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, 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 naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

, 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 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 ...

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

Calne Calne () is a town and Civil parishes in England, 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 ...

1831–32, then Tavistock 1832–35. He briefly represented

Stroud Stroud is a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District. The town's population was 13,500 in 2021. Sited below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills, at the meeting point of the ...

in 1835, but resigned that seat so Lord John Russell could contest it. He was elected as a Member of Parliament for the east London constituency of Tower Hamlets in 1841 and served until 1847. Fox was Surveyor-General of the Ordnance in 1841 and 1846–52. He was promoted Major-General on 9 November 1846,

Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was normall ...

on 20 June 1854, and

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

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 Whig (British political party) 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 the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Calne Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Tavistock