Background
He was born George Hamilton-Gordon, on January 28, 1784, at Edinburgh, the son of George, Lord Haddo, and grandson of the third earl.
He was born George Hamilton-Gordon, on January 28, 1784, at Edinburgh, the son of George, Lord Haddo, and grandson of the third earl.
Aberdeen attended Harrow and Cambridge and traveled abroad after the Peace of Amiens of 1802.
Orphaned at an early age he was brought up by his guardians, William Pitt the Younger and Lord Melville.
In 1813, Aberdeen accepted a special mission to Austria to secure Austrian cooperation in the war against Napoleon.
He negotiated and signed a treaty of alliance at Toplitz and participated in the peace negotiations that followed the four-day battle of Leipzig (Battle of the Nations, October 1813).
In 1829, a year before the end of the War of Greek Independence (from Turkey), Aberdeen successfully pressed the cabinet to recognize Greek independence.
After the 1830 July Revolution in France he also prevailed upon a reluctant Wellington to recognize King Louis Philippe. Aberdeen was out of office for most of the 1830's.
In 1841 he resumed the post of foreign secretary in Peel's second ministry and followed a policy of entente (understanding) with France, avoiding the danger of war in a dispute over Tahiti.
Under Aberdeen's direction, also, the outstanding boundary differences with the United States were finally terminated by the Webster-Ashburton and Oregon Treaties (1842 and 1846).
Although not a great foreign secretary or prime minister, Lord Aberdeen was a man of considerable learning and integrity, respected by his contemporaries.
He was survived by his heir, Lord Haddo, and three younger sons.
In 1805, he married Lady Catherine Elizabeth, daughter of John Hamilton, 1st Marquess of Abercorn. He lost his first wife in 1818, his second wife in 1833, and three daughters before they had come of age.
