Algernon Betram Freeman-Mitford, 1st Baron Redesdale was born in 1837 in London. He was educated at Eton College and Christ Church College, Oxford. In 1858, he joined the Foreign Office, serving in Russia, China and Japan until his resignation in 1873. The following year, he was appointed secretary to the Board of Works, a position he held until 1886. Between 1892 and 1895 he served as Member of Parliament for the Stratford-on-Avon division of Warwickshire. His numerous publications include Tales of Old Japan (1871), The Bamboo Garden (1896) and The Attach at Peking (1900). In 1902, he was created first Baron Redesdale and died in 1916 at Batsford.
From the guide to the Algernon Freeman-Mitford collection, 1905, (Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge)
