Napier, Robert Cornelis, 1st Baron Napier of Magdala, 1810-90, British general. In the engineering service in India, he fought in the
Sikh Wars (1845-49) and took part in the relief of
Lucknow (1857) during the
Indian Mutiny. He was raised (1868) to the peerage following an expedition to Ethiopia in which he captured
Magdala and compelled the release of British captives. He later acted as commander in chief in India (1870-76) and as governor of Gibraltar.
Bibliography
See biography by his son, H. D. Napier (1927), and his letters (ed. by his son, 1936).