Lieutenant-Colonel Brinsley FitzGerald, CB (25 September 1859 – 9 February 1931) was an Anglo-Irish stockbroker.

Early life

Brinsley FitzGerald was born on 25 September 1859, the fourth son of Sir Peter FitzGerald, 1st Baronet of Valencia, 19th Knight of Kerry (1808–1880) and Julia Hussey. He was educated at

Rugby School Rugby School is a Public school (United Kingdom), private boarding school for pupils aged 13–18, located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire in England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independ ...

and

University College, Oxford University College, formally The Master and Fellows of the College of the Great Hall of the University commonly called University College in the University of Oxford and colloquially referred to as "Univ", is a Colleges of the University of Oxf ...

Career

FitzGerald worked as a

land agent Land agent may be used in at least three different contexts. Traditionally, a land agent was a managerial employee who conducted the business affairs of a large landed estate for a member of the nobility or landed gentry, supervising the farming ...

in Ireland for seven years, and from 1895 until 1918 was a member of the

London Stock Exchange The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange based in London, England. the total market value of all companies trading on the LSE stood at US$3.42 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Paul's Cath ...

, with the firm of Basil Montgomery FitzGerald and Co. He was appointed a second-lieutenant in the

West Somerset Yeomanry The West Somerset Yeomanry was a Yeomanry regiment of the British Army. First raised in 1794, it participated in the Second Boer War and World War I before being converted to an artillery regiment. It served in World War II (as two field artille ...

on 18 January 1900. Following the outbreak of the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

in late 1899, he had volunteered for active service and was attached as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

to the 25th Company of the 7th Battalion,

Imperial Yeomanry The Imperial Yeomanry was a volunteer mounted force of the British Army that mainly saw action during the Second Boer War. Created on 2 January 1900, the force was initially recruited from the middle classes and traditional yeomanry sources, but s ...

, on 24 February 1900. The company left the United Kingdom for South Africa in the SS ''Mahratta'' in early March 1900. After arrival, FitzGerald served with the company, and later as ADC to General French, for which he was mentioned in despatches and awarded the Queen's Medal with six clasps. He also served during the European War as private secretary to French in 1914, for which he was awarded the CB (in 1916), the

Legion d'Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

and the

Order of Leopold Order of Leopold may refer to: * Order of Leopold (Austria), founded in 1808 by emperor Francis I of Austria and discontinued in 1918 * Order of Leopold (Belgium), founded in 1832 by king Leopold I of Belgium * Order of Leopold II, founded in Congo ...

Personal life

In 1918, he married Margarita (née Armstrong) Drexel (1867–1948), the former wife of banker Anthony Joseph Drexel Jr., son of banker

Anthony Joseph Drexel Anthony Joseph Drexel Sr. (September 13, 1826 – June 30, 1893) was an American banker who played a major role in the rise of modern global finance after the American Civil War. As the dominant partner of Drexel Burnham Lambert, Drexel & Co. of ...

(1826–1893). Margaretta and Drexel were married from 1886 until their divorce in 1917, seven months before she wed FitzGerald. Brinsley and Margarita did not have any children, however, Drexel had four children from her previous marriage: Margaretta Drexel (the wife of

Guy Finch-Hatton, 14th Earl of Winchilsea Guy Montagu George Finch-Hatton, 14th Earl of Winchilsea and 9th Earl of Nottingham (28 May 1885 – 10 February 1939) was an English peer and banker. He was the elder brother of renowned big-game hunter Denys Finch-Hatton. His daughter marri ...

); Anthony Joseph Drexel II (who married Marjorie Gould, eldest daughter of

George Jay Gould I George Jay Gould I (February 6, 1864 – May 16, 1923) was a financier and the son of Jay Gould. He was himself a railroad executive, leading the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad (DRGW), Western Pacific Railroad (WP), and the Manhatt ...

);

John Armstrong Drexel John Armstrong Drexel (October 24, 1891 – March 4, 1958) was an American aviation pioneer who was a member of the prominent Drexel family of Philadelphia. Early life Drexel was a son of Anthony Joseph Drexel Jr. (1864–1934) and Margarita Arm ...

, aviation pioneer; and Louis Clapier Norris Drexel (who married Nancy Grayson, daughter of Sir Henry Grayson, 1st Baronet). FitzGerald lived at Ashdown Park, Ashbury, Swindon, and was a member of

White's White's is a gentlemen's club in St James's, London. Founded in 1693 as a hot chocolate shop in Mayfair, it is London's oldest club and therefore the oldest private members' club in the world. It moved to its current premises on St James's St ...

and the

Royal Yacht Squadron The Royal Yacht Squadron (RYS) is a British yacht club. Its clubhouse is Cowes Castle on the Isle of Wight in the United Kingdom. Member yachts are given the suffix RYS to their names, and are permitted (with the appropriate warrant) to we ...

, Cowes. He died on 9 February 1931.''

Who Was Who ''Who's Who'' is a reference work. It has been published annually in the form of a hardback book since 1849, and has been published online since 1999. It has also been published on CD-ROM. It lists, and gives information on, people from around ...

1929–1940'', p. 452.

References

1859 births 1931 deaths People educated at Rugby School Alumni of University College, Oxford British stockbrokers West Somerset Yeomanry officers British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British Army personnel of World War I Younger sons of baronets Companions of the Order of the Bath {{Ireland-bio-stub