Fairfax Leighton Cartwright
Encyclopedia
Sir Fairfax Leighton Cartwright GCMG
GCVO
(20 July 1857 - 9 January 1928) was an author and British diplomat who became ambassador to the Austro-Hungarian empire
before World War I
.
MP for Oxfordshire
and his wife Clementine Gaul. He became a diplomat and in the 1880s wrote verse tragedies and other works. From 1899 to 1902 he was secretary to the legations in Mexico
and from 1902 to1905 secretary to the legations in Lisbon
. He was councillor to the Madrid
Embassy from 1905 to 1906. From 1906 to 1908 he occupied the combined posts of British Minister to Bavaria and Württemberg. Then in 1908 he was made Privy Councillor and he reached the pinnacle of his career as British Ambassador to Austria-Hungary where he remained until 1913. Cartwright tried with the help of the French ambassador, Philippe Crozier, to weaken Austria’s dependence on Germany. In 1911 Austro-Hungary wanted to modernise their armed forces, and asked the French to supply a huge loan to help do this. The French government opposed this because Austria was not part of the Triple Alliance. Fairfax and Crozier realised that Austro-Hungary was opposed to the German Alliance, and tried to change the mind of the French government to support Austro-Hungary. If they had succeeded, it might have averted the First World War. In 1913 Fairfax wrote “Some day Serbia
will set Europe by the ears and bring about a universal war on the continent.” He was realised that Archduke Franz Ferdinand was a certifiable maniac, and was not fit to inherit his father’s empire, and told his government so.
Cartwight married Donna Maria dei Marchesi Chigi-Zondadari, daughter of an Italian senator on 16 October 1898. They turned the British embassy in Vienna from an undistinguished one into one of the most fashionable. In 1911 Lady Cartwright nearly created an international incident inadvertently. While she was dancing with the Austrian Foreign Minister, the Russian ambassador cut in and a vicious feud started between the two men.
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
GCVO
Royal Victorian Order
The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...
(20 July 1857 - 9 January 1928) was an author and British diplomat who became ambassador to the Austro-Hungarian empire
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
before World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
Life
Cartwright was the second son of William Cornwallis CartwrightWilliam Cornwallis Cartwright
William Cornwallis Cartwright was an art collector, author and a Liberal Party politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1868 to 1885-Biography:...
MP for Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire (UK Parliament constituency)
Oxfordshire was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1885. It was represented by two Members of Parliament. In 1832 this was increased to three...
and his wife Clementine Gaul. He became a diplomat and in the 1880s wrote verse tragedies and other works. From 1899 to 1902 he was secretary to the legations in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and from 1902 to1905 secretary to the legations in Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
. He was councillor to the Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
Embassy from 1905 to 1906. From 1906 to 1908 he occupied the combined posts of British Minister to Bavaria and Württemberg. Then in 1908 he was made Privy Councillor and he reached the pinnacle of his career as British Ambassador to Austria-Hungary where he remained until 1913. Cartwright tried with the help of the French ambassador, Philippe Crozier, to weaken Austria’s dependence on Germany. In 1911 Austro-Hungary wanted to modernise their armed forces, and asked the French to supply a huge loan to help do this. The French government opposed this because Austria was not part of the Triple Alliance. Fairfax and Crozier realised that Austro-Hungary was opposed to the German Alliance, and tried to change the mind of the French government to support Austro-Hungary. If they had succeeded, it might have averted the First World War. In 1913 Fairfax wrote “Some day Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
will set Europe by the ears and bring about a universal war on the continent.” He was realised that Archduke Franz Ferdinand was a certifiable maniac, and was not fit to inherit his father’s empire, and told his government so.
Cartwight married Donna Maria dei Marchesi Chigi-Zondadari, daughter of an Italian senator on 16 October 1898. They turned the British embassy in Vienna from an undistinguished one into one of the most fashionable. In 1911 Lady Cartwright nearly created an international incident inadvertently. While she was dancing with the Austrian Foreign Minister, the Russian ambassador cut in and a vicious feud started between the two men.
Works
- Lorello. A play in five acts. In verse 1884
- Bianca Capello. A tragedy. In verse 1886
- The Baglioni. A tragedy. In verse 1888
- Olga Zanelli. A tale of an imperial city 1890. This is a three-volume fictional work which recounted seedy adulteries among figures in high society whose identities were faintly disguised. After all his friends in diplomatic circles begged him to withdraw the book immediately, he managed to recover nearly all the 1500 copies printed.
- The Mystic Rose from the Garden of the King. A Fragment of the Vision of Sheikh Haji Ibrahim of Kerbela 1898