Robert Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Earl of Lytton
The Earl of Lytton | |
|---|---|
Photograph by Nadar, c. 1890s | |
| 6th Viceroy and Governor-General of India | |
| In office 12 April 1876 – 8 June 1880 | |
| Monarch | Queen Victoria |
| Preceded by | The Earl of Northbrook |
| Succeeded by | The Marquess of Ripon |
| British Ambassador to France | |
| In office 1887–1891 | |
| Monarch | Queen Victoria |
| Preceded by | The Viscount Lyons |
| Succeeded by | The Marquess of Dufferin and Ava |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 8 November 1831 London, England |
| Died | 24 November 1891 (aged 60) Paris, France |
| Party | Conservative |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 7, including Victor and Constance |
| Parent(s) | Edward Bulwer-Lytton Rosina Doyle Wheeler |
| Education | Harrow School |
| Alma mater | University of Bonn |
Edward Robert Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Earl of Lytton, GCB, GCSI, GCIE, PC (8 November 1831 – 24 November 1891), was a British statesman, Conservative politician and poet who used the pseudonym Owen Meredith. During his tenure as Viceroy of India between 1876 and 1880, Queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India. He served as British Ambassador to France from 1887 to 1891.
His tenure as Viceroy was controversial for its ruthlessness in both domestic and foreign affairs, especially for his handling of the Great Famine of 1876–1878 and the Second Anglo-Afghan War. His son Victor Bulwer-Lytton, 2nd Earl of Lytton, who was born in India, later served as Governor of Bengal and briefly as acting Viceroy. The senior earl was also the father-in-law of the architect Sir Edwin Lutyens, who designed New Delhi.
Lytton was a protégé of Benjamin Disraeli in domestic affairs, and of Richard Lyons, 1st Viscount Lyons, who was his predecessor as Ambassador to France, in foreign affairs. His tenure as Ambassador to Paris was successful, and Lytton was afforded the rare tribute – especially for an Englishman – of a French state funeral in Paris.