The Honourable ''The Honourable'' (British English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of certain ...

Henry Grey Bennet FRS (2 December 1777 – 29 May 1836) was a British politician.

Life

Bennet was the second of three sons and fourth of eight children of

Charles Bennet, 4th Earl of Tankerville Charles Bennet, 4th Earl of Tankerville (15 November 1743 – 10 December 1822), styled Lord Ossulston from 1753 to 1767, was a British nobleman, a collector of shellsEmma, Lady Tankerville (1752–1836), daughter of banker

Sir James Colebrooke, 1st Baronet Sir James Edward Colebrooke, 1st Baronet (21 July 1722 — 10 May 1761) sat in the House of Commons from 1751 to 1761. Early life He was the son of James Colebrooke, of Chilham Castle, Kent, a very prominent private banker in London, and his wif ...

. He 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, C ...

(1788–92), served in the

1st Foot Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

, and entered

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

in 1798, and

Peterhouse, Cambridge Peterhouse is the oldest constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Today, Peterhouse has 254 undergraduates, 116 full-time graduate students and 54 fellows. It is quite ...

, in 1799. He was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in 1803, practising on the Western Circuit. Bennet's first election as MP for

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...

in 1806 was invalidated. His advocacy of

Catholic emancipation Catholic emancipation or Catholic relief was a process in the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland, and later the combined United Kingdom in the late 18th century and early 19th century, that involved reducing and removing many of the restricti ...

led to defeat in 1807 but he regained his seat in 1811. In the Commons his maiden speech was directed at the

Prince Regent A prince regent or princess regent is a prince or princess who, due to their position in the line of succession, rules a monarchy as regent in the stead of a monarch regnant, e.g., as a result of the sovereign's incapacity (minority or illness ...

. From 1813 to 1815 he was the second president of the

Geological Society of London The Geological Society of London, known commonly as the Geological Society, is a learned society based in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest national geological society in the world and the largest in Europe with more than 12,000 Fellows. Fe ...

; the Lyell Collection contains his account of the Island of

Tenerife Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitants as of Janu ...

. After the

Peterloo massacre The Peterloo Massacre took place at St Peter's Field, Manchester, Lancashire, England, on Monday 16 August 1819. Fifteen people died when cavalry charged into a crowd of around 60,000 people who had gathered to demand the reform of parliament ...

in 1819 he called for an inquiry into the manufacturing districts' plight. His defence of Queen Caroline in 1820–21 led to his portrayal in an engraving by

Francis Holl Francis Holl (23 March 1815 – 14 January 1884), was an English engraver. Life He was born 23 March 1815 in Camden Town, London, the fourth son of the prominent engraver William Holl the Elder (c.1771-1838), to whom he was apprenticed. ...

. The sudden ending of Bennet's career in 1824 (apparently due to the death from consumption of his only son six months after that of a daughter) was followed by a continental trip in 1825. His reputation was ruined by the threat of prosecution for importuning a young male servant at

Spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (and sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts (including hot springs resorts) typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneoth ...

in August 1825. Bennet represented himself as the victim of a conspiracy to extort money, but the facts of the case worked against him. When Parliament was dissolved in 1826 his name was linked with that of the homosexual

Richard Heber Richard Heber (5 January 1773 – 4 October 1833) was an English book-collector. Biography He was born in Westminster, as the eldest son of Reginald Heber, who succeeded his eldest brother as lord of the manors of Marton in Yorkshire and Hodnet ...

. Bennet remained in exile and gave up his seat in parliament the following year. He and his wife lived near

Lake Como Lake Como ( it, Lago di Como , ; lmo, label=Western Lombard, Lagh de Còmm , ''Cómm'' or ''Cùmm'' ), also known as Lario (; after the la, Larius Lacus), is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy. It has an area of , making it the thir ...

in Italy until his death aged 58 in 1836. Bennet was the author of several pamphlets, and a fellow of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

Family

In 1816 Bennet married Gertrude Frances, daughter of

Lord William Russell Lord William Russell (20 August 1767 – 5 May 1840) was a member of the British aristocratic Russell family and longtime Member of Parliament. He did little to attract public attention after the end of his political career until, in 1840, he was ...

. They had one son and three daughters. Gertrude died in 1841.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bennet, Henry Grey Fellows of the Royal Society 1777 births 1836 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of Peterhouse, Cambridge Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies UK MPs 1807–1812 UK MPs 1812–1818 UK MPs 1818–1820 UK MPs 1820–1826 Younger sons of earls English LGBT politicians LGBT members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom 17th-century LGBT people 18th-century LGBT people