Diplomat and Tory MP Edward Law, 1st Earl of Ellenborough, who was Governor-General of India between 1842 and 1844, was born on this day. He had succeeded Lord Auckland as Governor-General of India.
He was president of the Board of Control for India in 1828–30 and later for periods during 1834–35 and 1841. From 1842 to 1844 he was Governor-General of India.
His two years in India were marked by war and hostilities. After the First Afghan War, he wanted to make the Indus River his frontier and keep the positions that would guarantee free navigation, but his acceptance of the Sindh Governor Sir Charles James Napier’s actions led to war with the Sindhi emirs, who were defeated and Sindh annexed.
Ellenborough started a war with Gwalior in December 1843. But in London, the directors, who found him arrogant and vain, recalled him in April 1844. Back home he was made an earl and viscount. He again served at the Board of Control but left public life after provoking a very negative reaction with his critical comment on Lord Canning’s Oudh Proclamation following the 1857 Uprising.