From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
British Army officer and Member of Parliament
Lieutenant-General
William Keppel
(5 November 1727 – March 1782) was a British Army officer and Member of Parliament.
Life
[
edit
]
He was born the third son of
Willem van Keppel, 2nd Earl of Albemarle
, and educated at
Westminster school
.
He joined the British Army as an Ensign in the
2nd Foot Guards
in 1744, and was promoted to the rank of
lieutenant
in 1745. He transferred as captain-lieutenant to the
1st Foot Guards
in 1751, and was promoted captain and lieutenant-colonel in 1752 and a colonel of the Army in 1760. On 17 December 1761 he was appointed colonel of the
56th Regiment of Foot
, which he commanded until 1765. He was made major-general in 1762.
[1]
In 1762, he took part (with his brothers the
Earl of Albemarle
and
Hon. Augustus Keppel
) in the
British expedition against Cuba
, and directed the storming of
Morro Castle
.
[2]
In 1763, he succeeded Albemarle as British
Governor of Cuba
. The island was returned to
Spain
in July 1763.
[3]
On 31 May 1765, he was appointed colonel of the
14th Regiment of Foot
,
[3]
which he commanded until 1775, during which time he was elevated to lieutenant-general (1772).
From 1767 until his death, he was a Member of Parliament for
Chichester
.
[1]
He was
Commander-in-Chief, Ireland
in 1773. On 18 October 1775 he was appointed colonel of the
12th Royal Lancers
, which he commanded until his death. He was
Gentleman of the Horse
to King
George III
of Great Britain and died unmarried in 1782.
[4]
References
[
edit
]
|
---|
International
| |
---|
National
| |
---|
People
| |
---|