William Augustus Fraser

Sir William Augustus Fraser, Bart. (February 10, 1826 - August 17, 1898), English politician, author and collector, was born the son of Sir James John Fraser, 3rd baronet, a colonel of the 7th Hussars, who had served on Wellington's staff at Waterloo.

He was educated at Eton and at Christ Church, Oxford, entered the 1st Life Guards in 1847, 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 be 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 was an assiduous collector of relics; and his library was sold for some £20,000. His own books comprise Words on Wellington (1889), Disraeli and His Day (1891), Hic et Ubique (1893), Napoleon III. (1896) and the Waterloo Ball (1897).

Reference

• This entry incorporates public domain text originally from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica.