- Charles Hardinge, 1st Baron Hardinge of Penshurst
-
The Right Honourable
The Lord Hardinge of Penshurst
KG GCB GCSI GCMG GCIE GCVO ISO PCViceroy of India In office
23 November 1910 – 4 April 1916Monarch George V Preceded by The Earl of Minto Succeeded by The Lord Chelmsford Personal details Born 20 June 1858 Died 2 August 1944
Penshurst, KentNationality British
Spouse(s) Winifred Selina Sturt Hardinge Alma mater Trinity College, Cambridge Charles Hardinge, 1st Baron Hardinge of Penshurst, KG, GCB, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, GCVO, ISO, PC (20 June 1858 – 2 August 1944) was a British diplomat and statesman who served as Viceroy of India from 1910 to 1916.
Contents
Background and education
Hardinge was the second son of Charles Hardinge, 2nd Viscount Hardinge, and the grandson of Henry Hardinge, 1st Viscount Hardinge, a former Governor-General of India. He was educated at Harrow School[1] and Trinity College, Cambridge.[2]
Career
Hardinge entered the diplomatic service in 1880, was appointed first secretary at Tehran in 1896 and first secretary at Saint Petersburg in 1898 when he was promoted over the heads of seventeen of his seniors. After a brief stint as Assistant Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs he became Ambassador to Russia in 1904. In 1906 he was promoted to the position of Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign Office, and despite his own conservatism, worked closely with Liberal Foreign Secretary Sir Edward Grey. In 1907 he declined the post of Ambassador to the United States. In 1910 Hardinge was raised to the peerage as Baron Hardinge of Penshurst, in the County of Kent, and appointed by the Asquith government as Viceroy of India.
His tenure was a memorable one, seeing the visit of King George V and the Delhi Durbar of 1911, as well as the move of the capital from Calcutta to New Delhi in 1912. Although Hardinge was the target of assassination attempts by Indian nationalists, his tenure generally saw better relations between the British administration and the nationalists, thanks to the implementation of the Morley-Minto reforms of 1909, Hardinge's own admiration for Mohandas Gandhi, and criticism of the South African government's anti-Indian immigration policies.
Hardinge's efforts paid off in 1914 during the First World War. Due to improved colonial relationships, Britain was able to deploy nearly all of the British troops in India as well as many native Indian troops to areas outside of India. In particular the British Indian Army was able to play a significant role in the Mesopotamian campaign[3]
In 1916, Hardinge returned to his former post in England as Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign Office, serving with Arthur Balfour. In 1920 he became ambassador to France before his retirement in 1922.
Personal life
Hardinge family members in ox-cart in Hyderabad State (1911, attending the coronation of Asaf Jah VII)He married his cousin Winifred Selina Sturt CI on 17 Apr 1890, the 2nd daughter of Henry Gerard [Sturt], 1st Baron Alington, by his first wife Lady Augusta Bingham, 1st dau. of George Charles [Bingham], 3rd Earl of Lucan. The couple had a daughter, the Hon Diamond Hardinge and son Alexander Hardinge (1894–1960), who succeeded him as Baron Hardinge of Penshurst. Lady Hardinge died on 11 July 1914. Lord Hardinge of Penshurst died in Penshurst, Kent, on 2 August 1944, aged 86.
Lady Hardinge, Winifred Selina Sturt Hardinge (1868-1914), was the first to take initiative for starting a medical college for women in Delhi, when the capital shifted from Calcutta, she laid foundation stone of the college, on 17th March 1914, and to commemorate the visit of Queen Mary in 1911-12, it was named 'Queen Mary College & Hospital'. Lady Haridinge was actively involved in collecting funds for the institution of princely states and public, unfortunately she died in late 1914. The college was eventually inaugurated on 7 February 1916 by Viceroy Hardinge. On the suggestion of Queen Mary, the college and the hospital was named after Lady Harding, as Lady Hardinge Medical College.[4]
Styles
- 1858-1880: Charles Hardinge
- 1880-1895: The Honourable Charles Hardinge
- 1895-1903: The Honourable Charles Hardinge, CB
- 1903-29 March 1904: The Honourable Charles Hardinge, CB, CVO
- 29 March-10 May 1904: The Honourable Sir Charles Hardinge, KCMG, CB, CVO
- 10 May 1904-1 January 1905: The Honourable Sir Charles Hardinge, KCMG, KCVO, CB
- 1 January-9 November 1905: The Right Honourable Sir Charles Hardinge, GCMG, KCVO, CB
- 9 November 1905-1906: The Right Honourable Sir Charles Hardinge, GCMG, GCVO, CB
- 1906-1910: The Right Honourable Sir Charles Hardinge, GCMG, GCVO, CB, ISO
- 1910-1916: His Excellency The Right Honourable the Lord Hardinge of Penshurst, GCB, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, GCVO, ISO
- 1916-1944: The Right Honourable the Lord Hardinge of Penshurst, KG, GCB, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, GCVO, ISO
Further reading
- Lady Hardinge of Penshurst, C.I., vice-reine of India; A tribute to her memory, by Manhar Kuvarbā, Maharani of Panna. Printed by R.W. Simpson & co., ltd., 1916.[5]
References
- ^ photo at http://www.harrowphotos.com and cf http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Old_Harrovians
- ^ Hardinge, the Hon. Charles in Venn, J. & J. A., Alumni Cantabrigienses, Cambridge University Press, 10 vols, 1922–1958.
- ^ Lord Hardinge and the Mesopotamia Expedition and Inquiry, 1914-1917; Douglas Goold; The Historical Journal, Vol. 19, No. 4 (Dec., 1976), pp. 919-945
- ^ "A fine balance of luxury and care". Hindustan Times. July 21, 2011. http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/chunk-ht-ui-newdelhi100years-topstories/A-fine-balance-of-luxury-and-care/Article1-723880.aspx.
- ^ Lady Hardinge of Penshurst Open Library.
- Briton C. Busch, Hardinge of Penshurst: a study of the old diplomacy, Hamden, Conn.: Published for the Conference on British Studies and Indiana University at South Bend by Archon Books, 1980.
- Lord Hardinge of Penshurst, The Reminiscences of Lord Hardinge of Penshurst (London, 1947)
- Zara S. Steiner, The Foreign Office and Foreign Policy 1898-1914 )Cambridge, 1969)
- Winifred Selina Sturt Hardinge and Charles
External links
- Hardinge of Penshurst, Baron (UK, 1910), genealogy
- Hardinge, Charles, first Baron Hardinge of Penshurst (1858–1944), diplomatist and viceroy of India
Government offices Preceded by
The Earl of MintoViceroy of India
1910–1916Succeeded by
The Lord ChelmsfordDiplomatic posts Preceded by
Charles Stewart ScottBritish Ambassador to Russia
1904–1906Succeeded by
Sir Arthur NicolsonPreceded by
The Lord SandersonPermanent Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs
1906–1910Succeeded by
Sir Arthur NicolsonPreceded by
Sir Arthur NicolsonPermanent Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs
1916–1920Succeeded by
Eyre CrowePreceded by
The Earl of DerbyBritish Ambassador to France
1920–1922Succeeded by
The Marquess of CrewePeerage of the United Kingdom Preceded by
New CreationBaron Hardinge of Penshurst
1910–1944Succeeded by
Alexander HardingeCategories:- 1858 births
- 1944 deaths
- Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
- Members of HM Diplomatic Service
- Companions of the Imperial Service Order
- Diplomatic peers
- Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire
- Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India
- Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
- Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order
- Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George
- Knights of the Garter
- Recipients of the Royal Victorian Chain
- Viceroys of India
- Attempted assassination survivors
- Younger sons of viscounts
- Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Russia
- Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to France
- Permanent Under-Secretaries of State for Foreign Affairs
- People from Penshurst
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