The Lord Napier of Magdala | |
---|---|
Birth name | Robert Cornelis Napier |
Born | Colombo, British Ceylon | 6 December 1810
Died | 14 January 1890 London, England, UK | (aged 79)
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Branch | British Indian Army |
Service years | 1828–1890 |
Rank | Field marshal |
Commands | Bombay Army |
Wars | |
Alma mater | Addiscombe Military Seminary |
Field Marshal Robert Cornelis Napier, 1st Baron Napier of Magdala GCB GCSI FRS (6 December 1810 – 14 January 1890) was a British Indian Army officer. He fought in the First Anglo-Sikh War and the Second Anglo-Sikh War before seeing action as chief engineer during the second relief of Lucknow in March 1858 during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. He also served in the Second Opium War as commander of the 2nd division of the expeditionary force which took part in the Battle of Taku Forts, the surrender of Peking's Anting Gate and the entry to Peking in 1860. He subsequently led the punitive expedition to Abyssinia in July 1867, defeating the Emperor Tewodros II of Ethiopia with minimal loss of life among his own forces and rescuing the hostages of Tewodros.