William Richard Hamilton

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

William Richard Hamilton (1777-1859) British antiquarian and traveller, son of Rev. Anthony Hamilton, Archdeacon of Colchester and Anne, daughter of Richard Terrick, Bishop of London.

In 1799 he was appointed chief private secretary to Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin. From 1809 to 1822 Hamilton served as Permanent Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs, and from 1822 to 1825 he was Minister and Envoy Plenipotentiary at the Kingdom of Naples. In 1830 he succeeded Sir Thomas Lawrence as Secretary of the Society of Dilettanti, a post which he held until his death in 1859.