Edward King Tenison (21 January 1805 – 19 June 1878) was an Irish Whig and Liberal politician and photographer.

Early life and family

Born in 1805 at Kilronan Castle, King Tenison was the son of Thomas Tenison and Lady Frances King. He was also the grandson of Edward King, 1st Earl of Kingston, and cousin of Robert King, 6th Earl of Kingston. He was educated at Eton College and Trinity College, Cambridge where he achieved an MA before, in 1825, joining the army and serving as an officer of the

14th Light Dragoons The 14th King's Hussars was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1715. It saw service for two centuries, including the First World War, before being amalgamated with the 20th Hussars to form the 14th/20th King's Hussars in 192 ...

until 1836. Having retired from the army, he then served as a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

and High Sheriff for County Leitrim, County Roscommon and County Sligo, and later became a

Lord Lieutenant A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility ...

for Roscommon and Sligo. In 1838, he married travel writer and artist Lady Louisa Anson, daughter of Thomas Anson, 1st Earl of Lichfield and Louisa Catherine Philips. Together, they had two children: Louisa Frances Mary (died 1868) and Florence Margaret Christine Tenison (1845–1907).

Photography

In the 1840s, he took up photography, beginning with

daguerreotype Daguerreotype (; french: daguerréotype) was the first publicly available photographic process; it was widely used during the 1840s and 1850s. "Daguerreotype" also refers to an image created through this process. Invented by Louis Daguerre an ...

s and paper negatives, after receiving a licence granted by former

Chippenham Chippenham is a market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village ...

MP William Henry Fox Talbot. Between 1850 and 1852, King Tenison and his wife travelled in Spain for their artwork where, as an early adopter of the

calotype Calotype or talbotype is an early photographic process introduced in 1841 by William Henry Fox Talbot, using paper coated with silver iodide. Paper texture effects in calotype photography limit the ability of this early process to record low co ...

photographic process, he aroused suspicion and curiosity due to his bulky equipment and outdoor work. The work was later published as ''Memories of Spain'' in 1854, while his wife's 50 lithographs appeared in ''Castile and Anadalucia'' in 1853. In 1853, he joined the Photographic Society of London, and first displayed his work at the Great Industrial Exhibition in Dublin. The next year, he then helped to found the Dublin Photographic Society. Further works of his were later put on display in London between 1854 and 1855, encompassing photos taken using calotype and waxed paper processes in Spain, Belgium and Normandy. He then travelled to Algeria, before concluding his career taking photos in his home nation of Ireland. An album of his work, calotypes and salt print photos of Ireland taken in 1858, is now preserved in the

National Photographic Archive The National Photographic Archive (Irish: ''Cartlann Grianghrafadóireachta Náisiúnta'') is located in Temple Bar in Dublin, Ireland, and holds the photographic collections of the National Library of Ireland (NLI). The archive was opened in 1 ...

in Dublin, while further work is held in private collections. In 1999, one album was sold at

Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is ...

for more than $10,000.

Political career

King Tenison first stood for election in

1830 It is known in European history as a rather tumultuous year with the Revolutions of 1830 in France, Belgium, Poland, Switzerland and Italy. Events January–March * January 11 – LaGrange College (later the University of North Alabama) b ...

at Roscommon but was unsuccessful. He was later elected MP for Leitrim in

1847 Events January–March * January 4 – Samuel Colt sells his first revolver pistol to the U.S. government. * January 13 – The Treaty of Cahuenga ends fighting in the Mexican–American War in California. * January 16 – John C. Frémont ...

– standing on civil and religious liberty, opposing anti-Catholic measures – but stood down at the next general election in 1852. King Tenison sought to be MP for the seat again in

1857 Events January–March * January 1 – The biggest Estonian newspaper, ''Postimees'', is established by Johann Voldemar Jannsen. * January 7 – The partly French-owned London General Omnibus Company begins operating. * Janua ...

as well as in

1859 Events January–March * January 21 – José Mariano Salas (1797–1867) becomes Conservative interim President of Mexico. * January 24 ( O. S.) – Wallachia and Moldavia are united under Alexandru Ioan Cuza (Romania since 1866, final u ...

for Roscommon, but was both times unsuccessful. He also stood at a by-election in Sligo Borough in 1860, but retired from the race after refusing to offer bribes to Liberal electors. His final attempt for parliament in

1865 Events January–March * January 4 – The New York Stock Exchange opens its first permanent headquarters at Broad Street (Manhattan), 10-12 Broad near Wall Street, in New York City. * January 13 – American Civil War : Sec ...

, at Leitrim, was also unsuccessful.

Death

King Tenison died at Kilronan Castle in June 1878, while his wife died at Trieste, Italy in September 1882.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:King Tenison, Edward 1805 births 1878 deaths 19th-century Irish photographers Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Leitrim constituencies (1801–1922) People educated at Eton College Politicians from County Roscommon UK MPs 1847–1852 Whig (British political party) MPs for Irish constituencies Artists from County Roscommon