Home > William Henry Waddington

He was born at St Remi-sur-l'Avre (Eure-et-Loir), the son of a wealthy Englishman who had established a large spinning factory in France and had been naturalised as a French subject. After receiving his early education in Paris, he was sent to Rugby School, and then to Trinity College, Cambridge, where he was second classic and chancellor's medallist, and rowed in the victorious Cambridge eight in the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race. Returning to France, he devoted himself for some years to archaeological research. He travelled in Asia Minor, Greece and Syria, and his experiences and discoveries were recorded in two Mémoires, crowned by the Institute, and in his Mélanges de numismatique et de philologie (1861). Except for his essay on "The Protestant Church in France," published in 1856 in Cambridge Essays, his remaining works are archaeological. They include the Pastes de I'empire romain, and editions of Diocletian's Edict on Maximum Prices and of Philippe Lebas 's Voyage archeologique (1868-1877). He was elected in 1865 a member of the Academic des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres.

After standing unsuccessfully for the départment of the AisneAisne Details Information Number02 Region Picardie Prefecture Laon Subprefectures Chateau-Thierry Vervins Saint-Quentin Soissons Population Total ( 1999) Density Ranked 46th 535,489 73 /km² Area 7,369 km² Arrondissements 5 Cantons 42 Communes 816 Presiden in 18651865 is a common year starting on Sunday. Events January 31 American Civil War: Confederate General Robert E. Lee becomes general-in-chief. February 17 American Civil War: Columbia, South Carolina burns as Confederate forces flee from advancing Union forc and 1860Events March 6 Abraham Lincoln speaks against slavery in New Haven, Connecticut April 3 The Pony Express makes its first run. May 9 The Constitutional Union Party holds its convention and nominates John Bell for President of the United States. May 13 Batt, Waddington was returned by the constituency at the election of 1871Events January January 18 The member-states of the North German Confederation unite into a single nation-state known as the German Empire. The King of Prussia is declared the first German Emperor as Wilhelm I of Germany. January 28 France surrenders to en. He was Minister of Public Instruction in the short-lived cabinet of May 19May 19 is the 139th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (140th in leap years). There are 226 days remaining. Events 1535 French explorer Jacques Cartier sets sail on his second voyage to North America with 3 ships, 110 men, and Chief Donnacona's 2 s 1873Events The United Kingdom declares war against Ghana's King Kofi KariKari, who was involved in the trading of slaves. The war ended by July and the British established the Gold Coast Colony. January 17 Indian Wars: First Battle of the Stronghold during th, and in 1876Events January events January 31 The United States orders all Native Americans to move into reservations. February events February 2 The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs of Major League Baseball is formed. February 14 Alexander Graham Bell a, having been elected senator for the Aisne, he was again entrusted by Dufaure with the Ministry of Public Instruction, with which, as a Protestant, he was not permitted to combine the ministry of public worship. His most important project, a bill transferring the conferment of degrees to the state, was passed by the Chamber, but thrown out by the Senate. He continued to hold office under Jules Simon, with whom he was overthrown on the famous seize mai ( 16 May, 1877). The triumph of the republicans at the general election brought him back to power in the following December as Minister of Foreign Affairs under Dufaure. He was one of the French plenipotentiaries at the Berlin Congress. The cession of Cyprus to the United Kingdom was at first denounced by the French newspapers as a great blow to his diplomacy, but he obtained, in a conversation with Lord Salisbury, a promise that the United Kingdom in return would allow France a free hand in Tunis.

Early in 1879 Waddington succeeded Dufaure as Prime Minister. Holding office by sufferance of Léon Gambetta, he kept peace between the radicals and the reactionaries till the delay of urgent reforms lost him the support of all parties. He was forced on December 27 to retire from office. He refused an offer to become ambassador in London, and in 1880 was reporter of the committee on the adoption of the scrutin de liste at elections, on which he delivered an adverse judgment. In 1883 he accepted the London embassy, which he continued to hold till 1893, showing an exceptional tenacity in defence of his country's interests. His wife, the American Mary A King, wrote her recollections of their diplomatic experiences--Letters of a Diplomatist's Wife, 1883-1900 (New York, 1903), and Italian Letters.

This entry was originally from the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.