Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma

Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma , 1900-1979, British admiral; great-grandson of Queen Victoria and uncle of Philip Mountbatten, duke of Edinburgh . He entered the navy as a cadet in 1913 and saw service as a midshipman in World War I. At the outbreak of World War II he was a commander in the dangerous destroyer service until he returned to England to become adviser to and later director (1942-43) of combined operations; he directed the commando raids upon Norway and France. In 1943 he was appointed to head the Southeast Asia Command and commanded Allied operations against the Japanese in Burma. As the last British viceroy of India (1947) he concluded the negotiations for independence and the creation of the states of India and Pakistan. He then served briefly (1947-48) as governor-general of the dominion of India. He was created an earl in 1947. As chief of the defense staff (1959-65), he worked to integrate the various branches of the armed forces. He became governor (1965) of the Isle of Wight and then lord lieutenant (1974). In 1979 he was assassinated by terrorists affiliated with the Irish Republican Army.

Bibliography: See D. Butler, Lord Mountbatten: The Last Viceroy (1986); P. Ziegler, Mountbatten (1986); A. von Tunzelmann, Indian Summer: The Secret History of the End of an Empire (2007).

Mountbatten, Louis (Francis Albert Victor Nicholas), 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (1900–79) British admiral and administrator. A great-grandson of Queen Victoria, Mountbatten served in the Royal Navy before rising to become supreme Allied commander in SE Asia (1943–45). As the last viceroy (1947) and first Governor-General of India (1947–48), he oversaw the independence of India and Pakistan. He was killed by an IRA bomb while on his yacht in Ireland.

Mountbatten, Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (1900–79). Naval commander and statesman. Mountbatten was born to a family closely related to the house of Windsor. After a spectacular career in the navy, in April 1942 he was made commander of combined operations against occupied Europe. In August 1943 he became supreme allied commander for south‐east Asia and led the campaign to recover Burma and Malaya from the Japanese. In December 1946 he was appointed the last viceroy of India to oversee the transfer of power, which took place on 15 August 1947. He was chief of the defence staff from 1959 to 1965. He was murdered in Ireland by the IRA.