Robert Grant (MP)

Sir Robert Grant.

Sir Robert Grant GCH (1779–1838) was a British lawyer and politician.

Life

He was born in India, the son of Charles Grant, chairman of the Directors of the Honourable East India Company, and younger brother of Charles Grant, later Lord Glenelg. Returning home with their father in 1790, the two brothers were entered as students of Magdalene College, Cambridge, in 1795. In 1801 Charles was fourth wrangler and senior Chancellor’s medallist; Robert was third wrangler and second Chancellor’s medallist.[1] (The

Robert Grant was called to the bar the same day as his brother, 30 January 1807, and entered into legal practice, becoming King’s Sergeant in the Court of the Duchy of Lancaster, and one of the Commissioners in Bankruptcy. He was elected Member of Parliament for the Elgin Burghs in 1818, and for the Inverness Burghs in 1826. The latter constituency he represented for four years. In 1830 and 1831, he was returned for Norwich, and in 1832 for Finsbury. He advocated for the removal of the disabilities of the Jews, and twice carried bills on the subject through the House of Commons. They were, however, rejected in the Upper House, which did not yield on the question until 1858, twenty years after Grant’s death. In 1832 he became Judge Advocate General, and in 1834 was appointed Governor of Bombay and GCH. He died in India in 1838.

Works

In his younger days Grant published an essay on the trade and government of India, and a sketch of the early history of the British East India Company. He was the author of a volume of sacred poems, which was edited and published after his death by his brother, Lord Glenelg. This volume includes some hymns; his best known hymn is "O Worship the King", based on Psalm 104.

Legacy

The Oldest Medical College in Mumbai, India, Grant Medical College, is named after Sir Robert Grant. Grant Road and Grant Road Station in Mumbai (Bombay) are named after Governor Grant.

Family

Grant married Margaret, only daughter of Sir David Davidson of Cantray, with issue two sons and two daughters:

Ten years after his death, Margaret married Josceline Percy, second son of the Earl of Beverley, with issue one son, George Algernon, born in 1849, who later became Capt. and Lt. Col. of the Grenadier Guards.

References

  1. "Grant, Robert (GRNT795R)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.

External links

Attribution

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: The Northern Highlands in the nineteenth century (1907) by James Barron

External links

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Patrick Milne
Member of Parliament for Elgin Burghs
1818–1820
Succeeded by
Archibald Farquharson
Preceded by
George Cumming
Member of Parliament for Inverness Burghs
1826–1830
Succeeded by
John Baillie
Preceded by
William Smith
Jonathan Peel
Member of Parliament for Norwich
18301832
With: Richard Hanbury Gurney
Succeeded by
Viscount Stormont
Sir James Scarlett
New constituency Member of Parliament for Finsbury
1832–1834
With: Robert Spankie
Succeeded by
Thomas Slingsby Duncombe
Robert Spankie
Legal offices
Preceded by
Sir John Beckett
Judge Advocate General
1832–1834
Succeeded by
Robert Cutlar Fergusson
Political offices
Preceded by
The Earl of Clare
Governor of Bombay
1835–1838
Succeeded by
Sir James Rivett-Carnac
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