The British soldier and statesman Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (1769-1852), was one of the pacifiers of British India, an important architect of the downfall of Napoleon I, and a major political figure.

The third son of the Earl of Mornington, Arthur Wellesley was born in Dublin, Ireland, on or about May 1, 1769. He was educated at Eton, in Brussels, and at Angers Military Academy. In 1787 he became a lieutenant of foot and aide-de-camp to the lord lieutenant of Ireland. From 1790 he was for five years a member of the Irish Parliament. In 1793, at the age of 24, he purchased a lieutenant colonelcy in the 33d Foot, whose colonel he became in 1806. In 1794 Wellesley participated in the Netherlands campaign, during which he was so struck by the inefficiency of British officers that the next year he began the serious study of warfare.

From 1797 to 1804 Wellesley was the commanding officer...