Sir Henry George Ward GCMG

Order of St Michael and St George

The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....

 (1797–1860) was an English

English people

The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...

 diplomat

Diplomat

A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...

 and politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

. The son of politician and, in his retirement, writer Robert Ward

Robert Plumer Ward

Robert Ward or from 1828 Robert Plumer Ward , novelist and politician, born in London, educated at Oxford, and called to the Bar 1790, held various political offices, and wrote some books on the law of nations; also three novels, Tremaine, or the Man of Refinement, full of prolix discussions; De...

 (who in 1828 changed his surname by sign manual to Plumer Ward) and his first wife Catherine Julia Maling, and the cousin of William Ward

William Ward (cricketer)

William Ward was a noted English cricketer. He came from an affluent family which owned property on the Isle of Wight. He was educated at Winchester College, and then received financial training in Antwerp.-Life and career:William Ward was a prominent right-handed batsman and an occasional slow...

 and William George Ward

William George Ward

William George Ward was an English Roman Catholic theologian and mathematician whose career illustrates the development of religious opinion at a time of crisis in the history of English religious thought....

, he entered the diplomatic service in 1816. He was charge d'affaires

Chargé d'affaires

In diplomacy, chargé d’affaires , often shortened to simply chargé, is the title of two classes of diplomatic agents who head a diplomatic mission, either on a temporary basis or when no more senior diplomat has been accredited.-Chargés d’affaires:Chargés d’affaires , who were...

 in Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 from 1825 to 1827 and published two books about his travels there (illustrated by his wife Emily Elizabeth Swinburne). In 1832, he was elected as Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 (MP) for St Albans

St Albans (UK Parliament constituency)

St Albans is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Established in 1885, it is a county constituency in Hertfordshire, and elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.From 1554 to 1852 there was a...

, sitting for that seat until 1837, and then for Sheffield

Sheffield (UK Parliament constituency)

Sheffield was a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom 1832 to 1885. It elected two Members of Parliament by the bloc vote system of elections....

 from 1837 to 1849. He was First Secretary of the Admiralty

First Secretary of the Admiralty

The office of Secretary to the Admiralty or First Secretary to the Admiralty was formerly an important position within the Admiralty of the United Kingdom, which was responsible for the government of the Royal Navy....

 from 1846 to 1849, Lord High Commissioner to the Ionian Islands from 1849 to 1855, and on 11 May 1855 he became governor

Governor

A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...

 of Ceylon

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

. He succeeded Sir Charles Trevelyan

Sir Charles Trevelyan, 1st Baronet

Sir Charles Edward Trevelyan, 1st Baronet, KCB was a British civil servant and colonial administrator. As a young man, he worked with the colonial government in Calcutta, India; in the late 1850s and 1860s he served there in senior-level appointments...

 as Governor of Madras in June, 1860 but served in that capacity only for a few weeks until his death from cholera

Cholera

Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...

 on 30 June 1860. He is buried in St. Mary's Church, Madras. His eldest son, Dudley Ward, became a judge in New Zealand.

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