George Grenville

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George Grenville

George Grenville (born October 14, 1712 in London , † November 24, 1770 ibid) was a British politician and statesman.

Life

The Hon. George Grenville was the second son of the politician Richard Grenville and the Hester Temple , who later became Countess Temple. He received his education at Eton and at Christ Church College , Oxford . In 1735 he was admitted to the bar. He joined Buckingham in 1741 in the British House of Commons and represented this constituency until his death.

As a member of parliament he shone among the best speakers of the Tory party, succeeded George Montagu-Dunk as Minister of the Navy ( First Lord of the Admiralty ) in 1744, Lord of the Treasury in 1747 , Treasurer of the Navy in 1754 and 1761 Leader of the House of Commons .

In 1762 he was a member of the Bute Ministry and in 1763, after Bute's resignation, he became Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer . In this position he enforced the notorious stamp tax in 1765 , which provoked the first resistance of the North American colonies.

Out of favor with the king, Grenville had to give way to the Whigs in July 1765 , but in 1770, as leader of the opposition, passed the Grenville Act on the Procedure in Contested Elections . He died on November 24, 1770.

Family and offspring

His brother was Richard Grenville, Earl Temple (1771–1779), Minister of the Navy and Lord Seal Keeper. His sister was the wife of the Earl of Chatham, William Pitts the Elder . In 1749 he married Elizabeth Wyndham , daughter of Sir William Wyndham, 3rd Baronet . Her brother Charles Wyndham, 2nd Earl of Egremont , served as Prime Minister Secretary of State for the Southern Department under Grenville in 1763 , but he died in August that year. Grenville's marriage to Elizabeth had four sons and five daughters. His third eldest son, William Wyndham Grenville , also became Prime Minister in 1806, and his second eldest son, Thomas Grenville , became First Lord of the Admiralty in 1806 . His eldest son, George Grenville , was made Marquess of Buckingham in 1784 .

Works

Grenville defended his government in Considerations on the commerce and finances of England (London 1765). The papers he left behind were published by WJ Smith ( The Grenville Papers. 4 volumes 1852-53, reprinted 1970).

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Grenville, George
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British politician and statesman
DATE OF BIRTH October 14, 1712
PLACE OF BIRTH London
DATE OF DEATH November 24, 1770
Place of death London