He is among the commanders who ended the Anglo-Mysore Wars when Tipu Sultan was killed in the fourth war in and among those who ended the Napoleonic Wars in a victory when the Seventh Coalition defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in Wellesley was born into a Protestant Ascendancy family in Ireland. He was commissioned as an ensign in the British Army in , serving in Ireland as aide-de-camp to two successive lords lieutenant of Ireland. He was also elected as a member of Parliament in the Irish House of Commons.
He was appointed governor of Seringapatam and Mysore in and, as a newly appointed major-general , won a decisive victory over the Maratha Confederacy at the Battle of Assaye in Rising to prominence as a general officer during the Peninsular War , Wellesley was promoted to the rank of field marshal after leading British-led forces to victory against the French at the Battle of Vitoria in Following Napoleon's first exile in , he served as the British ambassador to France and was made Duke of Wellington.
Wellington's battle record is exemplary; he ultimately participated in some 60 battles during the course of his military career, and although not undefeated, he "never lost" a major engagement. Wellington is famous for his adaptive defensive style of warfare, resulting in several victories against numerically superior forces while minimising his own losses. He is regarded as one of the greatest commanders in the modern era , [ 3 ] and many of his tactics and battle plans are still studied in military academies around the world.
After the end of his active military career, Wellington returned to politics. He was twice British prime minister as a member of the Tory party from to and for a little less than a month in He continued to be one of the leading figures in the House of Lords until his retirement and remained Commander-in-Chief of the Forces until his death.
Wellesley was born into an aristocratic Anglo-Irish family, belonging to the Protestant Ascendancy , beginning life as The Hon. Arthur Wesley. His father was himself the son of Richard Wesley, 1st Baron Mornington , and had a short career in politics representing the constituency of Trim in the Irish House of Commons before succeeding his father as Baron Mornington in Garret Mornington was also an accomplished composer , and in recognition of his musical and philanthropic achievements was elevated to the rank of Earl of Mornington in Wellesley was the sixth of nine children born to the Earl and Countess of Mornington.
