George Finch-Hatton FRS (30 June 1747 – 17 February 1823) was an English politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

from 1772 to 1784.

Early life

Finch-Hatton was the son of Hon. Edward Finch-Hatton and was born on 30 June 1747. He was educated at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

and at

Christ's College, Cambridge Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 170 graduate students. The college was founded by William Byngham in 1437 as ...

, being awarded 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 ...

degree in 1768. He assumed the additional surname of

Hatton Hatton may refer to: Places Canada * Hatton, Saskatchewan England * Hatton, Cheshire West and Chester, a former civil parish * Hatton, Derbyshire * Hatton, Lincolnshire * Hatton, London, in the London Borough of Hounslow * Hatton, Shropshire, a ...

(his paternal grandmother's name) together with his father in 1764. Kirby Hall - north front from forecourt

He succeeded his Uncle

Daniel Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength" ...

Eastwell Park Eastwell may refer to: *Eastwell, Kent Eastwell is a hamlet and civil parish about north of Ashford, Kent, England. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 103. The parish shares civil and church parish councils with neighbouring ...

in 1769 and his father to

Kirby Hall Kirby Hall is an Elizabethan country house, located near Gretton, Northamptonshire, England. The nearest main town is Corby. One of the great Elizabethan houses of England, Kirby Hall was built for Sir Humphrey Stafford of Blatherwick, beginnin ...

, near Gretton in Northamptonshire in 1771. He rebuilt the house at Eastwell between 1793 and 1800 to designs by Joseph Bonomi.

Career

Finch-Hatton was elected

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

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

at a by-election in 1772. He was re-elected to Rochester in contests in 1774 and 1780 but was defeated in at the 1784 general election. Finch-Hatton 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 ...

in 1776. In 1809 he was commissioned as

Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

Commandant of the

Ashford Regiment of Local Militia The Kent Militia was an auxiliary military force in Kent in the South East England. From their formal organisation as Trained Bands Trained Bands were companies of part-time militia in England and Wales. Organised by county, they were supposed to ...

(later the 1st East Kent or Ashford, Oldcastle and Elham Regiment).''London Gazette'' 13 May 1809, p. 680.
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Personal life

Finch-Hatton married

Lady Elizabeth Murray Lady Elizabeth Mary Finch-Hatton (née Lady Elizabeth Mary Murray; 18 May 1760 – 1 June 1825) was a British aristocrat and the subject of a notable painting, once thought to be by Johann Zoffany, now attributed to David Martin. Biography ...

(1760–1825), the daughter of

David Murray, 2nd Earl of Mansfield David Murray, 2nd Earl of Mansfield, 7th Viscount of Stormont, (9 October 1727 – 1 September 1796), known as the (7th) Viscount of Stormont from 1748 to 1793, was a British politician. He succeeded to both the Mansfield and Stormont lines o ...

(1747–1796), in 1785. They resided at

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. He also had estates at Kirby, Northamptonshire. Finch-Hatton died in February 1823 at the age of 75. His wife died in June 1825, aged 65. Their son

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...

succeeded in the earldoms of Winchilsea and Nottingham in 1826.

References

1747 births 1823 deaths People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1768–1774 British MPs 1774–1780 British MPs 1780–1784 Kent Militia officers Fellows of the Royal Society

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