George John Forbes, Viscount Forbes (3 May 1785–14 November 1836) was an Irish aristocrat who represented

County Longford County Longford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Longford. Longford County Council is the Local government in the Republic ...

in the House of Commons from 1806 to 1832, and 1833 to his death in 1836.

Early life

Forbes was the eldest son of George Forbes, 6th Earl of Granard, and Lady Selina Rawdon, the daughter of

John Rawdon, 1st Earl of Moira John Rawdon, 1st Earl of Moira (17 March 1720 – 20 June 1793), known as Sir John Rawdon, Bt, between 1724 and 1750 and as The Lord Rawdon between 1750 and 1762, was an Irish peer. Background Rawdon was the only son of Sir John Rawdon, 3rd Baro ...

Military career

Forbes held a series of Army commissions, though he does not seem to have seen active service. He was notionally commissioned in the 108th Regiment of Foot, a regiment newly raised by his father, at the age of nine in 1794, then as a captain in the 74th Foot the following year. He was promoted to brevet major in 1805, a half-pay lieutenant colonel in 1812, a brevet colonel in 1815, and finally a major-general in 1825. He was also the colonel-commandant of the

Royal Longford Militia The Royal Longford Rifles was an Irish Militia regiment raised in County Longford in 1793. It saw action during the Irish Rebellion of 1798, when it was involved in the rout known as the 'Castlebar Races'. It later became a battalion of the Rifl ...

from 1824 until his death in 1836.

Political career

He entered politics in the 1806 general election, when he was elected unopposed for

, in support of the Whig government. He remained a supporter of the Whigs in opposition. In 1811 he was appointed aide-de-camp to the prince-regent, but offered his resignation in 1812 in the belief that he could not hold the post while opposing the government. He was persuaded to retract but from this point voted with the government more frequently, though he remained a strong supporter of Catholic emancipation, and was recorded as a government supporter by the time of the 1818 general election. He continued to support the Liverpool government for some years, but distanced himself from them in 1822 after his request for his father to be made a marquess was declined. During the 1820s, he continued actively to support Catholic relief, but distanced himself from figures such as

Daniel O'Connell Daniel(I) O’Connell (; 6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847), hailed in his time as The Liberator, was the acknowledged political leader of Ireland's Roman Catholic majority in the first half of the 19th century. His mobilisation of Catholic Irelan ...

. In the 1830s, he voted against the English reform bills, and stood as an anti-reform Tory in the 1831 general election. The following year, he was a founder of the conservative

Carlton Club The Carlton Club is a private members' club in the St James's area of London, England. It was the original home of the Conservative Party before the creation of Conservative Central Office. Membership of the club is by nomination and elect ...

, and in the 1832 general election was defeated in Longford for the first time in his career. After an

election petition An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operate ...

overturned the result he was reinstated in 1833, and re-elected in 1835.

Personal life

In October 1832, Forbes married Frances Mary Territt. They had two sons: George-Arthur (born 1833) and his younger brother (born 1836).

Illness and death

By late 1835, his health was failing. Forbes suffered a seizure and was held to be "of unsound mind" by a commission of lunacy. He died on 14 November 1836. The following year, his eldest son

George George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Gior ...

succeeded to the family title as Earl of Granard.

References

{{reflist UK MPs 1806–1807 UK MPs 1807–1812 UK MPs 1812–1818 UK MPs 1818–1820 UK MPs 1820–1826 UK MPs 1826–1830 UK MPs 1830–1831 UK MPs 1831–1832 UK MPs 1832–1835 UK MPs 1835–1837 74th Highlanders officers Longford Militia officers 1785 births 1836 deaths Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Longford constituencies (1801–1922)