Sir William Houston, 1st Baronet

For other people named William Houston, see William Houston (disambiguation).
Sir William Houston
Born 10 August 1766
Died 8 April 1842
Bromley Hill, Kent
Buried at Carshalton, Surrey
Allegiance United Kingdom United Kingdom
Service/branch British Army
Rank General
Battles/wars French Revolutionary Wars
Peninsular War
Awards Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Guelphic Order

General Sir William Houston, 1st Baronet GCB GCH (10 August 1766 8 April 1842) was a General in the British Army and the Governor of Gibraltar.

Military career

Houston was commissioned into the 31st (Huntingdonshire) Regiment of Foot in 1781.[1] He commanded the 58th Regiment of Foot at the Capture of Minorca in 1798.[2] Later he commanded a Brigade at the Siege of Alexandria.[2] He also commanded the 7th Division during the Battle of Fuentes de Onoro in 1811 and the Battle of Badajoz in 1812.[2] He became Lieutenant-Governor of Portsmouth and General Officer Commanding South-West District in January 1814.[3]

Houston was Governor of Gibraltar from 8 April 1831 to 28 February 1835.[2] He set up the first official free school on Flat Bastion Road in Gibraltar whilst he was governor in 1832.[4] By the end of his career in the British Army he became a General in 1837.[5]

From 1825 to the accession of Queen Victoria in 1837 he served as a Groom of the Bedchamber to both King George IV and King William IV.[6]

On 5 November 1808 he married Lady Jane Maitland, the fourth daughter of James Maitland, 7th Earl of Lauderdale. He died at Bromley Hill on 8 April 1842 and was interred in the catacombs at West Norwood Cemetery.[7]

References

  1. The London Gazette: no. 12210. p. 1. 28 July 1781. Retrieved 2010-02-02.
  2. 1 2 3 4 William Houston at Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
  3. The London Gazette: no. 16851. p. 262. 1 February 1814.
  4. Dundas, Susan Irene (2000). "Methodism in Gibraltar and its mission in Spain, 1769-1842,". Durham etheses. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
  5. The London Gazette: no. 19456. p. 63. 10 January 1837. Retrieved 2010-02-02.
  6. "Court officers" (PDF). Retrieved 25 April 2016.
  7. West Norwood Cemetery, Burial register index & purchase register, Catacomb No.16H

Sources

Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Military offices
Preceded by
Sir Thomas Maitland
GOC South-West District
January 1814 – September 1814
Succeeded by
Lord Howard
Preceded by
Sir John Stuart
Colonel of the 20th (the East Devonshire)
Regiment of Foot

18151842
Succeeded by
Sir James Burns
Government offices
Preceded by
George Don
(acting)
Governor of Gibraltar
(acting)

1831–1835
Succeeded by
Sir Alexander Woodford
Baronetage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
New creation
Baronet
1836–1842
Succeeded by
George Houstoun-Boswall


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