Frederick Temple Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood collection

The collection comprises of material relating to the British Tourist Expedition, 1856 to Svalbard and Jan Mayen and correspondence by Frederick

Frederick Temple Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood was born on 21 June 1826 at Florence, Italy, the son of an Irish peer, Price Blackwood, fourth baron Dufferin. He was educated at Eton College and Christ Church College, Oxford. In 1849, he was appointed lord-in-waiting to Queen Victoria, and the following year was raised to the English peerage as Baron Clandeboye, serving as a Liberal politician in the House of Lords and on a special mission to Vienna under Lord John Russell in 1855.

In 1856, Lord Dufferin organized the British Tourist Expedition, travelling to Iceland, Jan Mayen and Spitsbergen on a private cruise in the schooner yacht Foam. After the voyage, he served on several foreign missions, as special commissioner to Syria between 1859 and 1860 and as under-secretary of state for India from 1864 until 1866 when he was appointed under-secretary for war, later serving as chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster and paymaster-general. In 1871, he was created earl of Dufferin and the following year was appointed governor-general of Canada, later holding successive posts as ambassador to Russia, ambassador to Turkey and special commissioner to Egypt.

In 1884, he was appointed viceroy of India, serving until 1888 when he was created first Marquess of Dufferin and Ava and became ambassador to Italy. After serving as ambassador to France, Dufferin was appointed lord warden of the Cinque Ports and lord rector of St. Andrews University. Retiring from public service in 1896, he died on 12 February 1902 at Clandeboye, Ireland.

Published work Letters from High Latitudes; being some account of a voyage in 1856 in the schooner yacht Foam to Iceland, Jan Mayen and Spitsbergen by Frederick Temple Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood (1st Marquis of Dufferin and Ava), Oxford University Press London (1910) SPRI Library Shelf (3)91(08)[1856]

The collection is split into two sub-fonds comprising of expedition material and correspondence respectively

By appointment.

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Descriptions compiled by N. Boneham, Assistant Archivist with assistance from R. Stancombe and reference to Arctic, exploration and development c500 BC to 1915, an encyclopaedia by Clive Holland Garland Publishing, London (1994) and Exploring Polar Frontiers, a historical encyclopaedia by William Mills San Diego and Oxford, 2003 and Who was who, 1897-1916, Adam & Charles Black, London (1920) and Letters from High Latitudes; being some account of a voyage in 1856 in the schooner yacht Foam to Iceland, Jan Mayen and Spitsbergen by Frederick Temple Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood (1st Marquis of Dufferin and Ava) with an introduction by R W Macan, Oxford University Press London (1910) SPRI Library Shelf (3)91(08)[1856]

Clive Holland Manuscripts in the Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge, England - a catalogue, Garland Publishing New York and London (1982) ISBN 0824093941.

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