William Bingham Baring, 2nd Baron Ashburton, (June 1799 – 23 March 1864) was a British businessman and a
Whig politician who later became a
Tory
A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...
.
Background and education
William Bingham Baring was born in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, in June 1799, the eldest son of the politician and banker
Alexander Baring, 1st Baron Ashburton
Alexander Baring, 1st Baron Ashburton, PC (27 October 177412 May 1848), of The Grange in Hampshire, of Ashburton in Devon and of Buckenham Tofts near Thetford in Norfolk, was a British politician and financier, and a member of the Baring famil ...
(1773–1848), and his wife Ann Louisa (died 1848), daughter of
William Bingham
William Bingham (March 8, 1752February 7, 1804) was an American statesman from Philadelphia. He was a delegate for Pennsylvania to the Continental Congress from 1786 to 1788 and served in the United States Senate from 1795 to 1801. Bingham was o ...
.
He was educated at
Oriel College, Oxford
Oriel College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title formerly claimed by University College, wh ...
, where he graduated in classics in 1821. He received a
Master of Arts
A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
in 1836 and an
Honorary Doctorate of Civil Law in 1856.
Political career
Baring sat as
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
for
Thetford
Thetford is a market town and civil parish in the Breckland District of Norfolk, England. It is on the A11 road between Norwich and London, just east of Thetford Forest. The civil parish, covering an area of , in 2015 had a population of 24,340 ...
between 1826 and 1830 and 1841 and 1848, for
Callington
Callington ( kw, Kelliwik) is a civil parish and town in east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom about north of Saltash and south of Launceston.
Callington parish had a population of 4,783 in 2001, according to the 2001 census. This had inc ...
between 1830 and 1831, for
Winchester
Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...
between 1832 and 1837 and for
Staffordshire North between 1837 and 1841. He was elected as a Whig in 1832 and 1835, and from 1837 as a Tory.
He served under
Sir Robert Peel
Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet, (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850) was a British Conservative statesman who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835 and 1841–1846) simultaneously serving as Chancellor of the Exchequer ...
as
Joint Secretary to the Board of Control from 1841 to 1845 and as
Paymaster-General
His Majesty's Paymaster General or HM Paymaster General is a ministerial position in the Cabinet Office of the United Kingdom. The incumbent Paymaster General is Jeremy Quin MP.
History
The post was created in 1836 by the merger of the posit ...
, with a seat in the Cabinet, from 1845 to 1846. In 1845 he was sworn of the
Privy Council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...
. In 1848 he succeeded his father in the barony and entered the
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...
.
Baring was a member of the
Canterbury Association
The Canterbury Association was formed in 1848 in England by members of parliament, peers, and Anglican church leaders, to establish a colony in New Zealand. The settlement was to be called Canterbury, with its capital to be known as Christchurch. ...
from 27 May 1848.
He was a commandeur of the
Légion d'honneur
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...
, awarded for his services to commerce. He served as captain in the
Hampshire Yeomanry Cavalry
The Hampshire Yeomanry was a yeomanry cavalry regiment formed by amalgamating older units raised between 1794 and 1803 during the French Revolutionary Wars. It served in a mounted role in the Second Boer War and World War I, and in the air defenc ...
.
[ In 1853, he was appointed to be a Deputy Lieutenant of the County of Southampton. In 1854 he was elected a ]Fellow of the Royal Society
Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...
. One of his on-going legacies is the National Rifle Association
The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent Gun politics in the United States, gun rights ...
's competition for the Ashburton Shield
The Ashburton Shield is an historic trophy for rifle shooting in the United Kingdom and the British Isles. It is awarded annually to the winning team of VIII at the Schools Meeting, held at Bisley by the National Rifle Association. The compe ...
which was donated by Lord Ashburton in 1861.
Family
Lord Ashburton married as his first wife, Lady Harriet Mary Montagu
Harriet Mary Baring, Baroness Ashburton (née Lady Harriet Montagu) (14 May 1805 – 4 May 1857) was a socialite and hostess.
She was born in 1805 to George Montagu, 6th Earl of Sandwich and Louisa Montagu, Countess of Sandwich.
She married W ...
, eldest daughter of George Montagu, 6th Earl of Sandwich
George John Montagu, 6th Earl of Sandwich (4 February 1773 – 21 May 1818) was the son of John Montagu, 5th Earl of Sandwich and Lady Mary Henrietta Powlett. He was styled Viscount Hinchingbrooke from 1790 until in 1814 when, his elder ha ...
, on 12 April 1823. Their only child, Alexander Montagu Baring (1828–1830), died as an infant. Lady Harriet is well known for inspiring the devotion of Thomas Carlyle
Thomas Carlyle (4 December 17955 February 1881) was a Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher. A leading writer of the Victorian era, he exerted a profound influence on 19th-century art, literature and philosophy.
Born in Ecclefechan, Dum ...
, to the great dismay of his wife Jane Welsh Carlyle
Jane Baillie Carlyle ( Welsh; 14 July 1801 – 21 April 1866) was a Scottish writer and the wife of Thomas Carlyle.
She did not publish any work in her lifetime, but she was widely seen as an extraordinary letter writer. Virginia Woolf ca ...
. Lady Harriet died on 4 May 1857, aged 51.
Lord Ashburton married as his second wife Louisa Caroline Stewart-Mackenzie
Louisa Caroline Baring, Lady Ashburton (; 5 March 1827 – 2 February 1903), was a Scottish art collector and philanthropist who had close connections with several artistic and literary figures of the period.
Early life
Louisa Caroline Stewart ...
, youngest daughter of James Alexander Stewart-Mackenzie
James Alexander Stewart-Mackenzie (23 September 1784 – 24 September 1843) was a Scottish politician and British colonial administrator.
Early life
He was born James Alexander Stewart on 23 September 1784. James was the son of the former Geor ...
, on 17 November 1858. They had one daughter, Mary Florence, (named after Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale (; 12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910) was an English Reform movement, social reformer, statistician and the founder of modern nursing. Nightingale came to prominence while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during t ...
) born on 26 June 1860 at Bath House, Piccadilly, London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
(a site now occupied by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority
The Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency (QCDA) was a charity, and an executive non-departmental public body (NDPB) of the Department for Education. In England and Northern Ireland, the QCDA maintained and developed the National Cu ...
), who married William Compton, 5th Marquess of Northampton
William George Spencer Scott Compton, 5th Marquess of Northampton, KG (23 April 1851 – 15 June 1913), known as Lord William Compton from 1877 to 1887 and as Earl Compton from 1887 to 1897, was a British peer and Liberal politician.
Early li ...
. Lord Ashburton died at The Grange, Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...
, in March 1864, aged 64.
He was succeeded in the barony by his younger brother, Francis
Francis may refer to:
People
*Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome
*Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
*Francis (surname)
Places
* Rural M ...
. Lady Ashburton subsequently had an intimate relationship with the sculptor Harriet Hosmer
Harriet Goodhue Hosmer (October 9, 1830 – February 21, 1908) was a neoclassical sculptor, considered the most distinguished female sculptor in America during the 19th century. She is known as the first female professional sculptor. Among other ...
. Lady Ashburton died in London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
in February 1903, aged 75.
Eponymous
The Ashburton River in New Zealand and the town of the same name located on the river were named by the chief surveyor of the Canterbury Association, Joseph Thomas, after Lord Ashburton.
See also
*Baring family
The Baring family is a German and British family of merchants and bankers. In Germany, the family belongs to the ''Bildungsbürgertum'', and in England, it belongs to the aristocracy.
History
The family's earliest known ancestor is Peter Baring ...
*Baron Ashburton
Baron Ashburton, of Ashburton, Devon, Ashburton in the County of Devon, is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of Great Britain and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since 1835, the title has been held by members ...
*Barings Bank
Barings Bank was a British merchant bank based in London, and one of England's List of oldest banks in continuous operation, oldest merchant banks after Berenberg Bank, Barings' close collaborator and German representative. It was founded in 1762 ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashburton, Bingham Baring, 2nd Baron
1799 births
1864 deaths
Alumni of Oriel College, Oxford
British people of American descent
British people of German descent
Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur
Deputy Lieutenants of Hampshire
Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies
Bingham Baring
William Bingham Baring, 2nd Baron Ashburton, (June 1799 – 23 March 1864) was a British businessman and a Whig politician who later became a Tory.
Background and education
William Bingham Baring was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in June ...
Baring, Bingham
Baring, Bingham
Baring, Bingham
Baring, Bingham
Baring, Bingham
Baring, Bingham
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Hampshire Yeomanry officers
Fellows of the Royal Society
Members of the Canterbury Association
Presidents of the Royal Asiatic Society
Presidents of the Royal Geographical Society
Bingham
Eldest sons of British hereditary barons
People of the National Rifle Association
Committee members of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge