John Ponsonby, 4th Earl of Bessborough

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John Ponsonby, 4th Earl of Bessborough

John William Ponsonby, 4th Earl of Bessborough PC (born August 31, 1781 - † May 16, 1847 in Dublin Castle , Dublin , Ireland ) was a British peer and Whig politician who was an intermittent member of the House of between 1805 and 1832 Commons was and held the offices of Minister of the Interior , Lord Keeper of the Seal and, most recently, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland between 1846 and his death in 1847 . From 1834 he was a member of the House of Lords .

Life

Family background and studies

Ponsonby was the second of four children and the eldest son of Frederick Ponsonby, 3rd Earl of Bessborough and his wife Henrietta Frances Spencer , a daughter of John Spencer, 1st Earl Spencer . His older and only sister was the writer Caroline Lamb , who was married from 1805 until her death in 1828 to the politician and later two-time Prime Minister William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne . His first younger brother Frederick Cavendish Ponsonby was Major General and, among other things, Governor of Malta between 1827 and 1836 , while his second younger brother William Ponsonby was also a member of the House of Commons from 1826 to 1837 and was raised to hereditary nobility in 1838 as Baron de Mauley and thus a member of the House of Lords was.

John Ponsonby himself began after attending the prestigious Harrow School on 14 October 1799 studies at Christ Church of University of Oxford , which he in June 1802 with a Master of Arts graduated (MA).

Member of the House of Commons

His political career began Ponsonby when he was elected on March 25, 1805 as a candidate of the Whig for the first time to a member of the House of Commons and represented there until November 4, 1806 the constituency of Knaresborough . After he had not belonged to the House of Commons for a few years, he was elected again on June 15, 1810 and represented the constituency of Higham Ferrers until October 9, 1812 and then from October 6, 1812 to June 9, 1826 the constituency of Malton , before on June 17, 1826, he was re-elected to the lower house in the constituency of Bandon and represented this constituency until December 19, 1826. At the same time he was elected to the House of Commons in the constituency of Kilkenny on June 22, 1826 and represented this constituency until December 10, 1832. The possibility of multiple candidates, the fairer division of the constituencies, the increase in the number of eligible voters and the number the constituencies with two MPs were only changed by the Reform Act 1832 , which he helped draft.

Subsequently, Ponsonby was elected member of the lower house in the constituency of Nottingham on December 10, 1832 and represented this constituency until July 23, 1834.

Lord Lieutenant of County Carlow, Secretary of the Interior and Member of the House of Lords

In 1830 Ponsonby became first lord lieutenant of County Carlow and held this position until he was replaced by his eldest son John George Brabazon Ponsonby in 1838. He also served as constable of St Briavels Castle between 1831 and 1841 and as administrator (Warden) from 1831 to 1841 of the Forest of Dean .

On February 23, 1831 he was appointed by Prime Minister Charles Gray, 2nd Earl Gray to succeed George Agar-Ellis, 1st Baron Dover as First Commissioner of Woods and Forests and a member of the Privy Council appointed. He held this office until his replacement by John Hobhouse on July 19, 1834.

After his brother-in-law William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, took office for the first time on July 16, 1834, Ponsonby was appointed Home Secretary in his cabinet on July 19, 1834 , whom he held until the end of Melbourne's term of office on November 17, 1834. At the same time he was granted the hereditary title of nobility Baron Duncannon , of Bessborough in the County Kilkenny, by a letters patent from July 19, 1834 , which made him a member of the House of Lords until his death.

Lord Seal Keeper and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland

On April 18, 1835, Ponsonby was again appointed to the government by his brother-in-law William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, and took over the office of Lord Privy Seal until his replacement by George Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon in 1840. . At the same time he exercised from April 18, 1835 to the end of Melbourne's tenure on August 30, 1841 again from the function of First Commissioner of Woods and Forests . He also took over in 1838 from James Butler, 1st Marquess of Ormonde, the office of Lord Lieutenant of County Kilkenny and held this until his death. He was succeeded by William Frederick Fownes Tighe . Between 1841 and his death he also served as Ecclesiastical Commissioner .

When his father died on February 3, 1844, Ponsonby inherited his title of nobility as 4th Earl of Bessborough , 5th Viscount Duncannon , 5th Baron Bessborough and 4th Baron Ponsonby .

In July 1846 he finally succeeded William à Court, 1st Baron Heytesbury as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and held this position as representative of the English king and head of the Irish executive in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death on May 16 1847. During his tenure, the Great Famine fell in Ireland . He died of dropsy at Dublin Castle, the official residence of the Lord Lieutenant . He was succeeded as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland by George Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon .

Marriage and offspring

His marriage on November 16, 1805 to Maria Fane, daughter of John Fane, 10th Earl of Westmorland , had eleven children, four daughters and seven sons, three of whom successively inherited his titles as Earl of Bessborough:

Web links

predecessor Office successor
Frederick Ponsonby Earl of Bessborough
1844-1847 		John Ponsonby
New title created Baron Duncannon
1834-1847 		John Ponsonby
William Lamb Home Secretary
1834 		Arthur Wellesley
James Stuart-Wortley Lord seal keeper
1835-1840 		George Villiers
William à Court Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
1846–1847 		George Villiers
personal data
SURNAME Ponsonby, John, 4th Earl of Bessborough
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ponsonby, John William, 4th Earl of Bessborough (full name); Ponsonby, John, 1st Baron Duncannon
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British politician (Whig, Liberal Party), member of the House of Commons and peer
DATE OF BIRTH August 31, 1781
DATE OF DEATH May 16, 1847
Place of death Dublin Castle , Dublin , Ireland