Law, Edward, 1st earl of Ellenborough

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Law, Edward, 1st earl of Ellenborough (1790–1871). Law succeeded his father, a distinguished lord chief justice and 1st baron, in 1818. Elected to Parliament in 1813 as a Tory, he had a long and varied political career. He held the privy seal in Wellington's government 1828–9; was president of the Board of Control for India 1828–30, and on three later occasions for short periods; governor-general of India 1841–4; and 1st lord of the Admiralty in 1846. He was raised to the earldom in 1844 when he returned from India. His term of office as governor-general was dominated by the first China War, the winding-up of the ill-fated Afghan campaign, and the annexation of Sind. A forceful and effective speaker, Ellenborough was thought to be extravagant, theatrical, and overbearing, and his career in office ended in 1858 during Derby's ministry when, as president of the Board of Control, he dispatched an indiscreet letter censuring the governor-general, Lord Canning, and was forced to resign.

J. A. Cannon

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Edward Law 1st earl of Ellenborough

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