of Derby, on his appointment. This peerage was created in the Peerage of Ireland (the last so created) so that he would be free, until his father's death, to re-enter the
House of CommonsThe House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 646 members, who are known as "Members...
on his return to Britain.
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 only major armed outbreak on this frontier during the period of his administration was the
MahsudMahsud Mahsud Mahsud is a Pashtun tribe in Waziristan, Pashtunistan, a region of Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Mahsud (Masood) tribe lives in the very centre of Waziristan, surrounded on three sides by the Darwesh Khel Waziris, and being...
-
WaziriThe Wazirs or Waziris are a Pashtun tribe settled in the North Waziristan and South Waziristan agencies of Pakistan and Paktia, Khost and Paktika provinces of Afghanistan.-Origins:...
campaign of 1901.
His deep mistrust of
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n intentions led him to encourage British trade in Persia, paying a visit to the
Persian GulfThe Persian Gulf, in the Southwest Asian region, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula. Historically and commonly known as the Persian Gulf, this body of water is sometimes controversially referred to as the Arabian Gulf by most Arab states or simply The...
in 1903. At the end of that year, he sent a
military expeditionThe British expedition to Tibet during 1903 and 1904 was an invasion of Tibet by British Indian forces, seeking to prevent the Russian Empire from interfering in Tibetan affairs and thus gaining a base in one of the buffer states surrounding British India, by reasoning similar to that which had led...
into
TibetTibet is a plateau region in Asia, north of the Himalayas. It is home to the indigenous Tibetan people, and to some other ethnic groups such as Monpas and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han Chinese people. Tibet is the highest region on earth, with an average...
led by
Francis YounghusbandLieutenant Colonel Sir Francis Edward Younghusband, KCSI, KCIE was a British Army officer, explorer, and spiritual writer...
, ostensibly to forestall a Russian advance. After bloody conflicts with Tibet's poorly-armed defenders, the mission penetrated to
LhasaLhasa, and sometimes spelled Lasa, is the administrative capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China. It is located at the foot of Mount Gephel....
, where a treaty was signed in September 1904. No Russian presence was found in Lhasa.
Within India, Curzon 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 BengalThe Partition of Bengal in 1905, was made on 16 October by then Viceroy of India, Lord Curzon. Due to the high level of political unrest generated by the partition, the eastern and western parts of Bengal were reunited in 1911.-Origin:...
(July 1905), which roused such bitter opposition among the people of the province that it was later revoked (1911).
He also took an active interest in military matters. In 1901, he founded the Imperial Cadet Corps, or ICC. The ICC was a corps d'elite, designed to give Indian princes and aristocrats military training, after which a few would be given officer commissions in the Indian Army. But these commissions were "special commissions" which did not empower their holders to command any troops. Predictably, this was a major stumbling block preventing the ICC's success, as it caused much resentment among former cadets. Though the ICC closed in 1914, it was a crucial stage in the drive to Indianise the Indian Army's officer Corps, which was haltingly begun in 1917. And it was a military matter which caused Curzon's exit India and the Viceroyalty. A difference of opinion with the British military Commander-in-Chief in India,
Lord KitchenerField Marshal Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener,
KG,
KP,
GCB,
OM,
GCSI,
GCMG,
GCIE,
ADC,
PC was a British Field Marshal, a diplomat, and a statesman.-...
, regarding the position of the military member of council in India, led to a controversy in which Curzon failed to obtain support from the home government. He resigned in August 1905 and returned to England.
During his tenure, Curzon undertook the restoration of the
Taj MahalThe Taj Mahal is a mausoleum located in Agra, India, built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal....
, and expressed satisfaction that he had done so.
Indian Famine
A major
famineThere were 14 famines in India between 11th and 17th century . For example, during the 1022-1033 Great famines in India entire provinces were depopulated. Famine in the Deccan and Gujarat killed at least 2 million people in 1630-32. Drought in India has resulted in tens of millions of deaths over...
coincided with Curzon's time as viceroy in which 6.1 to 9 million people died. Large parts of India were affected and millions died, and Curzon is nowadays criticised for having done little to fight the famine.. Curzon did, however, implement a variety of measures to fight the famine, including opening up famine reliefs works that fed between 3 and 5 million, reducing taxes and spending vast amounts of money on irrigation works.. However, Curzon did state "any government which imperiled the financial position of
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
in the interests of prodigal
philanthropyPhilanthropy is the effort or inclination to increase the well-being of humankind, as by charitable aid or donations.- Definition :It is generally agreed that the word was coined 2500 years ago in ancient Greece, by the playwright Aeschylus, or whom ever else wrote Prometheus Bound...
would be open to serious criticism; but any government which by indiscriminate alms-giving weakened the fibre and demoralized the self-reliance of the population, would be guilty of a public
crimeCrime is the breach of one or more rules or laws for which some governing authority, via mechanisms such as police power, may ultimately prescribe a conviction...
." He also cut back rations that he characterized as "dangerously high" and stiffened relief eligibility by reinstating the Temple tests.
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 KingdomThe 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. In that year, the Peerage of Great Britain was replaced by the Peerage of the United Kingdom...
. He served in
Lloyd GeorgeDavid Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British statesman and the only Welsh Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; he is also the only one to have spoken English as a second language, Welsh having been his first.During a long tenure of office, mainly as Chancellor of the...
's War Cabinet as Leader of the House of Lords from December 1916. Despite his continued opposition to
votes for womenWomen's suffrage is the right of women to vote, and historically includes the economic and political reform movement aimed at extending suffrage to women. The movement's modern origins lie in France in the 18th century. Of currently existing independent countries, New Zealand was the first to give...
(he had earlier headed the
Anti-Suffrage LeagueThe Anti-Suffrage League was an organization that was opposed to women's suffrage. It was founded in 1908 by the writer Mary Ward, at the behest of Lord Curzon and William Cremer...
), the House of Lords voted conclusively in its favour.
Second marriage (1917)
After a long affair with the romance novelist
Elinor GlynElinor Glyn , born Elinor Sutherland, was a British novelist and scriptwriter who pioneered mass-market women's erotic fiction. She coined the use of It as a euphemism for sex appeal...
, Curzon married in 1917 the former
Grace Elvina HindsGrace Elvina, Marchioness Curzon of Kedleston was born Grace Elvina Hinds in Alabama, U.S.A., the daughter of J. Monroe Hinds, former United States Minister to Brazil...
, the wealthy
AlabamaAlabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States of America. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its...
-born widow of Alfred Hubert Duggan; in later years wags joked that despite his political disappointments Curzon still enjoyed "the means of Grace". 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 not 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 CastleBodiam Castle is a quadrangular castle located near Robertsbridge in East Sussex, England . It was built in 1385 by Sir Edward Dalyngrigge, a former knight of Edward III, with the permission of Richard II in order to defend the surrounding area from French invasion.Construction commenced four years...
in
East SussexEast Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey, Brighton and Hove and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:See main article:History of Sussex...
, a 14th century building that had been gutted during the
English Civil WarThe English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists. The first and second civil wars pitted the supporters of King Charles I against the supporters of the Long Parliament, while the third war saw fighting between supporters of...
. He restored it extensively, then bequeathed it to the
National TrustThe National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
.
Foreign Secretary (1919–24)
Appointed Foreign Secretary in October 1919, Curzon gave his name to his line that became the British government's proposed Soviet-Polish boundary, the
Curzon LineThe Curzon Line was a demarcation line between the Second Polish Republic and Bolshevik Russia, first proposed on December 8, 1919 at the Allied Supreme Council declaration. The line was authored by British Foreign Secretary, George Curzon, 1st Earl Curzon of Kedleston...
of December 1919. 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 LineThe Curzon Line was a demarcation line between the Second Polish Republic and Bolshevik Russia, first proposed on December 8, 1919 at the Allied Supreme Council declaration. The line was authored by British Foreign Secretary, George Curzon, 1st Earl Curzon of Kedleston...
approximately the border between Poland and its eastern neighbours today.
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." Curzon nevertheless helped in several Middle Eastern problems: he negotiated
EgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia...
ian independence (granted in 1922) and divided the British Mandate of Palestine, creating the Kingdom of
JordanJordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in Western Asia spanning the southern part of the Syrian Desert down to the Gulf of Aqaba. Jordan shares borders with Syria to the north, Iraq to the northeast, Saudi Arabia to the east and south, the Gulf of Aqaba to the southwest,...
for Faisal's brother, which may also have delayed the problems there.
Curzon was largely responsible for the first Armistice Day ceremonies on 11 November 1919. These included the plaster
CenotaphA cenotaph is a tomb or a monument erected in honor of a person or group of persons whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been interred elsewhere. The word derives from the Greek κενοτάϕιον...
, designed by the noted British architect
Sir Edwin LutyensSir Edwin Landseer Lutyens, OM, KCIE, PRA, FRIBA, LLD was a leading 20th century British architect who is known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era...
, for the Allied Victory parade in London, and it was so successful that it was reproduced in stone, and still stands. 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 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 LawAndrew Bonar Law PC , commonly known as Bonar Law, was a British Conservative Party statesman and Prime Minister. Born in the crown colony of New Brunswick, he is the only British Prime Minister to have been born outside the British Isles. He was also the shortest-serving Prime Minister of the 20th...
formed a purely Conservative ministry. 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 PoincaréRaymond Poincaré was a French conservative statesman who served as Prime Minister of France on five separate occasions and as President of France from 1913 to 1920.-Early life:...
as a "horrid little man".
On
Andrew Bonar LawAndrew Bonar Law PC , commonly known as Bonar Law, was a British Conservative Party statesman and Prime Minister. Born in the crown colony of New Brunswick, he is the only British Prime Minister to have been born outside the British Isles. He was also the shortest-serving Prime Minister of the 20th...
's retirement as Prime Minister in May 1923, Curzon was passed over for the job in favour of
Stanley BaldwinStanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, KG, PC was a British Conservative politician, statesman, and major figure on the political scene in the interwar years...
, 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. 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 LordsThe House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is also commonly referred to as "the Lords". Parliament comprises the Sovereign, the House of Commons , and the 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. 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 appointed Curzon
Lord President of the CouncilThe 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 the Lord Privy Seal. The Lord President has the responsibility of presiding over meetings of the Privy Council...
. 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 66. His coffin, made from the same tree at Kedleston that had encased Mary, was taken to
Westminster AbbeyThe Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, which is almost always referred to popularly and informally as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in Westminster, London, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster...
and from there to his ancestral home, where he was interred beside Mary in the family vault on 26 March. 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 MosleyNicholas Mosley, 3rd Baron Ravensdale, 7th Baronet MC is a British novelist. He is the eldest son of Sir Oswald Mosley, 6th Baronet and Lady Cynthia Mosley, a daughter of Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, Viceroy of India and Foreign Secretary...
.
Titles
On his appointment as Viceroy of India in 1898 he was created Baron Curzon of Kedleston, in the County of Derby. This title was created in the
Peerage of IrelandThe Peerage of Ireland is the term used for those peers created by British monarchs in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland. This practice ended with the creation of the Irish Free State in 1922...
to enable him to potentially return to the
House of CommonsThe House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 646 members, who are known as "Members...
, as Irish peers did not have an automatic right to sit in the
House of LordsThe House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is also commonly referred to as "the Lords". Parliament comprises the Sovereign, the House of Commons , and the Lords...
.
In 1911 he was created Earl Curzon of Kedleston,
Viscount ScarsdaleViscount Scarsdale, of Scarsdale in the County of Derby, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1911 for the prominent Conservative politician and former Viceroy of India George Curzon, 1st Baron Curzon of Kedleston, who was created Earl Curzon of Kedleston at the same...
, and
Baron RavensdaleBaron Ravensdale, of Ravensdale in the County of Derby, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 2 November, 1911 for the Conservative politician George Curzon, 1st Baron Curzon, with remainder, in default of issue male, to his eldest daughter and the heirs male of her...
. All of these titles were in the
Peerage of the United KingdomThe 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. In that year, the Peerage of Great Britain was replaced by the Peerage of the United Kingdom...
and thus precluded Curzon's return to the House of Commons, but conferred upon him the right to sit in the House of Lords.
Upon his father's death in 1916, he also became 5th Baron Scarsdale, in the
Peerage of Great BritainThe 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 Union 1800...
. The title had been created in 1761.
In the 1921 Birthday Honours he was created
Marquess Curzon of KedlestonThe 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...
and Earl of Kedleston.
Styles
- 1859-1886: George Nathaniel Curzon
- 1886-1898: George Nathaniel Curzon, MP
MP or mp may refer to:*Mending plate*Military police*Mumbai Police*Machine pistol*Manu propria, Latin for with one's own hand*Martinair IATA airline designator or reservation code*Maximum parsimony in statistical analyses*Member of Parliament...
- 1898-1899: The Right Honourable
The Right Honourable is an honorific prefix that is traditionally applied to certain people in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Anglophone Caribbean and other Commonwealth Realms, and occasionally elsewhere...
the Lord Curzon of Kedleston
- 1899-1901: His Excellency The Right Honourable the Lord Curzon of Kedleston, GCSI, GCIE
- 1901-1905: His Excellency The Right Honourable the Lord Curzon of Kedleston, GCSI, GCIE, PC
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council is a body of advisors to the British Sovereign. Its members are largely senior politicians, who were or are members of either the House of Commons or House of Lords of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.The Privy Council, the...
- 1905-1911: The Right Honourable the Lord Curzon of Kedleston, GCSI, GCIE, PC
- 1911-1916: The Right Honourable the Earl Curzon of Kedleston, GCSI, GCIE, PC
- 1916-1921: The Right Honourable the Earl Curzon of Kedleston, KG, GCSI, GCIE, PC
- 1921-1925: The Most Honourable
The prefix The Most Honourable is a title of quality attached to the names of marquesses in the United Kingdom. Dukes are The Most Noble or His Grace and peers under the rank of marquess are The Right Honourable. Scottish Feudal Barons and Lairds are The Much Honoured.Certain corporate entities...
the Marquess Curzon of KedlestonThe 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...
, KG, GCSI, GCIE, PC
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. 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 ChurchillSir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC was a British politician known chiefly for his leadership of the United Kingdom during World War II. He served as Prime Minister from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955. A noted statesman and orator, Churchill was also an officer...
in his book Great Contemporaries
(1937):
The morning had been golden; the noontide was bronze; and the evening lead. But all were polished till it shone after its fashion.
The first leader of independent India, Nehru, paid Curzon a surprising tribute, presumably referring to the fact that Curzon as Viceroy exhibited real love and knowledge of Indian culture: ""After every other Viceroy has been forgotten, Curzon will be remembered because he restored all that was beautiful in India."
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.
Curzon HallCurzon Hall is part of the school of science of the University of Dhaka. With its significance in education during the post independence era of Bangladesh as well as afterwards, it has become a emblem of educational tradition of the country.-History:...
, the base of the science department of the
University of DhakaThe University of Dhaka is the oldest and the largest university in Bangladesh with more than 32,000 students and 1,600 teachers....
has been named after him. Lord Curzon himself inaugurated the building in 1904.
George Nathaniel Curzon's writings
- Curzon, Russia in Central Asia in 1889 and the Anglo-Russian Question, (1889) Frank Cass & Co. 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., London and New York.; facsimile reprint:
- Volume 1 (Paperback) by George Nathaniel Curzon, Adamant Media Corporation ISBN 978-1402161797 (October 22, 2001) Abstract
- Volume 2 (Paperback) by George Nathaniel Curzon, Adamant Media Corporation ISBN 978-1402161780 (October 22, 2001) Abstract
- Curzon, Problems of the Far East (1894; new ed., 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. 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.
The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes:# Knight Grand Commander # Knight Commander # Companion...
, G.C.I.E.The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1878. The Order includes members of three classes:#Knight Grand Commander #Knight Commander #Companion...
, PCHer Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council is a body of advisors to the British Sovereign. Its members are largely senior politicians, who were or are members of either the House of Commons or House of Lords of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.The Privy Council, the...
, D.C.L., LL.D., F.R.S., All Souls College, Chancellor of the University, Delivered in the Sheldonian Theater, Oxford, November 2, 1907full text.
- Curzon, "Tales of Travel" First published by Hodder & Stoughton 1923, (Century Classic Ser.) London, Century. 1989, Facsimile Reprint. ISBN 0-7126-2245-4, Soft Cover. Reprint with Foreword by Lady Alexandra Metcalfe, Introduction by Peter King. A selection 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. 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, 146, 2 (1980): 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.
- Ronaldshay, Earl of (1927). The life of Lord Curzon. Vol. 1-2. (London)
- Ross, Christopher N. B. "Lord Curzon and E. G. Browne Confront the 'Persian Question'", Historical Journal, 52, 2 (2009): 385–411, doi:10.1017/S0018246X09007511
- Wright, Denis. "Curzon and Persia." The Geographical Journal 153 (3) (1987): 343–350.
External links
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