Lord Augustus William Frederick Spencer Loftus, (4 October 1817 – 7 March 1904), was a British diplomat and colonial administrator. He was Ambassador to Prussia from 1865 to 1868, to the

North German Confederation The North German Confederation () was initially a German military alliance established in August 1866 under the leadership of the Kingdom of Prussia, which was transformed in the subsequent year into a confederated state (a ''de facto'' feder ...

from 1868 to 1871 and to the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

from 1871 to 1879 and

Governor of New South Wales The governor of New South Wales is the representative of the monarch, King Charles III, in the state of New South Wales. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia, Governor-General of Australia at the national level, the governor ...

from 1879 to 1885.

Background

Loftus was born in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, England, the fourth son of

John Loftus, 2nd Marquess of Ely John Loftus, 2nd Marquess of Ely Order of St Patrick, KP (''né'' Tottenham; 15 February 1770 – 26 September 1845), styled The Honourable John Loftus from 1785 to 1794 and Viscount Loftus from 1794 to 1806, was an Anglo-Irish politician and a ...

, by Anna Maria Dashwood, daughter of

Sir Henry Dashwood, 3rd Baronet Sir Henry Watkin Dashwood, 3rd Baronet (30 August 1745 – 10 June 1828) was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1775 and 1795. Early life Dashwood was the eldest surviving son of Sir James Dashwood, 2nd ...

. He was privately educated.

Career

Loftus was appointed by

Lord Palmerston Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston (20 October 1784 – 18 October 1865), known as Lord Palmerston, was a British statesman and politician who served as prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1855 to 1858 and from 1859 to 1865. A m ...

to the diplomatic service in 1837 as attaché at

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. He was attaché at

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

in 1844. He was secretary to Sir Stratford Canning in 1848, and after serving as secretary of legation at Stuttgart (1852), and Berlin (1853), was envoy at

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

(1858), Berlin (1860) and

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

(1862). He was subsequently Ambassador at Berlin from 1865 to 1868, to the

from 1868 to 1871 and to

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

from 1871 to 1879. He then served as

from 1879 to 1885. He was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

in 1866 and sworn of the Privy Council in 1868.

Marriage and issue

Loftus married a distant cousin, Emma Maria Greville, daughter of Vice-Admiral Henry Francis Greville, in 1845. They had three sons and two surviving daughters. One of their sons would have succeeded

George Loftus, 7th Marquess of Ely George Henry Wellington Loftus, 7th Marquess of Ely (3 September 1903 – 31 May 1969), styled Viscount Loftus between 1925 and 1935, was an Irish soldier and nobleman. Loftus was born on 3 September 1903 to George Herbert Loftus, 6th Marquess of ...

(1903–1969) as the 8th Marquess of Ely, but all three predeceased their cousin. *Unnamed daughter (17 August 1846), stillborn at

Baden-Baden Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the states of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos (river), Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the ...

*Evelyn Ann Frances Loftus (4 December 1847 – 28 September 1861), died at Baden-Baden aged 13 *Henry John Loftus (8 November 1849 – 4 October 1924), married Sarah Josephine Leech, daughter of William Leech of Philadelphia *Capt. Augustus Petham Brooke Loftus (6 July 1851 – 25 March 1924), married in 1885 Ethel Adelaïde Labertouche, daughter of Peter Paul Labertouche; had one son: **Guy Alvo Greville Loftus (26 August 1899 – 7 August 1965), heir presumptive to the Marquessate of Ely from 1935 until his death *Emma Anne Caroline Bloomfield Loftus (15 February 1855 – 21 August 1937); married first in 1873 Hon. Frederick Arthur Wellesley, son of

Henry Wellesley, 1st Earl Cowley Henry Richard Charles Wellesley, 1st Earl Cowley (17 June 1804 – 15 July 1884), known as The Lord Cowley between 1847 and 1857, was a British diplomat. He served as British Ambassador to France between 1852 and 1867. Background and educat ...

(divorced 1882); married second in 1903 *Montagu Egerton Loftus (22 January 1860 – 27 November 1934), married Margaret Julia Agnes Fairfax Astell (died 1900), daughter of

John Harvey Astell John Harvey Astell (20 March 1806 – 17 January 1887) was a British Conservative politician. Astell was first elected as a Conservative MP for Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan di ...

; and secondly in 1904 Colina Marion Hale Monro Lady Augustus died in January 1902. Loftus survived her by two years and died in

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, England, in March 1904, aged 86. The town of Emmaville, New South Wales, was named after Emma in 1882.

Background

Career

Marriage and issue

References

Further reading