July 28, 1769

Sir Hudson Lowe, an Anglo-Irish soldier, was born on this day in his mother’s native city of Galway in 1769. Hudson’s father, John Lowe, was an army surgeon, so much of his childhood was spent in various garrison towns; particularly in the West Indies. In 1787, he entered his father’s regiment. Lowe is best known for his time as Governor of the colony of St. Helena and as the “gaoler” for Napoleon Bonaparte.