Henry Hozier

Sir Henry Montague Hozier (1838–1907), army officer and business administrator

1838 Born in Lanarkshire

1856 After Woolwich he joined the Royal Artillery.

Passed out of the staff college at the head of the list.

1863-5 Compiled 4 War Office manuals on topics such as the equipment of cavalry and staff corps.

As well as being an Army officer, he acted as correspondent for The Times on several campaigns.

1868 Married Eleanor Lyon (she was about 18)

1870 Appointed controller at Aldershot with the rank of honorary lieutenant-colonel.

Assistant military attaché at German army headquarters and received the Iron Cross.

Published several authoritative works on strategy and technology.

Promoted to colonel in the 3rd Dragoon Guards

But he resigned his commission, presumably because of the circumstances that led up to his subsequent divorce.

1874 Became secretary of Lloyd's. Hozier immediately reorganized its management. His system of paying cargo claims at foreign ports facilitated an expansion of business after 1886. By the 1890s he had established 40 coastal signal stations in Britain and 118 overseas that were either controlled by or allied to Lloyd's. This superior intelligence system confirmed the society as the centre of world shipping news.

1877 His wife petitioned for divorce

1878 Married Lady Henrietta Blanche Ogilvy; they had 4 children, one of whom was Clementine, future wife of Winston Churchill.

1897 Recognized the possibilities of Marconi's wireless telegraphy

1900 together with John Nevil Maskelyne (and S. G. Brown) he developed an automatic wireless beacon, which underwent trials in 1900. The results were unimpressive; Hozier tried to sell his interest to Marconi, to whom Lloyd's awarded a contract for ten wireless signalling stations in 1901. Disputes between Hozier, Marconi, and the British government persisted.

1901 Left his wife

1903 Knighted

1906 Retired from Lloyd's.

1907 Died in Panama.

See Also

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Sources of Information

• Biography, ODNB