Arthur Francis Benjamin Guinness, 3rd Earl of Iveagh (20 May 1937 – 18 June 1992), styled Viscount Elveden between 1945 and 1967, was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

businessman and politician. He was chairman of

Guinness plc St. James's Gate Brewery is a brewery founded in 1759 in Dublin, Ireland, by Arthur Guinness. The company is now a part of Diageo, a company formed from the merger of Guinness and Grand Metropolitan in 1997. The main product of the brewery is ...

from 1962 to 1986, and then its president from 1986 until his death in 1992.

Biography

Lord Iveagh (often popularly known as Benjamin Iveagh) was born into the Anglo-Irish

Guinness family The Guinness family is an extensive Irish family known for its accomplishments in brewing, banking, politics, and religious ministry. The brewing branch is particularly well known among the general public for producing the dry stout Guinnes ...

, being the son of Arthur Onslow Edward Guinness, Viscount Elveden, and Lady Elizabeth Cecilia Hare, daughter of the

Richard Hare, 4th Earl of Listowel Richard Granville Hare, 4th Earl of Listowel (12 September 1866 – 16 November 1931), known as Viscount Ennismore from 1866 to 1924, was an Irish peer and British Army officer. Lord Ennismore was the eldest son of William Hare, 3rd Earl of ...

. His father, Viscount Elveden, was a Major in the 55th (Suffolk and Norfolk Yeomanry) Anti-Tank Regiment of the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

and was killed in action by a

V-2 The V-2 (german: Vergeltungswaffe 2, lit=Retaliation Weapon 2), with the technical name ''Aggregat 4'' (A-4), was the world’s first long-range guided ballistic missile. The missile, powered by a liquid-propellant rocket engine, was develope ...

rocket while serving in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

on 8 February 1945. In 1947, his mother remarried Edward Rory More O'Ferrall, from another aristocratic Irish family. Lord Iveagh was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

, and the

University of Grenoble The Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA, French: meaning "''Grenoble Alps University''") is a public research university in Grenoble, France. Founded in 1339, it is the third largest university in France with about 60,000 students and over 3,000 resea ...

. He inherited the title from his grandfather, The 2nd Earl of Iveagh, in September 1967. He lived at

Farmleigh Farmleigh is the official Irish state guest house. It was formerly one of the Dublin residences of the Guinness family. It is situated on an elevated position above the River Liffey to the north-west of the Phoenix Park, in Castleknock. The ...

in the

Phoenix Park The Phoenix Park ( ga, Páirc an Fhionnuisce) is a large urban park in Dublin, Ireland, lying west of the city centre, north of the River Liffey. Its perimeter wall encloses of recreational space. It includes large areas of grassland and tre ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

and was chairman of Guinness 1961–1992. He was a trustee of two charitable housing associations, the

Iveagh Trust The Iveagh Trust is a provider of affordable housing in and around Dublin, Ireland. It was initially a component of the Guinness Trust, founded in 1890 by Edward Cecil Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh, great-grandson of the founder of the Guinness Bre ...

in Dublin and the

Guinness Trust The Guinness Partnership is one of the largest providers of affordable housing and care in England. Founded as a charitable trust in 1890, it is now a Community Benefit Society with eight members. Bloomberg classify it as a real estate owner a ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

. He was involved in horse breeding and also owned horses. The More O'Ferralls, his mother's husband's family were prominent in racing and breeding circles. He helped to finance the Kildangan Stud, a famous stud farm owned by his step-uncle, Roderic More O'Ferrall. Uniquely at the time, he was a member of two

upper house An upper house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restric ...

s simultaneously. He was in the British

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

from 1967 to 1992, and was appointed an Irish Senator by Liam Cosgrave from 1973 to 1977. Towards the end of his life, Guinness was an

alcoholic Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomina ...

. His obituary in ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'', described his business career as "at best undistinguished and at times positively disastrous ... s reign s chairman of Guinnesswas marked first by a phase of unbridled diversification away from the core brewing business and then a prolonged period of debilitating decline."

Personal life and family

Lord Iveagh married Miranda Daphne Jane Smiley, daughter of Major Michael Smiley, of

Castle Fraser Castle Fraser is the most elaborate Z-plan castle in Scotland and one of the grandest 'Castles of Mar'. It is located near Kemnay in the Aberdeenshire region of Scotland. The castle stands in over of landscaped grounds, woodland and farmland ...

Kemnay Kemnay ( Gaelic: ''Camnaidh'') is a village west of Aberdeen in Garioch, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. History The village name ''Kemnay'' is believed to originate from the Celtic words that mean "little crook in the river" due to the village loc ...

, Aberdeenshire, on 12 March 1963. They had four children before their divorce in 1984: #Lady Emma Lavinia (born 7 December 1963) #Lady Louisa Jane (born 20 February 1967) #Edward Guinness, 4th Earl of Iveagh (born 25 August 1969) #Hon. Rory Michael Benjamin Guinness (born 12 December 1974) Lord Iveagh died of cancer in Kensington and Chelsea,

, in 1992 at the age of 55. His eldest son succeeded to the family titles.

Arms

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Iveagh, Benjamin Guinness, 3rd Earl of 1937 births 1992 deaths 20th-century Anglo-Irish people Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Deaths from cancer in England Earls of Iveagh

Benjamin Guinness, 3rd Earl of Iveagh Arthur Francis Benjamin Guinness, 3rd Earl of Iveagh (20 May 1937 – 18 June 1992), styled Viscount Elveden between 1945 and 1967, was an Irish businessman and politician. He was chairman of Guinness plc from 1962 to 1986, and then its president ...

Irish Anglicans Irish art collectors Guinness, Benjamin Members of the 13th Seanad People educated at Eton College Grenoble Alpes University alumni Nominated members of Seanad Éireann Fine Gael senators Deaths from throat cancer