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William Hamilton (diplomat)
Encyclopedia
Sir William Hamilton KB
, PC, FRS
(12 January 1731 – 6 April 1803) was a Scottish
diplomat
, antiquarian
, archaeologist
and vulcanologist
. After a short period as a Member of Parliament
, he served as British Ambassador to the Kingdom of Naples from 1764 to 1800. He studied Mounts Vesuvius
and Etna
, becoming a Fellow of the Royal Society
and recipient of the Copley Medal
.
or at Park Place, Berkshire
, the fourth son of Lord Archibald Hamilton
, governor of Jamaica
, and Lady Jane Hamilton, daughter of James Hamilton, 6th Earl of Abercorn
. His mother was almost certainly a mistress of the Prince of Wales
and William grew up with his son George III
, who would call him his "foster brother". After attending Westminster School
, he was commissioned into the 3rd Foot Guards in 1747 and was promoted Lieutenant
in 1753. He left the Army after his marriage to Catherine Barlow, daughter of politician Hugh Barlow, on 25 January 1758. Catherine died on 25 August 1782. The couple had no children.
In 1786, a stunning young lady was sent to Sir William by his nephew, Charles Greville
, in exchange for him settling Greville's debts. Like most of the men who wandered into her orbit, Sir William was smitten with Emma Lyon
, who performed dances inspired by classical elements for himself and his guests, including Goethe, while wearing no undergarments. However, he made no advances until she was ready to accept him. They married on 6 September 1791 at St Marylebone Church, London. He was 60; she was 26. She later became the lover of Horatio Nelson, a man Sir William admired greatly, and whose liaison he reportedly encouraged.
After Hamilton returned to England, he lived together with his wife Emma and her lover, Lord Nelson, between Merton Place and London. Nelson inherited a portrait of Emma by Élisabeth Vigée le Brun when Hamilton died.
After serving as Member of Parliament
for Midhurst
from 1761, he left his seat to become Britain's ambassador to the court of Naples
from 1764 to 1800. During this time he studied local volcanic activity and earthquakes, and wrote a book on the ancient Roman city of Pompeii
. He collected Greek vases and other antiquities, selling part of his collection to the British Museum
in 1772. A small part of his second collection went down with HMS Colossus
while being transported to Britain in 1798. The surviving part of the second collection was catalogued for sale at auction at Christie's
when at the eleventh hour Thomas Hope stepped in and purchased the remains of Hamilton's second collection of mostly South Italian vases. He was a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries
and a member of the Society of Dilettanti. His other books include Antiquités étrusques, grecques et romaines (1766–67) and Observations on Mount Vesuvius (1772).
He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society
in 1766 and published his paper "Campi Phlegraei: Observations on the Volcanoes of the Two Sicilies" in the same year. He made more than 65 ascents of Mount Vesuvius
and made a number of drawings before its eruption in 1767. The Royal Society awarded him the Copley Medal
in 1770 for his paper, "An Account of a Journey to Mount Etna
".
During their tour of Italy in 1770, the young Mozart and his father were introduced to Hamilton and Catherine.
Hamilton became a Knight of the Order of the Bath
in 1772 and was sworn of the Privy Council in 1791. He died in London in 1803 and was buried alongside his first wife at Slebech
.
Hamilton's life was fictionalised by Susan Sontag
in her novel The Volcano Lover: A Romance
.
In the Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Realm
in Germany there is an island in a lake atop which is a model of Mount Vesuvius
. The Duke would stage fireworks that seemed to issue from an erupting volcano to entertain his guests. At the foot of the mountain on the island is a building intended to suggest Hamilton's home "Villa Emma" in Naples
(Posillipo
). It is a highly unusual tribute to a great scholar.
Walton Ford
's watercolor painting
Jack on his Deathbed portrays the death of Hamilton's pet monkey in 1780.
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
, PC, FRS
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
(12 January 1731 – 6 April 1803) was a Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
diplomat
Diplomat
A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...
, antiquarian
Antiquarian
An antiquarian or antiquary is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient objects of art or science, archaeological and historic sites, or historic archives and manuscripts...
, archaeologist
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
and vulcanologist
Volcanology
Volcanology is the study of volcanoes, lava, magma, and related geological, geophysical and geochemical phenomena. The term volcanology is derived from the Latin word vulcan. Vulcan was the ancient Roman god of fire....
. After a short period as a Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
, he served as British Ambassador to the Kingdom of Naples from 1764 to 1800. He studied Mounts Vesuvius
Mount Vesuvius
Mount Vesuvius is a stratovolcano in the Gulf of Naples, Italy, about east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is the only volcano on the European mainland to have erupted within the last hundred years, although it is not currently erupting...
and Etna
Mount Etna
Mount Etna is an active stratovolcano on the east coast of Sicily, close to Messina and Catania. It is the tallest active volcano in Europe, currently standing high, though this varies with summit eruptions; the mountain is 21 m higher than it was in 1981.. It is the highest mountain in...
, becoming a Fellow of the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
and recipient of the Copley Medal
Copley Medal
The Copley Medal is an award given by the Royal Society of London for "outstanding achievements in research in any branch of science, and alternates between the physical sciences and the biological sciences"...
.
Early life and marriages
Hamilton was born, according to the baptismal register cited by the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, on 12 January 1731 in either LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
or at Park Place, Berkshire
Park Place, Berkshire
Park Place is a historic Grade II Listed country house and gardens in the civil parish of Remenham in Berkshire, England, set in large grounds above the River Thames near Henley, Oxfordshire.-History:...
, the fourth son of Lord Archibald Hamilton
Lord Archibald Hamilton
Lord Archibald Hamilton was a British politician.Hamilton was the youngest son of William Douglas-Hamilton, Duke of Hamilton and Anne Hamilton, 3rd Duchess of Hamilton. He became a Captain in the Royal Navy and in 1708, was elected as MP for Lanarkshire...
, governor of Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
, and Lady Jane Hamilton, daughter of James Hamilton, 6th Earl of Abercorn
James Hamilton, 6th Earl of Abercorn
James Hamilton, 6th Earl of Abercorn, PC was a Scottish and Irish nobleman, the son of Colonel James Hamilton and Elizabeth Colepeper....
. His mother was almost certainly a mistress of the Prince of Wales
Frederick, Prince of Wales
Frederick, Prince of Wales was a member of the House of Hanover and therefore of the Hanoverian and later British Royal Family, the eldest son of George II and father of George III, as well as the great-grandfather of Queen Victoria...
and William grew up with his son George III
George III of the United Kingdom
George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
, who would call him his "foster brother". After attending Westminster School
Westminster School
The Royal College of St. Peter in Westminster, almost always known as Westminster School, is one of Britain's leading independent schools, with the highest Oxford and Cambridge acceptance rate of any secondary school or college in Britain...
, he was commissioned into the 3rd Foot Guards in 1747 and was promoted Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
in 1753. He left the Army after his marriage to Catherine Barlow, daughter of politician Hugh Barlow, on 25 January 1758. Catherine died on 25 August 1782. The couple had no children.
In 1786, a stunning young lady was sent to Sir William by his nephew, Charles Greville
Charles Francis Greville
Charles Francis Greville PC, FRS , was a British antiquarian, collector and politician.-Background:Greville was the second son of Francis Greville, 1st Earl of Warwick, by Elizabeth Hamilton, daughter of Lord Archibald Hamilton...
, in exchange for him settling Greville's debts. Like most of the men who wandered into her orbit, Sir William was smitten with Emma Lyon
Emma, Lady Hamilton
Emma, Lady Hamilton is best remembered as the mistress of Lord Nelson and as the muse of George Romney. She was born Amy Lyon in Ness near Neston, Cheshire, England, the daughter of a blacksmith, Henry Lyon, who died when she was two months old...
, who performed dances inspired by classical elements for himself and his guests, including Goethe, while wearing no undergarments. However, he made no advances until she was ready to accept him. They married on 6 September 1791 at St Marylebone Church, London. He was 60; she was 26. She later became the lover of Horatio Nelson, a man Sir William admired greatly, and whose liaison he reportedly encouraged.
After Hamilton returned to England, he lived together with his wife Emma and her lover, Lord Nelson, between Merton Place and London. Nelson inherited a portrait of Emma by Élisabeth Vigée le Brun when Hamilton died.
Career
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Midhurst
Midhurst (UK Parliament constituency)
Midhurst was a parliamentary borough in Sussex, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1311 until 1832, and then one member from 1832 until 1885, when the constituency was abolished...
from 1761, he left his seat to become Britain's ambassador to the court of Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
from 1764 to 1800. During this time he studied local volcanic activity and earthquakes, and wrote a book on the ancient Roman city of Pompeii
Pompeii
The city of Pompeii is a partially buried Roman town-city near modern Naples in the Italian region of Campania, in the territory of the comune of Pompei. Along with Herculaneum, Pompeii was destroyed and completely buried during a long catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius spanning...
. He collected Greek vases and other antiquities, selling part of his collection to the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
in 1772. A small part of his second collection went down with HMS Colossus
HMS Colossus (1787)
HMS Colossus was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. She was launched at Gravesend on 4 April 1787 and lost on 10 December 1798.-Early history:...
while being transported to Britain in 1798. The surviving part of the second collection was catalogued for sale at auction at Christie's
Christie's
Christie's is an art business and a fine arts auction house.- History :The official company literature states that founder James Christie conducted the first sale in London, England, on 5 December 1766, and the earliest auction catalogue the company retains is from December 1766...
when at the eleventh hour Thomas Hope stepped in and purchased the remains of Hamilton's second collection of mostly South Italian vases. He was a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries
Society of Antiquaries of London
The Society of Antiquaries of London is a learned society "charged by its Royal Charter of 1751 with 'the encouragement, advancement and furtherance of the study and knowledge of the antiquities and history of this and other countries'." It is based at Burlington House, Piccadilly, London , and is...
and a member of the Society of Dilettanti. His other books include Antiquités étrusques, grecques et romaines (1766–67) and Observations on Mount Vesuvius (1772).
He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
in 1766 and published his paper "Campi Phlegraei: Observations on the Volcanoes of the Two Sicilies" in the same year. He made more than 65 ascents of Mount Vesuvius
Mount Vesuvius
Mount Vesuvius is a stratovolcano in the Gulf of Naples, Italy, about east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is the only volcano on the European mainland to have erupted within the last hundred years, although it is not currently erupting...
and made a number of drawings before its eruption in 1767. The Royal Society awarded him the Copley Medal
Copley Medal
The Copley Medal is an award given by the Royal Society of London for "outstanding achievements in research in any branch of science, and alternates between the physical sciences and the biological sciences"...
in 1770 for his paper, "An Account of a Journey to Mount Etna
Mount Etna
Mount Etna is an active stratovolcano on the east coast of Sicily, close to Messina and Catania. It is the tallest active volcano in Europe, currently standing high, though this varies with summit eruptions; the mountain is 21 m higher than it was in 1981.. It is the highest mountain in...
".
During their tour of Italy in 1770, the young Mozart and his father were introduced to Hamilton and Catherine.
Hamilton became a Knight of the Order of the Bath
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
in 1772 and was sworn of the Privy Council in 1791. He died in London in 1803 and was buried alongside his first wife at Slebech
Slebech
Slebech is a parish in Pembrokeshire, West Wales. The community of Slebech is a sparsely populated on the northern shore of the Eastern River Cleddau. It shares common land boundaries with the Communities of Uzmaston and Boulston, Wiston and Llawhaden and mainly consists of farmland and woodland...
.
Homage
Susan Sontag
Susan Sontag was an American author, literary theorist, feminist and political activist whose works include On Photography and Against Interpretation.-Life:...
in her novel The Volcano Lover: A Romance
The Volcano Lover
The Volcano Lover is a 1992 novel by Susan Sontag, set largely in Naples.It focuses upon Emma Hamilton, her marriage to Sir William Hamilton, the scandal relating to her affair with Lord Nelson, her abandonment, and her descent into poverty....
.
In the Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Realm
Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Realm
The Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Realm, also known as the English Grounds of Wörlitz, is one of the first and largest English parks in Germany and continental Europe...
in Germany there is an island in a lake atop which is a model of Mount Vesuvius
Mount Vesuvius
Mount Vesuvius is a stratovolcano in the Gulf of Naples, Italy, about east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is the only volcano on the European mainland to have erupted within the last hundred years, although it is not currently erupting...
. The Duke would stage fireworks that seemed to issue from an erupting volcano to entertain his guests. At the foot of the mountain on the island is a building intended to suggest Hamilton's home "Villa Emma" in Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
(Posillipo
Posillipo
Posillipo is a residential quarter of Naples, southern Italy, located along the northern coast of the Gulf of Naples; it is called Pusilleco in the Neapolitan language.-Geography:...
). It is a highly unusual tribute to a great scholar.
Walton Ford
Walton Ford
Walton Ford is an American artist who paints large scale watercolors in the style of Audubon's naturalist illustrations. Each painting is a meticulous study in flora and fauna, while being filled with symbols, clues and jokes referencing a multitude of texts from colonial literature and folktales...
's watercolor painting
Watercolor painting
Watercolor or watercolour , also aquarelle from French, is a painting method. A watercolor is the medium or the resulting artwork in which the paints are made of pigments suspended in a water-soluble vehicle...
Jack on his Deathbed portrays the death of Hamilton's pet monkey in 1780.