Frederick Maxse

Frederick Augustus Maxse was born on 13 April 1833 in London. He was the son of James Maxse and Lady Caroline FitzHardinge, the latter being the daughter of Frederick Augustus, 5th Earl of Berkeley. He had an elder brother named Sir Henry Berkeley Fitzhardinge Maxse.

Maxse served in the Royal Navy and held the position of naval aide-de-camp to Lord Raglan following the Battle of the Alma on 20 September 1854, during the Crimean War. He retired from active naval service in 1867.

He held and expressed views as an atheist and a vegetarian. Post-retirement, Maxse engaged in political activism and campaigning for various causes. He made unsuccessful bids for parliamentary office in 1868 and 1874. His activism included involvement with the Charity Organisation Society, John Stuart Mill's Land Tenure Reform Association, the National Education League, and the Eastern Question Association, which was established to oppose the atrocities committed by the Ottoman Empire during the Bulgarian April Uprising of 1876. He also founded the Electoral Reform Association, which sought to promote the equalization of parliamentary constituencies.

In 1873, Maxse authored a pamphlet titled "The Causes of Social Revolt." This work was influential in shaping the radical political program of Joseph Chamberlain in 1885.

Maxse was married to Cecilia Steel, a society beauty and the daughter of Colonel James Steel. The marriage produced two sons and two daughters before the couple separated around 1877. Their children included:

- General Sir Ivor Maxse (1862–1958), a British Army officer who served during the First World War.

- Leopold Maxse (1864–1932), who became an editor.

- Olive Hermione Maxse (1867–1955), who remained unmarried and served as a model for the artist Edward Burne-Jones.

- Violet Georgina (1872–1958), an editor who was married twice, first to Lord Edward Cecil and later to Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner.

Frederick Augustus Maxse died on 25 June 1900 in London.