John Ponsonby, 4th Earl of Bessborough

For other people named John Ponsonby, see John Ponsonby (disambiguation).
The Right Honourable
The Earl of Bessborough
PC
Home Secretary
In office
19 July 1834  15 November 1834
Monarch William IV
Prime Minister The Viscount Melbourne
Preceded by The Viscount Melbourne
Succeeded by The Duke of Wellington
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
In office
8 July 1846  22 May 1847
Monarch Victoria
Prime Minister Lord John Russell
Preceded by The Lord Heytesbury
Succeeded by The Earl of Clarendon
Personal details
Born 31 August 1781 (2016-04-30UTC01:12:46)
Died 16 May 1847 (1847-05-17) (aged 65)
Dublin
Nationality British
Political party Whig
Spouse(s) Lady Maria Fane
(1787–1834)
Alma mater Christ Church, Oxford

John William Ponsonby, 4th Earl of Bessborough PC (31 August 1781 – 16 May 1847), known as Viscount Duncannon from 1793 to 1844, was a British Whig politician. He was notably Home Secretary in 1834 and served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland between 1846 and 1847, the first years of the Great Famine

Background and education

A member of the prominent Ponsonby family of Cumberland, he was the eldest son of Frederick Ponsonby, 3rd Earl of Bessborough, and Lady Henrietta Frances, daughter of John Spencer, 1st Earl Spencer. Sir Frederick Cavendish Ponsonby and William Ponsonby, 1st Baron de Mauley, were his younger brothers, while Lady Caroline Lamb was his younger sister. Ponsonby's mother was Lord Granville's lover prior to his marriage to Lady Harriet Cavendish, the Countess of Bessborough's niece. Lord Granville fathered two illegitimate children through her: Harriette Stewart and George Stewart. Lord Bessborough was educated at Harrow and Christ Church, Oxford.

Political career

He was First Commissioner of Woods and Forests under Lord Grey (1831–1834) and served under Lord Melbourne in that office (1835-1841), briefly as Home Secretary (1834), and as Lord Privy Seal (1835–1839). Later, he served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland under Lord John Russell from 1846 until his death on 16 May 1847. He was made a Privy Counsellor in 1831 and in 1834, ten years before he succeeded his father, he was created Baron Duncannon, of Bessborough in the County of Kilkenny. He was Lord Lieutenant of Kilkenny from November 1838 until his death.

His political career was hampered by a noted stammer, which made him a very reluctant public speaker: as Lord Duncannon he was unkindly nicknamed "Dumbcannon". In private on the other hand he was a valued colleague, due largely to his ability to keep his head in a crisis. He was one of the so-called Committee of Four who drafted the Reform Act 1832.

Family

John Ponsonby married Lady Maria Fane, daughter of John Fane, 10th Earl of Westmorland, and Sarah Anne Child, on 16 November 1805 at Berkeley Square, London. They had eight sons and three daughters.[1] The youngest daughter, Emily Charlotte Mary, remained unmarried but she wrote a number of novels which were published without attribution.[2] The Countess of Bessborough died in March 1834, aged 46. Lord Bessborough survived her by thirteen years and died in May 1847, aged 65. He was succeeded in the earldom by his eldest son, John, and subsequently by his younger sons Frederick and Walter. Bessborough Gardens in London is named after Lord Bessborough.[1]

Notes

  1. 1 2 The London Encyclopaedia, Ben Weinreb & Christopher Hibbert, Macmillan, 1995, ISBN 0-333-57688-8.
  2. Wikisource link to Ponsonby, Emily Charlotte Mary (DNB00). Wikisource.

References

External links

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
William Cavendish
Lord John Townshend
Member of Parliament for Knaresborough
1805–1806
With: Lord John Townshend
Succeeded by
Viscount Ossulston
Lord John Townshend
Preceded by
William Windham
Member of Parliament for Higham Ferrers
1810–1812
Succeeded by
William Plumer
Preceded by
Sir Robert Dundas
Bryan Cooke
Member of Parliament for Malton
1812–1826
With: John Ramsden
Succeeded by
John Ramsden
Viscount Normanby
Preceded by
James Bernard, Viscount Bernard
Member of Parliament for Bandon
1826
Succeeded by
Lord John Russell
Preceded by
Hon. Frederick Ponsonby
Charles Clarke
Member of Parliament for Kilkenny County
1826–1832
With: Charles Clarke 1826–1830
Earl of Ossory 1830–1832
Succeeded by
Pierce Butler
William Finn
Preceded by
Thomas Denman
Sir Ronald Craufurd Ferguson
Member of Parliament for Nottingham
1832–1834
With: Sir Ronald Craufurd Ferguson
Succeeded by
Sir Ronald Craufurd Ferguson
Sir John Cam Hobhouse, Bt
Political offices
Preceded by
George James Welbore Agar Ellis
First Commissioner of Woods and Forests
1831–1834
Succeeded by
Sir John Cam Hobhouse
Preceded by
The Viscount Melbourne
Home Secretary
1834
Succeeded by
Henry Goulburn
Preceded by
The Lord Wharncliffe
Lord Privy Seal
1835–1840
Succeeded by
The Earl of Clarendon
Preceded by
The Lord Granville Somerset
First Commissioner of Woods and Forests
1835–1841
Succeeded by
Earl of Lincoln
Preceded by
The Lord Heytesbury
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
1846–1847
Succeeded by
The Earl of Clarendon
Honorary titles
New title Lord Lieutenant of Carlow
1830–1838
Succeeded by
Viscount Duncannon
Preceded by
The Marquess of Ormonde
Lord Lieutenant of Kilkenny
1838–1847
Succeeded by
William Tighe
Peerage of Ireland
Preceded by
Frederick Ponsonby
Earl of Bessborough
1844–1847
Succeeded by
John Ponsonby
Peerage of the United Kingdom
New creation Baron Duncannon
1834–1847
Succeeded by
John Ponsonby
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