| The Right Honourable The Lord Hardinge of Penshurst KG GCB GCSI GCMG GCIE GCVO ISO PC |
|
|---|---|
| Viceroy of India | |
| In office 23 November 1910 – 4 April 1916 |
|
| Monarch | George V |
| Preceded by | The Earl of Minto |
| Succeeded by | The Lord Chelmsford |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 20 June 1858 |
| Died | 2 August 1944 Penshurst, Kent |
| Nationality | British |
| Spouse(s) | Winifred Selina Sturt Hardinge |
| Alma mater | Trinity College, Cambridge |
Charles Hardinge, 1st Baron Hardinge of Penshurst, KG, GCB, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, GCVO, ISO, PC (20 June 1858 – 2 August 1944) was a British diplomat and statesman who served as Viceroy of India from 1910 to 1916.
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Hardinge was the second son of Charles Hardinge, 2nd Viscount Hardinge, and the grandson of Henry Hardinge, 1st Viscount Hardinge, a former Governor-General of India. He was educated at Harrow School[1] and Trinity College, Cambridge.[2]
Hardinge entered the diplomatic service in 1880, was appointed first secretary at Tehran in 1896 and first secretary at Saint Petersburg in 1898 when he was promoted over the heads of seventeen of his seniors. After a brief stint as Assistant Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs he became Ambassador to Russia in 1904. In 1906 he was promoted to the position of Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign Office, and despite his own conservatism, worked closely with Liberal Foreign Secretary Sir Edward Grey. In 1907 he declined the post of Ambassador to the United States. In 1910 Hardinge was raised to the peerage as Baron Hardinge of Penshurst, in the County of Kent, and appointed by the Asquith government as Viceroy of India.
His tenure was a memorable one, seeing the visit of King George V and the Delhi Durbar of 1911, as well as the move of the capital from Calcutta to New Delhi in 1912. Although Hardinge was the target of assassination attempts by Indian nationalists, his tenure generally saw better relations between the British administration and the nationalists, thanks to the implementation of the Morley-Minto reforms of 1909, Hardinge's own admiration for Mohandas Gandhi, and criticism of the South African government's anti-Indian immigration policies.
Hardinge's efforts paid off in 1914 during the First World War. Due to improved colonial relationships, Britain was able to deploy nearly all of the British troops in India as well as many native Indian troops to areas outside of India. In particular the British Indian Army was able to play a significant role in the Mesopotamian campaign[3]
In 1916, Hardinge returned to his former post in England as Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign Office, serving with Arthur Balfour. In 1920 he became ambassador to France before his retirement in 1922.
He married his cousin Winifred Selina Sturt CI on 17 Apr 1890, the 2nd daughter of Henry Gerard [Sturt], 1st Baron Alington, by his first wife Lady Augusta Bingham, 1st dau. of George Charles [Bingham], 3rd Earl of Lucan. The couple had a daughter, the Hon Diamond Hardinge and son Alexander Hardinge (1894–1960), who succeeded him as Baron Hardinge of Penshurst. Lady Hardinge died on 11 July 1914. Lord Hardinge of Penshurst died in Penshurst, Kent, on 2 August 1944, aged 86.
Lady Hardinge, Winifred Selina Sturt Hardinge (1868-1914), was the first to take initiative for starting a medical college for women in Delhi, when the capital shifted from Calcutta, she laid foundation stone of the college, on 17th March 1914, and to commemorate the visit of Queen Mary in 1911-12, it was named 'Queen Mary College & Hospital'. Lady Haridinge was actively involved in collecting funds for the institution of princely states and public, unfortunately she died in late 1914. The college was eventually inaugurated on 7 February 1916 by Viceroy Hardinge. On the suggestion of Queen Mary, the college and the hospital was named after Lady Harding, as Lady Hardinge Medical College.[4]
| Government offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by The Earl of Minto |
Viceroy of India 1910–1916 |
Succeeded by The Lord Chelmsford |
| Diplomatic posts | ||
| Preceded by Charles Stewart Scott |
British Ambassador to Russia 1904–1906 |
Succeeded by Sir Arthur Nicolson |
| Preceded by The Lord Sanderson |
Permanent Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs 1906–1910 |
Succeeded by Sir Arthur Nicolson |
| Preceded by Sir Arthur Nicolson |
Permanent Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs 1916–1920 |
Succeeded by Eyre Crowe |
| Preceded by The Earl of Derby |
British Ambassador to France 1920–1922 |
Succeeded by The Marquess of Crewe |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by New Creation |
Baron Hardinge of Penshurst 1910–1944 |
Succeeded by Alexander Hardinge |