George Hay, Earl of Gifford (26 April 1822 – 22 December 1862) was a British

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a l ...

politician. Lord Gifford was born at Yester House, the eldest son of the 8th Marquess of Tweeddale. He was educated at Trinity College and

Trinity Hall, Cambridge Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. It is the fifth-oldest surviving college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by ...

, where he was president of the University Pitt Club. In 1850, he was a Captain in the East Lothian Yeomanry Cavalry and became

Private Secretary A private secretary (PS) is a civil servant in a governmental department or ministry, responsible to a secretary of state or minister; or a public servant in a royal household, responsible to a member of the royal family. The role exists in t ...

to the

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(

The Duke of Newcastle Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne and 1st Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne, (21 July 169317 November 1768) was a British Whig statesman who served as the 4th and 6th Prime Minister of Great Britain, his official life extended ...

) in 1854. A year later, he entered

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as MP for

Totnes Totnes ( or ) is a market town and civil parish at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England, within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is about west of Paignton, about west-southwest of Torquay and ...

(a seat he held until his death). In 1862, Lord Gifford was involved in an accident whilst rescuing a workman about to be crushed by a tree the latter was cutting down in the grounds of

Yester Castle Yester Castle is a ruined castle, located southeast of the village of Gifford in East Lothian, Scotland. The only remaining complete structure is the subterranean Goblin Ha' or Hobgoblin Ha' (Goblin Hall). It is a Scheduled Ancient Monumen ...

. Because of the accident, the Dowager Baroness Dufferin and Claneboye (a close friend of his who previously refused his proposals) agreed to marry Lord Gifford and they did so at

Dufferin Lodge Dufferin, Dyffryn or Duffryn may refer to: Places In Burma * Fort Dufferin, the British name for Mandalay Palace during their colonial rule In Canada British Columbia * Dufferin Island, * Dufferin, Kamloops, Dufferin, neighbourhood of the cit ...

on 13 October 1862. As a result of the accident, Lord Gifford died two months later and as he and his wife did not have any children, his brother, Lord Arthur became the heir to their father's titles and estate.

Sources

Burke's Peerage & Gentry

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gifford, George Hay, Earl of 1822 births 1862 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge Courtesy earls Heirs apparent who never acceded Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1852–1857 UK MPs 1857–1859 UK MPs 1859–1865 Lothians and Border Horse officers Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Totnes