Francis Burdett

Sir Francis Burdett, 5th Baronet

Sir Francis Burdett, 5th Baronet (born January 25, 1770 in Foremarke Hall, Derbyshire , † January 23, 1844 in London ) was a British reformist.

Life

He was the older son and heir of Francis Burdett (1743-1794) from his marriage to Eleanor Jones († 1783). In February 1797, on the death of his paternal grandfather, Sir Robert Burdett, 4th Baronet, he inherited his title of Baronet , created in 1619 , of Bramcote in the Parish of Polesworth in the County of Warwick .

Francis Burdett attended Westminster School and studied at Christ Church College of Oxford University , traveled to the continent and married in 1793 the daughter of a wealthy banker, Sophie Coutts. In 1796 he was first elected to the House of Commons . From 1796 to 1802 he was MP for Boroughbridge , 1802-1804 and 1805-1806 for Middlesex , 1807-1837 for Westminster and 1837-1844 for Wiltshire Northern . In Parliament he initially sided with the Whig opposition and spoke against Pitt's policies . He made himself an advocate of liberal demands, especially the parliamentary reform , fought against the repeal of the Habeas Corpus Act , the war against France and called for an investigation and improvement of the prison system. His election in Westminster (1807), which he represented for 30 years, was considered a triumph for the Reform Party. He fought incessantly for his principles, but also suffered persecution and judicial punishment. In 1810, for example, because he published a speech given in the House of Commons, he was locked in the Tower for a few weeks .

After Napoleon's return from Elba (1815), Burdett pushed for peace with France and in 1819 fought Lord Castlereagh's restrictions on the press. In 1820 he was again sentenced to high fines and imprisonment in a political process. He worked emphatically in 1828 for the rights of Catholics and in 1832 for parliamentary reform, which was now going through. In 1837 he joined the Tories and from then on did not exert much influence. He died in London on January 23, 1844 at the age of 74 and was buried in Ramsbury, Wiltshire .

From his marriage to Sophia Coutts he had five daughters and a son who inherited his title and his goods:

• Sophia Burdett (1794–1849) ⚭ Hon. Robert Otway-Cave, son of 3rd Baroness Braye ;
• Sir Robert Burdett, 6th Baronet (1796-1880);
• Susannah Burdett (1800–1886) ⚭ 1830 John Trevanion;
• Joanna Frances Burdett (1804-1862);
• Clara Maria Burdett (1806–1899) ⚭ Rev. James Money, parents of 5th Baron Latymer ;
• Angela Georgina Burdett-Coutts, 1st Baroness Burdett-Coutts (1814–1906) ⚭ Rt. Hon. William Burdett-Coutts-Bartlett-Coutts, MP.

literature

• Sir Francis Burdett . In: Illustrirte Zeitung . No. 36 . J. J. Weber, Leipzig March 2, 1844, p. 151–152 ( books.google.de ).
• Francis Burdett . In: Meyers Konversations-Lexikon . 4th edition. Volume 3, Verlag des Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig / Vienna 1885–1892, pp. 647–648.
• Burdett, Sir Francis . In: Encyclopædia Britannica . 11th edition. tape 4 : Bishārīn - Calgary . London 1910, p. 811 (English, full text [ Wikisource ]).

Web links

Commons : Francis Burdett  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

• Sir Francis Burdett at Hansard (English)
• Sir Francis Burdett, 5th Bt. On thepeerage.com

predecessor	title	successor
Robert Burdett	Baronet, of Bramcote 1797-1844	Robert Burdett