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57 unusual facts about Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington


5th Line Battalion, King's German Legion

On 18 June 1815, during the Battle of Waterloo, the battalion was nearly wiped out during the fighting in the center of Wellington's battle line, in the wake of the so-called `crisis´.

62nd Punjabis

In the Second Maratha War of 1803-05, the regiment fought in the Battle of Assaye under General Arthur Wellesley, the future Duke of Wellington.

84th Punjabis

The regiment's next major action was in the Second Maratha War, where it fought in the Battle of Assaye on 3 September 1803, under General Arthur Wellesley, the future Duke of Wellington.

Amlishagen Castle

The castle was finally bought by Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher the Prussian Generalfeldmarschall who led his army against Napoleon I at the Battle of the Nations at Leipzig in 1813 and at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 with the Duke of Wellington.

Ankō Itosu

Remember the words attributed to the Duke of Wellington after he defeated Napoleon: "The Battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton."

Assaye

It became the first real victory for the young general Arthur Wellesley (later Duke of Wellington).

Asterix in Corsica

(When Asterix mistakes his name in the English version he addresses him as "Wellingtonwasa...", a reference to Napoleon's British enemy Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington.)

Auguste de Marmont

But Wellington more than retrieved his position in the battle, and inflicted a severe defeat on the French.

Avintes

During the French invasion of the peninsula Avintes was likely a sideshow; the parish did not have part in the great battles, although the Duke of Wellington may have chased Marshall Soult's forces, crossing the Douro in the immediate location, since crossing at Porto would have been difficult.

Badnapur

It was here in 1803 that Arthur Wellesley and James Stevenson met prior to the Battle of Assaye.

Barbary lion

The lions in the Tower of London were transferred to more humane conditions at the London Zoo in 1835 on the orders of the Duke of Wellington.

Battle of Garcia Hernandez

The previous day, the Allied army commanded by Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington had won a decisive victory over a French army led by Marshal Auguste Marmont in the Battle of Salamanca.

British Cemetery Elvas

The Duke of Wellington was anxious to secure both cities before advancing into Spain and chose to conduct the operations in the north himself and leave Marshal Beresford, the Commander in Chief of the Portuguese army, in command of the southern operation.

Bucelas DOC

During his time in Portugal, Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington discovered the wine and imported large quantities back to his estate in the United Kingdom.

Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N.

As Lady Barbara is the (fictitious) sister of the Duke of Wellington (an anachronism, as the title was created in 1814 and he would have been Sir Arthur Wellesley at this time), Hornblower is in no position to refuse her request for passage to England.

Capture of Gawilghur

The Capture of Gawilghur fort in western India by British East India Company forces under the command of Sir Arthur Wellesley on 15 December 1803 during the Second Anglo-Maratha War was the culminating act in the defeat of the forces of Raghoji II Bhonsle, Rajah of Berar.

Catholic emancipation

Finally, the Duke of Wellington and Sir Robert Peel changed positions and passed the Roman Catholic Relief Act of 1829.

Ciudad Rodrigo

The British General Wellington began his 1812 campaign by taking Ciudad Rodrigo by storm on the night of January 19, 1812 – January 20, 1812 after preparatory operations lasting about 10 days.

Counties of Victoria

Earlier maps of Gippsland area in the eastern part of the state show proposed counties of Douro (a title of the Duke of Wellington), Bass, Haddington, Bruce, Abinger, Combermere and Howe with approximate boundaries.

Cuéllar Castle

Also stands out figures as the painter Francisco Javier Parcerisa, or the writer José de Espronceda, the generals Joseph Léopold Sigisbert Hugo and Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington, who set his garrison barracks in this castle during the Spanish War of Independence.

Edward Charles Cocks

He was a great favourite of his commander Arthur Wellesley, the future Duke of Wellington, who admired him for his bravery and sharp perception and who took news of his death badly.

Francis William Wilkin

Paget, who was Wellington’s cavalry commander at the Battle of Waterloo, regularly gave painting commissions to Wilkin.

Geraardsbergen

On 29 May 1815, shortly before the battle of Waterloo, Wellington and Blücher reviewed the Allied cavalry here.

Gottfried Semper

But while he was able to pick up occasional contracts — including participation in the design of the funeral carriage for the Duke of Wellington and the designs of the Canadian, Danish, Swedish, and Ottoman sections of the 1851 Exhibition in the Crystal Palace — he found no steady employment.

GWR Iron Duke Class

Name of the class, Iron Duke was a reference to the Duke of Wellington.

Ha'penny Bridge

Originally called the Wellington Bridge (after the Duke of Wellington), the name of the bridge changed to Liffey Bridge.

Hans Hamilton, 4th Baron HolmPatrick

Her paternal grandfather was the great British general Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington.

Jacques Gervais, baron Subervie

At Waterloo, after the emperor noted that the Prussians were marching to aid the Duke of Wellington, he was send together with Lobau's VI Infantry Corps to hold the French right flank while the emperor faced Wellington.

Jean Isidore Harispe

In 1814, he was send to Barcelona to serve as reinforcements to Soult, who after Vitoria was tasked with preventing the Duke of Wellington from invading southern France.

Kerala Cricket Association

It was introduced by Col. Arthur Wellesley, during his stay in Tellichery.

Larrun

The mountain was used by French troops as a defensive position towards the end of the Peninsular War, but Wellington's forces drove those of Marshal Soult off the mountain during the Battle of Nivelle on November 10, 1813, this action leaving France open for Wellington's successful march north to Paris.

Lasne

Blücher and Wellington met after the battle at the farm 'La Belle Alliance' - now a bar.

Ligonier, Pennsylvania

He initially called the town Ramseytown, later changed to Wellington (after the Duke of Wellington), and finally the name was changed to Ligonier.

Lord Hornblower

During the following peace, Hornblower's wife Barbara accompanies her brother, the Duke of Wellington, to the Congress of Vienna, leaving Hornblower at loose ends.

Luxullianite

An example may be seen in the Duke of Wellington's monument at St Paul's Cathedral in London.

Manley Power

The Duke of Wellington wrote on 30 October 1814,

He is chiefly remembered for leading a brigade of Portuguese troops under The Duke of Wellington in the Iberian Peninsular War.

Mornington, Wellington

It is named after the Duke of Wellington's father, the Earl of Mornington.

Mount Wellington, New Zealand

Named by colonists after the Duke of Wellington, the native Māori people called it Maungarei and used it for centuries as a or hill fort.

Prince Frederick of the Netherlands

When Napoleon returned from Elba, during the Hundred Days the prince was given command of a detachment of Wellington's army which was posted in a fall back position near Braine should the battle taking place at Waterloo be lost.

Robert Sale

His regiment formed part of Baird's brigade of Harris's army operating against Tippoo Sahib, and Sale was present at Malavalli and the Battle of Seringapatam, subsequently serving under Colonel Arthur Wellesley in the campaign against Dhundia.

Roskilde Royal Mansion

During the English siege of Copenhagen in 1807, the mansion served as headquarters of general Wellesley, the future Duke of Wellington.

Sir Thomas Picton School

He is chiefly remembered for his exploits under the Duke of Wellington in the Iberian Peninsular War and at the Battle of Waterloo, where he was mortally wounded while his division stopped d'Erlon's corps attack against the allied centre left, and so became the most senior officer to die at Waterloo.

Sirsoli

The Battle of Argaon took place on November 28, 1803, between the British under the command of General Arthur Wellesley (later the Duke of Wellington) and the forces of The Rajah of Berar under Sindhia of Gwalior.

Spanish Constitution of 1812

Napoleon's forces faced both Spanish regular troops and partisans and later British troops under the Arthur Wellesley.

Stars and Stripes trilogy

There is another unexplained difference - the Duke of Wellington is still alive, though he remarks he has been 'living on borrowed time' since his illness in 1852.

Thalassery Stadium

On this ground, the first ball was bowled in the early 19th century, thanks to Colonel Arthur Wellesley, who brought the game to this Malabar town.

The Madras Regiment

The elephant crest symbolizes its gallantry in the Battle of Assaye under Arthur Wellesley, later Duke of Wellington.

The People's Princess

Offstage characters include the Duke of Wellington, Caroline's dead daughter Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales, William Wood, William Cobbett and Caroline's lover Mr Pergami.

Victor Renquist

He has reputedly works for the Duke of Wellington, Nicholas II of Russia, and the NSA.

Vimeiro

Vimeiro was the site of the 1808 Battle of Vimeiro, where British forces under the Duke of Wellington defeated the French, ending the first French invasion of Portugal.

Walter L. Morgan

It was later renamed the Wellington Fund in honor of the Duke of Wellington.

Wellington Bay

It is one of several Canadian landforms named in honor of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington.

Wellington, British Columbia railway station

This station was named after the town of Wellington which formed around and next to the Wellington Colliery which was named after Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, a leading British military and political figure in the 19th century.

Wellington, Texas

The proposed town of Wellington was located on the land owned by Ernest T. O’Neil who was promoting this location, and had been given its proposed name by his wife, Matilda Anna Elisabeth “Lizzie” O’Neil, who greatly admired the Duke of Wellington, hero of the Battle of Waterloo.

Wellington's Victory

Wellington's Victory, or, the Battle of Vitoria, Op. 91 (Wellingtons Sieg oder die Schlacht bei Vittoria) is a minor 15-minute long orchestral work composed by Ludwig van Beethoven to commemorate the Duke of Wellington's victory over Joseph Bonaparte at the Battle of Vitoria in Spain on 21 June 1813.

Wentworth Club

The 19th century house the "Wentworths" (now the club house for the club) was the home for the brother-in-law of the Duke of Wellington.


Arthur Wellesley, 4th Duke of Wellington

The Guards formed part of the five-regiment Household Division, the elite of the military that provided security for the monarch.

Bakshi Ghulam Haider

Khan Bahadur Bakhshi Ghulam Haider Khan (died 1828 AD) was Faujdar of a unit at the time of Battle of Assaye, which was a major battle of the Second Anglo-Maratha War under the command of Major General Arthur Wellesley (Duke of Wellington).

Battle of Corunna

In early October 1808, following the scandal in Britain over the Convention of Sintra and the recall of the generals Dalrymple, Burrard and Wellesley, Sir John Moore took command of the 30,000 man British force in Portugal.

François Gérard

This extraordinary vogue was due partly to the charm of his manner and conversation, for his salon was as much frequented as his studio; Madame de Staël, George Canning, Talleyrand, the Duke of Wellington, have all borne witness to the attraction of his society.

Gawilghur

It was successfully assaulted by an Anglo-Indian force commanded by Arthur Wellesley on the 15 December 1803 during the Second Anglo-Maratha War.

George Napier

George Napier (11 March 1751 – 13 October 1804) was a British Army officer, most notable for his marriage to Lady Sarah Lennox, and for his sons Charles James Napier, William Francis Patrick Napier and George Thomas Napier, all of whom were noted military officers, collectively referred to as “Wellington’s Colonels.” He also served as Comptroller of Army Accounts in Ireland from 1799 until his death in 1804.

Grenadiers à Cheval de la Garde Impériale

Masséna had been busy besieging general Wellington in Lisbon, but he was not able to pierce the fortified Lines of Torres Vedras and subsequently retreated to Almeida.

Jean Gabriel Marchand

On 14 March 1811, he gave the Marquess of Wellington's famous Light Division a bloody nose in the Battle of Casal Novo.

Madras Engineer Group

These engineer troops fought in numerous campaigns in India at Sholinghur, Seringapatam, Assaye (along with Major General Arthur Wellesley, later Duke of Wellington, and also in Egypt, China, Burma and other places abroad.

National Museum Soares dos Reis

During the Peninsular War, the Carrancas Palace was sequentially used as residence by General Soult, headquarters for the Duke of Wellington and residence for General Beresford.

Pallur Eman

Eman encamped with Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington and in 1801, his services to the British contributed to the their capture of Periya.

Panharmonicon

Beethoven apparently composed his piece "Wellington's Victory" (Op. 91) to be played on this behemoth mechanical orchestral organ to commemorate Arthur Wellesley's victory over the French at the Battle of Vitoria in 1813.

Rubens mare

Matthew Cotes Wyatt used Recovery as a model for the Duke of Wellington's deceased horse Copenhagen, when creating the Wellington Statue in Aldershot.

Wellington Statue, Glasgow

In 2011 the Lonely Planet guide included the monument to Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington in its list of the "top 10 most bizarre monuments on Earth", along with the Rocky Balboa statue in Žitište, Serbia and the Washington National Cathedral in the United States.

William Wellesley-Pole, 3rd Earl of Mornington

William Wellesley-Pole, 3rd Earl of Mornington GCH, PC, PC (Ire) (20 May 1763 – 22 February 1845), known as Lord Maryborough between 1821 and 1842, was an Anglo-Irish politician and an elder brother of the Duke of Wellington.

Woodhouse Moor

Near Hyde Park corner is a statue of Sir Robert Peel by William Behnes and at the opposite corner where Moorland Road meets Clarendon road is a statue of the Duke of Wellington by Carlo Marochetti.