Sir William Augustus Fraser, 4th Bt of Leadclune

Wikipedia Biographical Summary

Sir William Augustus Fraser, 4th Baronet of Leadclune (10 February 1826 – 17 August 1898), English politician, author and collector, was born the son of Sir James Fraser, a colonel of the 7th Hussars, who had served on Wellington's staff at Waterloo.

Biography

Fraser was the eldest son of Sir James Fraser, 3rd Baronet. He was educated at Eton and at Christ Church, Oxford, graduating B.A. and M.A. In 1847 he was appointed an officer in the 1st Life Guards, but retired with a captain's rank in 1852. He then set about entering parliament, and the ups and downs of his political career were rather remarkable. He was returned for Barnstaple in 1852, but the election was declared void on account of bribery, and the constituency was disfranchised for two years.

At the election of 1857 Sir William, who had meantime been defeated at Harwich, was again returned at Barnstaple. He was, however, defeated in 1859, but was elected in 1863 at Ludlow. This seat he held for only two years, when he was again defeated and did not re-enter parliament until 1874, when he was returned for Kidderminster, a constituency he represented for six years, when he retired. He was a familiar figure at the Carlton Club, always ready with a copious collection of anecdotes of Wellington, Disraeli and Napoleon III.

He died in Westminster on 17 Aug. 1898, aged 72.

He bequeathed a large fortune to be accumulated during twenty-one years in the interest of his nephew, Sir Keith Alexander, eldest son of General James Keith Fraser, formerly colonel of the 1st life guards, who succeeded to the baronetcy. By his will dated 1 December 1886, and proved in October 1898, he further bequeathed a splendid collection of Gillray's caricatures to the House of Lords, a similar collection of H. B.'s caricatures, and a unique set of portraits of former speakers to the House of Commons ; the chairs of Thackeray and Dickens respectively to the Travellers' and Athenæum Club, Nelson's sword to the United Service Club, Byron's sofa to the Garrick, the manuscript of Gray's 'Elegy' to the Eton College library, and the Duke of Marlborough's sword to the Scots guards at St. James's Palace. The chief portion of Sir William Fraser's library was sold by auction by Messrs. Sotheby, 22 to 30 April 1901, and one thousand eight hundred and fifty-two lots fetched £20,334 18s., or far more than twice what Fraser had given for them. The chief items were extra-illustrated books and books with autograph inscriptions by distinguished persons.

SOURCE: Wikipedia contributors, 'Sir William Fraser, 4th Baronet', Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 27 December 2013, 21:18 UTC, <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sir_William_Fraser,_4th_B...> [accessed 3 January 2014]