What is Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington?
{{Infobox officeholder | name = The Duke of Wellington | image = Sir Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington.png | caption = The Duke of Wellington, by [[Thomas Lawrence|Sir Thomas Lawrence]]. Painted in 1814, a few months before the [[Battle of Waterloo]] | order = [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom]] | term_start1 = 22 January 1828 | term_end1 = 16 November 1830 | term_start2 = 17 November 1834 | term_end2 = 9 December 1834 | predecessor1 = [[Frederick John Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich|The Viscount Goderich]] | predecessor2 = [[William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne|The Viscount Melbourne]] | successor1 = [[Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey|The Earl Grey]] | successor2 = [[Robert Peel|Sir Robert Peel]] | birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1769|5|1}} | birth_place = [[Dublin]] | death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1852|9|14|1769|5|1}} | death_place = [[Walmer]], [[Kent]] | party = [[Tory]] | honorific_prefix = His Grace | honorific_suffix = [[KG]] [[GCB]] [[Privy Council of the United Kingdom|PC]] }} [[Field Marshal]] '''Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington''', [[Order of the Garter|KG]], [[Order of the Bath|GCB]], [[Royal Guelphic Order|GCH]], [[Privy Council of the United Kingdom|PC]], [[Royal Society|FRS]] (1 May 1769–14 September 1852) was a [[soldier]] and [[statesman]]. He was one of the leading [[military]] and [[political]] figures of 19th-century [[United Kingdom|Britain]]. His defeat of [[Napoleon]] at the [[Battle of Waterloo]] in 1815 put him in the top rank of Britain's military heroes. In 2002 he was number 15 in the [[BBC]]'s poll of the 100 Greatest Britons. Wellesley was born in [[Dublin]], [[Ireland]], into a wealthy Anglo-Irish aristocratic [[Protestant]] family. Starting as an [[Ensign (rank)|ensign]] in the [[British Army]], he served well in [[British India]] and in the [[Napoleonic Wars]], mostly in the [[Peninsular War]], in which he reached the rank of [[Field Marshal]]. He became a duke when Napoleon was exiled to [[Elba]]. Wellington is often compared to the [[John Churchil