Sir William Fraser, 4th Baronet
Encyclopedia
Sir William Augustus Fraser, 4th Baronet of Leadclune
Baronet of Leadclune
The Baronetcy of Ledeclune in the county of Inverness, Scotland was created in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom on 27 November 1806 for Alexander Fraser. The third Baronet served with the 7th Hussars in Spain during the Peninsular War, and was on the staff of the Duke of Wellington during the...

 (10 February 1826 – 17 August 1898), English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

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

, author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...

 and collector, was born the son of Sir James Fraser
James John Fraser
Sir James John Fraser, 3rd Baronet of Leadclune was a Lieutenant-Colonel in the British Army .Fraser was descended from Alexander Fraser, second son of Hugh Fraser, 1st Lord Lovat , and was the second son of Sir William 1st Baronet, F.R.S...

, a colonel of the 7th Hussars, who had served on Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...

's staff at Waterloo
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...

.

Fraser was the eldest son of Sir James Fraser, 3rd Baronet. He was educated at Eton
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....

 and at Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...

, graduating B.A. and M.A. In 1847 he was appointed an officer in the 1st Life Guards, but retired with a captain's rank in 1852. He then set about entering parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...

, and the ups and downs of his political career were rather remarkable. He was returned for Barnstaple
Barnstaple (UK Parliament constituency)
Barnstaple was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Barnstaple in Devon, in the South West of England. It returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom until 1885, when its representation was reduced to one member.The constituency...

 in 1852, but the election was declared void on account of bribery
Bribery
Bribery, a form of corruption, is an act implying money or gift giving that alters the behavior of the recipient. Bribery constitutes a crime and is defined by Black's Law Dictionary as the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official or...

, and the constituency was disfranchised for two years.

At the election of 1857 Sir William, who had meantime been defeated at Harwich
Harwich (UK Parliament constituency)
Harwich was a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Until its abolition for the 2010 general election it elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....

, was again returned at Barnstaple
Barnstaple (UK Parliament constituency)
Barnstaple was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Barnstaple in Devon, in the South West of England. It returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom until 1885, when its representation was reduced to one member.The constituency...

. He was, however, defeated in 1859, but was elected in 1863 at Ludlow
Ludlow (UK Parliament constituency)
Ludlow is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....

. This seat he held for only two years, when he was again defeated and did not re-enter parliament until 1874, when he was returned for Kidderminster
Kidderminster (UK Parliament constituency)
Kidderminster was a parliamentary constituency in Worcestershire, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post voting system.-History:...

, a constituency he represented for six years, when be retired. He was a familiar figure at the Carlton Club
Carlton Club
The Carlton Club is a gentlemen's club in London which describes itself as the "oldest, most elite, and most important of all Conservative clubs." Membership of the club is by nomination and election only.-History:...

, always ready with a copious collection of anecdotes of Wellington, Disraeli and Napoleon III.

He was an assiduous collector of relics; and his library was sold for some £20,000. He died in Westminster
Westminster
Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...

aged 72.

Further reading

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