Sir Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (May 1, 1769 - September 14, 1852) was a British soldier, statesman and military leader who served as Prime Minister of Britain from 1828 - 1830. He was one of the leaders of the coalition against Napoleon Bonaparte's conquest of Europe during the Napoleonic Wars, and was ultimately one of those responsible for winning and ending the wars with his decisive defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. As Prime Minister Wellesley oversaw the emancipation of Catholics in Britain, before losing a confidence vote in 1830 over his opposition to electoral reform. He briefly served as Prime Minister again in 1834 during a three-week interim before being succeeded by Robert Peel.
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Portrait of Arthur Wellesley, 1815-16, by Thomas Lawrence.
The only known photograph of Arthur Wellesley, 1844.