Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an soldier and Tory politician statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures in his time. He was twice prime minister of the United Kingdom. He is among the commanders who won and ended the Napoleonic war when the coalition defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.
Wellesley Avenue first appeared as a new street in 1867 and the name was approved 1869, originally spelt Wellesly Avenue (BCM, IHTA xvii, 39).