Editing King's College London (section)

==== Duel in Battersea Fields, 21 March 1829 ====
{{Further|Wellington–Winchilsea duel}}
[[File:Sir Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington.png|[[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington]] and then [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|prime minister]], fought a duel against the [[George Finch-Hatton, 10th Earl of Winchilsea|Earl of Winchilsea]] in 1829 over the Duke's support for the rights of Irish Catholics and the independence of the newly established King's College London|thumb|upright|left]]

The simultaneous support of [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington]] (who was also [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom]] then), for an Anglican King's College London and the [[Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829|Roman Catholic Relief Act]], which was to lead to the granting of almost full civil rights to Catholics, was challenged by [[George Finch-Hatton, 10th Earl of Winchilsea]], in early 1829. Winchilsea and his supporters wished for King's to be subject to the [[Test Acts]], like the universities of [[University of Oxford|Oxford]], where only members of the Church of England could [[Matriculation#United Kingdom|matriculate]], and [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge]], where non-Anglicans could matriculate but not graduate,<ref name=":4">{{cite web |url=http://beginnings.ioe.ac.uk/begskings.html |title=Beginnings: The History of Higher Education in Bloomsbury and Westminster – King's College London |publisher=[[Institute of Education]] |access-date=13 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131007235307/http://beginnings.ioe.ac.uk/begskings.html |archive-date=7 October 2013 |url-status=dead }} "Londoners who did study, for example in Oxford or Cambridge, had to be quite rich and also members of the Anglican Church."</ref> but this was not Wellington's intent.<ref name=":5">{{cite web |url=http://alumni.kcl.ac.uk/page.aspx?pid=2723 |title=The famous Duel |publisher=King's College London|access-date=13 February 2013}}</ref>

Winchilsea and about 150 other contributors withdrew their support of King's College London in response to Wellington's support of [[Catholic emancipation]]. In a letter to Wellington, he accused the Duke to have in mind "insidious designs for the infringement of our liberty and the introduction of Popery into every department of the State".<ref name="Holmes275">Holmes (2002), p. 275</ref> The letter provoked a furious exchange of correspondence and Wellington accused Winchilsea of imputing him with "disgraceful and criminal motives" in setting up King's College London. When Winchilsea refused to retract the remarks, Wellington – by his own admission, "no advocate of duelling" and a virgin duellist – demanded satisfaction in a contest of arms: "I now call upon your lordship to give me that satisfaction for your conduct which a gentleman has a right to require, and which a gentleman never refuses to give."<ref name="duelexhibtion">{{cite web |url=http://www.kingscollections.org/exhibitions/archives/wellington/duel/insult |title=Winchilsea insults Wellington |publisher=King's College London College Archives|access-date=13 February 2013}}</ref>

The result was a [[duel]] in [[Battersea Park|Battersea Fields]] on 21 March 1829.<ref name="Foundation" /><ref name="dueldayqa">{{cite web |url=http://alumni.kcl.ac.uk/document.doc?id=41 |title=Duel Day – Questions and Answers |publisher=King's College London|access-date=9 February 2013}}</ref> Winchilsea did not fire, a plan he and his second almost certainly decided upon before the duel; Wellington took aim and fired wide to the right. Accounts differ as to whether Wellington missed on purpose. Wellington, noted for his poor aim, claimed he did, other reports more sympathetic to Winchilsea claimed he had aimed to kill.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://kingscollections.org/exhibitions/archives/wellington/duel/fire |title=Open Fire! |publisher=King's College London College Archives |access-date=13 February 2013}}</ref> Honour was saved and Winchilsea wrote Wellington an apology.<ref name="Holmes275" /> "Duel Day" is still celebrated on the first Thursday after 21 March every year, marked by various events throughout King's, including reenactments.<ref name="dueldayqa" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/news_details.php?news_id=539&year=2007 |title=Alumni celebrate Duel Day |publisher=King's College London |year=2007|access-date=23 January 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121001180633/http://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/news_details.php?news_id=539&year=2007|archive-date=1 October 2012 }}</ref>