Lord Mountbatten was the last Viceroy of India.
Mountbatten was appointed Viceroy of India in 1947 and he oversaw the
creation of the independent states of India and Pakistan. After India's
independence on 15 August 1947, the title of Viceroy was abolished and
was converted into Governor General. Thus Lord Mountbatten became the
first Governor General of independent India.
Lord Mountbatten was born in Windsor, England, on 25th June, 1900. His
father, Prince Louis of Battenberg, had been born in Austria. As a
result of the anti-German feelings in Britain during the First World War
the family changed its name from Battenberg to Mountbatten. Lord
Mountbatten joined Royal Navy and in the Second World War he commanded
the 5th Destroyer Flotilla. After his term in India, Mountbatten
returned to service at sea and as Fourth sea Lord was commander of the
Mediterranean Fleet (1952-55). He was also First Sea Lord (1955-59) and
Chief of Defence Staff (1959-65). Lord Mountbatten was murdered by an
IRA bomb while sailing near his holiday home in County Sligo, Ireland,
on 27th August, 1979.
