General Charles Richard Fox (6 November 1796 – 13 April 1873) was a British army general, and later a politician.

Background

Fox was born at Brompton, the illegitimate son of

Henry Richard Vassall-Fox, 3rd Baron Holland Henry Richard Vassall-Fox, 3rd Baron Holland of Holland, and 3rd Baron Holland of Foxley PC (21 November 1773 – 22 October 1840), was an English politician and a major figure in Whig politics in the early 19th century. A grandson of Henry F ...

, through a liaison with Lady Webster, whom Lord Holland would later marry.

Career

After some service in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

, Fox entered the Grenadiers, and was known in later life as a collector of Greek coins. His collection was bought for the royal museum of

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

when he died in 1873. He was present around the time of Napoleon's incarceration on St Helena and subsequently removed a key to the bedroom where Napoleon was lodged. This was given to his mother - Lady Holland - due to her Napoleonphile attitudes and auctioned in 2021. He married in St. George's, Hanover Square, London, on 19 June 1824 Lady Mary FitzClarence, a daughter of

William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded h ...

by his mistress Dorothy Jordan. The couple had no issue. Fox was a politician. He represented the Whig interest and sat for

Calne Calne () is a town and civil parish in Wiltshire, southwestern England,OS Explorer Map 156, Chippenham and Bradford-on-Avon Scale: 1:25 000.Publisher: Ordnance Survey A2 edition (2007). at the northwestern extremity of the North Wessex Downs ...

1831–32, then

Tavistock Tavistock ( ) is an ancient stannary and market town within West Devon, England. It is situated on the River Tavy from which its name derives. At the 2011 census the three electoral wards (North, South and South West) had a population of 13 ...

1832–35. He briefly represented Stroud in 1835, but resigned that seat so

Lord John Russell John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, (18 August 1792 – 28 May 1878), known by his courtesy title Lord John Russell before 1861, was a British Whig and Liberal statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1852 and a ...

could contest it. He was elected as a Member of Parliament for the east London constituency of

Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London borough covering much of the traditional East End. It was formed in 1965 from the merger of the former metropolitan boroughs of Stepney, Poplar, and Bethnal Green. 'Tower Hamlets' was originally ...

in 1841 and served until 1847. Fox was

Surveyor-General of the Ordnance The Surveyor-General of the Ordnance was a subordinate of the Master-General of the Ordnance and a member of the Board of Ordnance, a British government body, from its constitution in 1597. Appointments to the post were made by the crown under L ...

in 1841 and 1846–52. He was promoted

Major-General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

on 9 November 1846, Lieutenant-General on 20 June 1854, and

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

on 6 March 1863.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* ''British Parliamentary Election Results 1832–1885'', compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (The Macmillan Press 1977) * ''The Parliaments of England'' by Henry Stooks Smith (1st edition published in three volumes 1844–50), second edition edited (in one volume) by F.W.S. Craig (Political Reference Publications 1973) * ''Who's Who of British Members of Parliament: Volume I 1832–1885'', edited by M. Stenton (The Harvester Press 1976)

External links

*
UK Parliamentary Archives, Letters from Charles Richard Fox to Lord John Russell
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Fox, Charles Richard 1796 births 1873 deaths British Army generals Grenadier Guards officers Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1831–1832 UK MPs 1832–1835 UK MPs 1835–1837 UK MPs 1841–1847 Burials at Kensal Green Cemetery Charles Richard Members of Parliament for Calne Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Tavistock