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Lord (Robert Stewart) Castlereagh
1769-1822 Born in Dublin. Elected to the Irish Parliament in 1790 and later to Westminster. He gave up his seat and returned to Dublin where he became Chief Secretary. He harshly crushed the 1798 rebellion. He brought about the Act of Union of 1800. He pursued his career at Westminster and became secretary for war in 1805 and Foreign Secretary in 1812. He was extremely aloof, considering himself socially superior to his intellectual equals and intellectually superior to his social equals. He eventually committed suicide, cutting his throat with a penknife. His death was not met with much sympathy. Even his coffin was jeered on its final journey. He is buried in London I met murder on the way He had a mask like Castlereagh Very smooth he looked yet grim Seven bloodhounds followed him (Shelley) So he has cut his throat at last! He? Who? The man who cut his country’s long ago.(Byron)
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