William Bonaparte-Wyse

William Bonaparte-Wyse
Born	20 January 1826 Waterford, County Waterford Ireland
Died	3 December 1892 Cannes, French Third Republic
Resting place	Cannes
Nationality	Irish and French
Occupation	Poet
Title	Captain
Spouse	Ellen Linzee Prout
Children	4 sons, including Andrew Bonaparte-Wyse
Parent(s)	Thomas Wyse Laetitia Bonaparte
Relatives	Lucien Bonaparte (maternal grandfather)

Captain William Charles Bonaparte-Wyse (20 January 1826 – 3 December 1892) was an Irish soldier and poet.

Early life

William Charles Bonaparte-Wyse was born in Waterford, the son of the politician and educational reformer Sir Thomas Wyse, and Laetitia, daughter of Lucien Bonaparte.

Career

Nicknamed lo felibre irlandés,^[1] he wrote in Provençal, was a friend of Frédéric Mistral, and became the only foreign member of the consistory of the Félibrige, the Provençal cultural association. His collection Li Parpaioun Blu (The Blue Butterflies) was published in 1868, with a foreword by Mistral. He created the Provençal dish of dried figs poached in whiskey.^[2]

Bonaparte-Wyse was appointed High Sheriff of County Waterford for 1855. He was commissioned Captain in the 9th Wiltshire Rifle Volunteer Corps in July 1866. He also served in the Waterford Artillery.

Personal life

He married in 1864, in London, Ellen Linzee Prout (1842–1925, niece of Servant of God Sister Elizabeth Prout), and they had four sons. He was the father of Permanent Secretary Andrew Nicholas Bonaparte-Wyse (1870–1940). His eldest son's godfather was Frédéric Mistral.^[3]

Death

He died, aged 66, in 1892, at Cannes, and is buried there in the Cimetière du Grand Jas.

References

1. Mistral, Frederic (1878–1886). Lou Tresor dóu Felibrige. Vol. 2 (G-Z). p. 143.
2. Toussaint-Samat, Maguelonne (1992). A History of Food. Translated by Anthea Bell. Blackwell. p. 674.
3. Austin, Lloyd James (1987). Poetic Principles and Practice: Occasional Papers on Baudelaire, Mallarmé, and Valéry. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. p. 184. ISBN 9780521327374.

Further reading

• "William Bonaparte-Wyse, un Provençal d’Irlande" edition N° 114, 1992 of La France latine, Revue d’études d’oc
• Paz, D. G. (2004). "Wyse, Sir Thomas (1791–1862)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press.
• "WyseBonaparte-, William Charles (1826–1892)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/30177. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)

External links

• Copy of Li Parpaioun Blu in Provençal and French, from the University of Provence
• Bonaparte-Wyse Papers, Collection List No. 119, National Library of Ireland
• The Library of Trinity College Dublin's Bonaparte-Wyse Collection