MORIER, SIR ROBERT BURNETT DAVID (1826 1893), British diplomatist, was born at Paris on March 31, 1826. On leaving Balliol College, Oxford, where his life-long friendship with Jowett had begun, he obtained an appointment in the Edu cation Department, but resigned in 1852, and in the following year became attaché at Vienna. In the succeeding years he was attached to almost every court in Germany. While secretary of legation at Darmstadt in 1866-71, he became a trusted adviser of the crown princess, and through her acquired an intimate friendship with the crown prince (afterwards the emperor Fred erick III.). Bismarck, already jealous of British influence at court, honoured Morier with a hatred not lessened by the fact that Morier's knowledge of German politics was unrivalled out side Germany. On leaving Darmstadt, Morier became charge d'affaires, first at Stuttgart and then at Munich, and in 1876 was appointed minister at Lisbon. He was minister at Madrid from 1881 to 1884 when he became ambassador at St. Petersburg.
Bismarck now took alarm at the lessening influence of Germany over Russia, and tried to procure Morier's downfall. The Kill nische Zeitung declared in Dec. 1888 that Morier had used his position at Darmstadt during the Franco-German War to betray the movements of the German troops to Marshal Bazaine. The authority for this charge was an alleged declaration made by Bazaine to the German military attaché at Madrid. Bazaine had died in September, but Morier had previously procured from him a written denial, which he now published in The Times. Morier was appointed Lord Dufferin's successor at Rome in 1891; but before he could take up office, he died at Montreux on Nov. 16, 1893.