Charles Richard Vaughan
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Sir Charles Richard Vaughan, GCH, PC, (20 December 1774 – 15 June 1849) was a British diplomat.


Early life and education

Vaughan born at
Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...
, the son of James Vaughan, a physician, and his wife, Hester ''née'' Smalley. His brothers were Sir Henry Halford (Vaughan), physician to the royal family and President of the Royal College of Physicians, who took the name Halford in line with a family inheritance; Sir John Vaughan, a Baron of the Exchequer; and
Peter Vaughan Peter Ewart Ohm (4 April 1923 – 6 December 2016), known professionally as Peter Vaughan, was an English actor known for many supporting roles in British film and television productions. He also acted extensively on stage. Vaughan played Gr ...
, Warden of
Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 126 ...
. Vaughan 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 ...
, where he entered on 22 January 1788, and at
Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 126 ...
, matriculating on 26 October 1791. He graduated BA in 1796 and MA in 1798, in which year he was also elected a fellow of
All Souls College, Oxford All Souls College (official name: The College of All Souls of the Faithful Departed, of Oxford) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full me ...
.


Medical studies and subsequent travels

He intended to follow the medical profession, attending lectures in both
Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
and London, and took the degree of MB in 1800. He was, however, elected Radcliffe Travelling Fellow on 4 December 1800, and spent the next three years in Germany, France, and Spain. In 1804, he visited
Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
,
Asia Minor Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...
, and
Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
. The following year, he made his way from
Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...
to
Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
, fell ill near the
Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, described as the List of lakes by area, world's largest lake and usually referred to as a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia: east of the Caucasus, ...
, and was indebted perhaps for his life to the kindness of some Russian officers. With them, he sailed for the
Volga The Volga (, ) is the longest river in Europe and the longest endorheic basin river in the world. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchment ...
in November, was shut out by the ice, and had to spend the winter on the desert island of Kulali, but eventually arrived at
Astrakhan Astrakhan (, ) is the largest city and administrative centre of Astrakhan Oblast in southern Russia. The city lies on two banks of the Volga, in the upper part of the Volga Delta, on eleven islands of the Caspian Depression, from the Caspian Se ...
in April 1806, reaching England by way of
St 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 ...
on 11 August 1806. In 1808, in a private capacity, Vaughan accompanied Charles Stuart to Spain, and was present at the assembly of the northern juntas at
Lugo Lugo (, ) is a city in northwestern Spain in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia. It is the capital of the Lugo (province), province of Lugo. The municipality had a population of 100,060 in 2024, ...
; thence he went to
Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
, and travelled to
Saragossa Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...
with Colonel Charles Doyle. On his return to Madrid, he was sent with dispatches relating to the
Battle of Tudela The Battle of Tudela (23 November 1808) saw an Imperial French army led by Marshal Jean Lannes attack a Spanish army under General Castaños. The battle resulted in the complete victory of the Imperial forces over their adversaries. The c ...
to Sir John Moore at
Salamanca Salamanca () is a Municipality of Spain, municipality and city in Spain, capital of the Province of Salamanca, province of the same name, located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is located in the Campo Charro comarca, in the ...
, and returned to England in December 1808. In 1809, he published his ''Narrative of the Siege of Zaragoza'', which reached a fifth edition within the year.


Private secretary

In 1809, Vaughan was also appointed private secretary to
Henry Bathurst, 3rd Earl Bathurst Henry Bathurst, 3rd Earl Bathurst (22 May 1762 – 27 July 1834), was a High Tory, High church, High Church Tories (British political party), Pittite. He was an MP for thirty years before ennoblement. A personal friend of William Pitt the Young ...
,
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs may refer to: * Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Spain) *Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (UK) The secretary of state for foreign, commonwealth and development affairs, also known as the fore ...
. On 5 January 1810, he became secretary of
legation A legation was a diplomatic representative office of lower rank than an embassy. Where an embassy was headed by an ambassador, a legation was headed by a minister. Ambassadors outranked ministers and had precedence at official events. Legation ...
(later of embassy) in Spain, whither he returned with the minister, Henry Wellesley. He was sent to Britain in 1811 to give information as to the state of politics in Spain. He acted as minister-plenipotentiary during the absence of his chief from August 1815 until December 1816, and his correspondence during these years throws much light on Spanish politics.


Ambassador in the United States

On 5 April 1820, he went to Paris as secretary of embassy under his old friend Sir Charles Stuart, and on 8 February 1823, became minister-plenipotentiary to the confederated states of Switzerland. He was appointed envoy-extraordinary and minister-plenipotentiary to the United States in 1825, and on 23 March, he was appointed to the Privy Council. Between 11 July and 13 August 1826, he travelled nearly 1800 miles in the United States; three years later he accomplished another long tour. From 1831 to 1833 he was on leave of absence in England, and during this time had a personal conference with the king on American affairs. In 1833 he was appointed a GCH. Ill health caused his retirement from Washington in October 1835. Though, in Sir Charles Webster's view, a man of 'no great ability', he dealt with important matters such as the Canadian boundary, the Latin American republics, the
slave trade Slave trade may refer to: * History of slavery - overview of slavery It may also refer to slave trades in specific countries, areas: * Al-Andalus slave trade * Atlantic slave trade ** Brazilian slave trade ** Bristol slave trade ** Danish sl ...
, and the tariff. On one occasion, he was fiercely reprimanded by
Canning Canning is a method of food preservation in which food is processed and sealed in an airtight container (jars like Mason jars, and steel and tin cans). Canning provides a shelf life that typically ranges from one to five years, although under ...
for exceeding instructions. Palmerston thought him 'a steady sensible man, though not very showy'.


Further travels and death

In 1835, Vaughan made a protracted tour of Europe. On 4 March 1837, he was sent on a special mission to Constantinople, and proceeded by way of
Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...
, where he heard that the mission was no longer required; he therefore went to
Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
, and thence travelled home through Italy and
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
. In such travel, he spent most of the years that were left to him. He left minute itineraries of his later journeys. He died unmarried in Hertford Street,
Mayfair Mayfair is an area of Westminster, London, England, in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. It is between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane and one of the most expensive districts ...
, London, on 15 June 1849. He is buried at
Kensal Green Cemetery Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in the Kensal Green area of North Kensington in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in London, England. Inspired by Père Lachaise Cemetery in P ...
.


References


Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vaughan, Charles Richard Alumni of Merton College, Oxford Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People educated at Rugby School 1774 births 1849 deaths Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to the United States Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Switzerland Burials at Kensal Green Cemetery