Emma Hart, later Lady Hamilton

British, 1765 - 1815

BiographyAmy (or Emy) Lyon was born on April 26, 1765 at Denhall, Chester, the only child of the blacksmith Henry Lyon, who died in her infancy, and a woman who later called herself Mrs. Cadogan. In her early teens she worked as a domestic servant at Hawarden (Wales) and London, and reportedly posed as a living illustration of ideal health and beauty for Dr. James Graham's lectures at Schomberg House, Pall Mall. In 1780 she began a liaison with Sir Harry Fetherstonehaugh (1754-1846) of Uppark, Sussex, who abandoned her when she became pregnant in 1781. Soon after, the Hon. Charles Francis Greville (1749-1809) installed her in his house near Paddington Green, London, where she lived under the name Mrs. Emma Hart. Numerous portraits resulted from her frequent visits to the studio of George Romney, to whom Greville introduced her in April 1782. In March 1786 Greville sent her (along with her mother) to Italy to live with his uncle Sir William Hamilton (1730-1803), British envoy at Naples. She gained renown for her striking beauty, wide-ranging interests, and the "Attitudes" she performed in imitation of the poses of classical painting and statuary. In May 1791 Emma Hart visited London with Hamilton and immediately recommenced her regular appointments with Romney until September 6, the day she and Hamilton were wed. Two days later they returned to Naples, where she became the trusted confidante of Queen Maria Carolina. From 1793 the British naval hero Horatio Nelson became an intimate friend of the Hamiltons and following his victorious battle of the Nile in August 1798, he and Lady Hamilton began an affair. Their daughter, Horatia Nelson Thompson, was born on January 30, 1801. They accompanied Hamilton to England when he was recalled in 1800, and following his death in 1803 they lived together at Merton, Surrey. Nelson died in 1805 at the Battle of Trafalgar. Emma's longstanding habits of gambling and luxury soon exhausted the bequests of both men, and she was imprisoned for debt from 1813-14. On her release, she settled in Calais, France, where she died on January 15, 1815.

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