Robert Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Earl of Lytton

His Excellency The Right Honourable The Earl of Lytton GCB GCIE PC
Earl of Lytton, c. 1890s (photograph by Nadar).
British Ambassador to France
In office 1887–1891
Monarch	Queen Victoria
Preceded by	The Viscount Lyons
Succeeded by	The Marquess of Dufferin and Ava
Viceroy and Governor-General of India
In office 12 April 1876 – 8 June 1880
Monarch	Queen Victoria
Preceded by	The Earl of Northbrook
Succeeded by	The Marquess of Ripon
Personal details
Born	8 November 1831 (1831-11-08)
Died	24 November 1891(1891-11-24) (aged 60)
Nationality	British
Political party	Conservative
Spouse	Edith Villiers
Children	7, including Victor
Parent(s)	Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton Rosina Doyle Wheeler
Education	Harrow School
Alma mater	University of Bonn

Edward Robert Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Earl of Lytton, GCB, GCSI, GCIE, PC (8 November 1831 – 24 November 1891) was an English statesman, Conservative politician and poet who used the pseudonym Owen Meredith. During his tenure as Viceroy of India between 1876 and 1880, Queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India. He served as British Ambassador to France from 1887 to 1891.

His tenure as Viceroy was controversial for its ruthlessness in both domestic and foreign affairs, especially for his handling of the Great Famine of 1876–78 and the Second Anglo-Afghan War. His policies were alleged to be informed by his Social Darwinism. His son Victor Bulwer-Lytton, 2nd Earl of Lytton, who was born in India, later served as Governor of Bengal and briefly as acting Viceroy. The senior earl was also the father-in-law of the architect Sir Edwin Lutyens, who designed New Delhi.

Lytton was a protégé of Benjamin Disraeli in domestic affairs, and of Richard Lyons, 1st Viscount Lyons, who was his predecessor as Ambassador to France, in foreign affairs. His tenure as Ambassador to Paris was successful, and Lytton was afforded the rare tribute – especially for an Englishman – of a French state funeral in Paris.