Tag: William Coutts Keppel

William Coutts Keppel, Viscount Bury, born in 1832 and educated at Eton, entered the Scots Fusilier Guards in 1849, and later became a private secretary to Lord John Russell. In 1854, he was nominated Civil Secretary and Superintendent-General of Indian Affairs for the province of Canada and entered Parliament three years later. He was appointed Treasurer of the Royal Household on the return of Lord Palmerston to office in 1859; and first elected M.P. for Norwich, as a Liberal, in April, 1857. On taking office in 1859, his re-election was declared void. In 1860 he was elected for the Wick district of Burghs – the burghs representing Cromarty, Dingwall, Dornoch, Kirkwall, Tain and Wick here in the North of Scotland -but relinquished this and at the general election of 1865 tried to win the seat of Dover where he was defeated. He was appointed Under-Secretary of State for War in succession to Lord Cadogan in March, 1878. He held that office until the Conservatives went out of office in 1880.