Sir Henry George Outram Bax-Ironside, (15 November 1859 – 16 April 1929) was a British diplomat, ambassador to Venezuela, Chile, Switzerland and Bulgaria.

Career

Henry George Outram Bax was the only son of John Henry Bax, of

Houghton-le-Spring Houghton-le-Spring ( ) is a town in the Sunderland district, in Tyne and Wear, England which has its recorded origins in Norman times. Historically in County Durham, it is now administered as part of the Tyne and Wear county. It lies betw ...

, who had married Sarah Elizabeth Hughes, and in 1866 took the surname Bax-Ironside by royal warrant, when his son became Henry Bax-Ironside. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

and

Exeter College, Oxford Exeter College (in full: The Rector and Scholars of Exeter College in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, and the fourth-oldest college of the university. The college was founde ...

and joined the

Diplomatic Service Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtain diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to o ...

in 1883. He served in Copenhagen, Teheran, Vienna, Cairo, and Washington, D.C., and was briefly in charge of the Central American Legation in 1897 before being appointed Secretary of the Legation at Pekin in the same year. Bax-Ironside was First Secretary of the Legation at

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

from 1900 until late 1902, when he was appointed Minister Resident and Consul-General at Carácas, serving as such until 1907. He arrived in Venezuela in the months leading up to the

Venezuelan crisis of 1902–1903 The Venezuelan crisis of 1902–1903 was a naval blockade imposed against United States of Venezuela, Venezuela by United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Great Britain, French Third Republic, France, German Empire, Germany, and Kingdom o ...

, when the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy imposed a naval blockade against the country from December 1902 until February 1903. Shortly before the actual blockade, Bax-Ironside and other members of his legation were evacuated by a British warship. He was Minister Plenipotentiary to Chile 1907–09, Minister Plenipotentiary to Switzerland 1909–10, and Minister Plenipotentiary to Bulgaria, 1911–15. While in Bulgaria he was "His Majesty's Special Envoy Extraordinary to attend the ceremonies to be held in commemoration of the coming of age of His Royal Highness Prince Boris,

Prince of Tarnovo Prince of Tarnovo () is the title held by the firstborn son of the Bulgarian monarch and is exclusive to the heir to the throne. Veliko Tarnovo, Tarnovo (Veliko Tarnovo) served as the old Bulgarian capital and was the strongest Bulgarian fortifica ...

, Heir to the Throne of Bulgaria" in 1912. Henry Bax-Ironside was knighted KCMG in 1911.

Family

Bad-Ironside married at

St Peter and St Sigfrid's Church St Peter and St Sigfrid's Church, often referred to locally as the English Church (), is an Anglicanism, Anglican church in Stockholm, Sweden. It was built in the 1860s for the British congregation in the city and was originally located on Rörstr ...

in Stockholm on 15 September 1902 Märtha Hedwig Jacquette Gyldenstolpe (1874–1910), daughter of Swedish nobleman and courtier Count August Gustaf Ferson Gyldenstolpe (1839–1919) and his wife Hedvig Fredrike Alice Nieroth (1850–1927). Her brother was the ornithologist

Nils Carl Gustaf Fersen Gyldenstolpe Nils Carl Gustaf Fersen Gyldenstolpe (30 September 1886 – 10 April 1961) was a Swedish explorer, zoologist, and ornithologist. Born in the central Swedish province of Jämtland, he visited Lapland from 1906 to 1909 and joined the expedition of ...

. After the death of his first wife, in 1913, he married Fanny Agnes (Effie) Jardine, née Willoughby (1857 – c. 1931).Robert Scholes
E. A. Bax-Ironside
The Modernist Journals Project.

References

BAX-IRONSIDE, Sir Henry (George Outram)
''Who Was Who'', A & C Black, 1920–2016 (online edition, Oxford University Press, 2014)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bax-Ironside, Henry George Outram 1859 births 1929 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Venezuela Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Chile Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Switzerland Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Bulgaria Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George