Page:Dictionary of National Biography. Sup. Vol III (1901).djvu/402

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Vaughan
388
Victor

V

VAUGHAN, HENRY (1809–1899), art collector, son of George Vaughan and Elizabeth Andrews, his wife, was born on 17 April 1809 in Southwark, where his father carried on a successful business as a hat manufacturer. He was privately educated, and in 1828, on the death of his father, succeeded to a large fortune. He travelled much and became a cultivated and enthusiastic collector of works of art, both ancient and modern, with a special predilection for the works of Turner, Stothard, Flaxman, and Constable. Of water-colour drawings by Turner, with whom he was personally acquainted, he formed a singularly fine series, and also of proofs of his 'Liber Studiorum.' He was elected a member of the Athenæum Club in 1849, and F.S.A. in 1879. He was one of the founders and most active members of the Burlington Fine Arts Club, and a constant contributor to its exhibitions. In 1886 he presented the celebrated 'Hay Wain' of Constable to the National Gallery, and in 1887 some fine drawings by Michel Angelo to the British Museum. He died, unmarried, at 28 Cumberland Terrace, Regent's Park, where he had resided since 1834, on 26 April 1899. By his will Vaughan distributed the whole of his art collections among public institutions, the list of his specific bequests occupying more than thirty folios (Times, 3 Jan. 1900). To the National Gallery he left his oil paintings, a series of Turner's original drawings for 'Liber Studiorum,' and studies by Reynolds, Leslie, and Constable. The British Museum received his drawings by old masters; a large collection of studies by Flaxman and finished water-colours by Stothard and other English artists; also such of the 'Liber Studiorum' proofs as might be required. To the Victoria and Albert Museum he assigned his collections of stained glass and carved panels, and several drawings by Turner. The remainder of the Turner drawings he divided between the National Gallery of Ireland and the Royal Institution for the Encouragement of the Fine Arts, Edinburgh. Some drawings by Flaxman, Stothard, and De Wint, the etchings by Rembrandt, and the remainder of the 'Liber Studiorum' went to University College, London. Vaughan bequeathed the bulk of his fortune to charitable and religious societies.

[Times, 27 Nov. 1899, 3 Jan. 1900, and 8 May 1901; Athenæum, 1899, ii. 767; private information.]

F. M. O'D.


VICTOR FERDINAND FRANZ EUGEN GUSTAF ADOLF CONSTANTIN FRIEDRICH of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, Prince, for many years known as Count Gleichen (1833–1891), admiral and sculptor, was third and youngest son of Prince Ernest of Hohenlohe-Langenburg and of Princess Féodore, only daughter of Emich Charles, reigning Prince of Leiningen, by Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, afterwards Duchess of Kent. His mother was therefore half-sister to Queen Victoria. Born at the castle of Langenburg in Würtemberg on 11 Nov. 1833, Prince Victor was sent to school at Dresden, from which he ran away. Through the interest of Queen Victoria he was put into the British navy, entering as a midshipman on H.M.S. Powerful in 1848. He served in H.M.S. Cumberland, the flagship of Admiral Sir George Seymour on the North American station. During the expedition to the Baltic in 1854 he was slightly wounded at Bomarsund. He was next appointed to H.M.S. St. Jean d'Acre off Sevastopol, and afterwards transferred to the naval brigade, doing duty in the trenches. As aide-de-camp to Sir Harry Keppel he was present at the battle of the Tchernaya, and was distinguished for his bravery under fire. In 1856 he was appointed flag-lieutenant to Sir Harry Keppel in China, and took a prominent part in the fighting, being recommended for the Victoria Cross. Repeated illness, however, undermined his constitution, and prevented him from earning fresh distinction in the navy. He was compelled for this reason to retire on half-pay in 1866. He was created a K.C.B. in 1867, and appointed by the queen to be governor and constable of Windsor Castle. On 26 Jan. 1861 Prince Victor married Laura Williamina, youngest daughter of Admiral Sir George Francis Seymour [q. v.] By an old law in Germany, relating to reigning families, Prince Victor's wife, not being of equal rank, was disqualified from using her husband's title. In consequence Prince Victor assumed the title of Count Gleichen, the second title in the family, by which he was known for many years. After he retired from the navy Count Gleichen devoted himself to an artistic career, for which he had considerable talent. Being fond of