Preceded by Archibald Acheson, 2nd Earl of Gosford |
15th Governor General of British North America 1838 - 1839 |
Succeeded by Charles Edward Poulett Thomson, Baron Sydenham |
Lord Durham was a British politician and the author of The Durham Report, which led to the union of Upper Canada and Lower Canada into one colony.[1]
John George Lambton, was born on 12 April 1792 at London, England; the son of William Henry Lambton and Lady Anne Barbara Frances Villiers [2]
John George Lambton was educated at Eton College, Windsor, Berkshire, England.
He held the office of Lord Privy Seal between 1803 and 1803.
He gained the rank of officer between 1809 and 1811 in the service of the 10th Dragoons.
He held the office of Member of Parliament (M.P.) (Whig) for County Durham between 1813 and 1828.
He was created 1st Baron Durham of the City of Durham and of Lambton Castle, co. Durham [U.K.] on 29 January 1828.
He was invested as a Privy Counsellor (P.C.) in 1830.
He held the office of High Stewart of Hull.
He died on 28 July 1840 aged 48.
Honours and decorations -
He married, firstly, Lady Harriet Cholmondeley, daughter of George James Cholmondeley, 1st Marquess of Cholmondeley and unknown St. Albans, on 1 January 1812.
He married, secondly, Lady Louisa Elizabeth Grey, daughter of Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey and Hon. Mary Elizabeth Ponsonby, on 9 December 1816.
In the August 1, 1840 edition of The Northern Whig, Belfast, nearly 1/3 of a page is devoted to his memory:
The Earl of Durham died on Tuesday morning last, at Harrot Lodge, the villa of the Earl of Belfast, at Cowes, Isle of Wight {see, George Hamilton Chichester, earl of Belfast}. His Lordship was born on April 12, 1792, and had, consequently, entered his forty-ninth year. He was created a Baron on January 27, 1828, a Viscount and an Earl on March 15, 1833. He has enjoyed his Peerage, if he can be said to have enjoyed it all, for a very short period, but not as a Peer, as a conspicuous and influential member of society, are we called upon to consider him.
John George Lambton was a descendant and representative of one of the oldest and most opulent families in the County of Durham. His father, who represented the city of Durham in Parliament, died at the age of thirty-three, before he had developed the great talents for which his friends gave him credit. Mr. Lambton, who was five years of age at his father's death, on attaining his majority, stood for his native County, and was elected in 1813. At that period, as he eloquently described its condition, at Sunderland, in 1834, "there was no public feeling in it of any description. The gentry of the County were chiefly Tories - the Magisterial Bench was filled with the same party - all public meetings were held at the gates of the Bishop's Palace. The Reverend Prelate generally attended. Instructions were given to the tenants how they were to vote, and their hands were held up according to the inclination, and in the obedience to the bidding of their landlords." Under such circumstances, it was an act of great boldness in Mr. Lambton to offer himself to the freeholders. He succeeded through the influence of his father's character, & he labored incessantly afterwards, to uphold and strengthen the independence of his native County, and it has ever since been one of the foremost in the Liberal cause. .... The last and the greatest service he undertook was to restore freedom to Canada, and introduce a constitutional Government into that country. He went thither as Governor-General. The events of his Lordship's mission are yet to recent to allow us to expatiate on them. He was not successful; and it generally supposed that the great disappointment he suffered from his failure has preyed upon his spirit....His statesmanship was there proved to be of a commanding kind; and the leading view of his Report in which he cast aside the prejudices he entertained, on leaving England, are the basis of the new constitution proposed for Canada. With many faults, perhaps of temper, of education, or position, Lord Durham had many great and good qualities, and we may, in these times, well say of him, that we could have better spared a greater man.
Of his Lordship's private life we know nothing; but the devoted affection of his exemplary lady is the best proof of his domestic virtues. - Sun
The Earl of Durham married, first, the 1st of January, 1812, Miss Harriet Cholmondeley, who died in May 1815 and secondly, Lady Louisa Elizabeth Grey, eldest daughter of the Earl and Countess Grey. His Lordship had issue by his first marriage three daughters, all of who are dead; and, by his second, five children, two sons and three daughters. His second son, George Frederick Viscount Lambton (the Honourable Charles William, his eldest son, having died at the age of thirteen), succeeds to the family honours. The Ladies Mary, Emily, and Alice Lambton, were born the 8th May, 1819, 17th May, 1825, and 16th April, 1831. The deceased Earl was son of the late William Henry Lambton, Esq., and Lady Ann Villiers, daughter of the fourth Earl of Jersey. His Lordship has two brothers and one sister, namely, Mr. W. H. Lambton, married to Miss C. Ellison, in 1824.; Mrs Cavendish, lay of the Hon. Colonel Cavendish, equerry to her Majesty; and Mr. Hedworth Lambton, M.P., married in 1835 to Miss Bushe. The deceased was Lord Privy Seal from 1830 to 1833. He was Privy Councillor, a G.C.B., and Knight of the Foreign Orders of St. Andrew, St. Alexander Newsky, St. Anne, and the White Eagle of Russia; Leopold, of Belgium, and the Saviour, of Greece. In addition to the above he was High Steward of Hull - Morning Post.[4]
See also:
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Categories: The New Zealand Company | Persons of National Historic Significance | Earls of Durham | Members of Parliament, County Durham | Members of Parliament, United Kingdom 1812 | Members of Parliament, United Kingdom 1818 | Members of Parliament, United Kingdom 1820 | Members of Parliament, United Kingdom 1826 | Whig Party
John George Lambton 12 Apr 1792 - 28 Jul 1840 ~ Managed by Scott Pittenger. [view]