John FitzGibbon, 2nd Earl of Clare KP GCH PC (10 July 1792 – 18 August 1851) was an Anglo Irish aristocrat and politician.

Early life

FitzGibbon was born on 10 July 1792. He was the eldest son of

John FitzGibbon, 1st Earl of Clare John FitzGibbon, 1st Earl of Clare PC (Ire) (1748 – 28 January 1802) was Attorney-General for Ireland from 1783 to 1789 and Lord Chancellor of Ireland from 1789 to 1802. He was a controversial figure in Irish history, being described var ...

and his wife, the former Anne Whaley. He had two siblings, the Hon. Richard Hobart FitzGibbon (who later became the 3rd Earl of Clare), and Lady Isabella Mary Anne FitzGibbon. His maternal grandparents were Richard Chapel Whaley, of

Whaley Abbey Ballinaclash (A. D. Mills, 2003, ''A Dictionary of British Place-Names'', Oxford University Press) is a village in east County Wicklow centred on a bridge that carries the R753 regional road across the River Avonbeg. The village is mentione ...

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ga, Contae Chill Mhantáin ) is a county in Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is bordered by t ...

, and the former Anne Ward (daughter of Rev. Bernard Ward). His uncle was the

Thomas Whaley Thomas Whaley (October 5, 1823 – December 14, 1890) was an early settler of San Diego, California. The residence he built there in 1857 is now a public museum called Whaley House. Biography Whaley was born in Manhattan, New York City, 18 ...

, a

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

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

. His father was the second, but first surviving son, and heir, of John FitzGibbon, of Mount Shannon in

County Limerick "Remember Limerick" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Limerick.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Munster , subdivision ...

and Eleanor (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Grove) FitzGibbon (daughter of John Grove, of Ballyhimmock, in

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

). Upon his father's death in 1802, he succeeded to the titles of Baron FitzGibbon in the

Peerage of Great Britain The Peerage of Great Britain comprises all extant peerages created in the Kingdom of Great Britain between the Acts of Union 1707 and the Acts of Union 1800. It replaced the Peerage of England and the Peerage of Scotland, but was itself r ...

and

Earl of Clare Earl of Clare was a title of British nobility created three times: once each in the peerages of England, Great Britain and Ireland. The title derives from Clare, Suffolk, where a prominent Anglo-Norman family was seated since the Norman Conques ...

in the

Irish Peerage The Peerage of Ireland consists of those titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It is one of the five divisio ...

. He was educated at

Harrow School (The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God) , established = (Royal Charter) , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , religion = Church of E ...

and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

, graduating in 1812.

Career

From 1820 to 1851, he was active in estate management when not in public office, and from 1820 onwards was active in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

. In 1830 he became a

Privy Councillor A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

, and later the same year was appointed

Governor of Bombay Until the 18th century, Bombay consisted of seven islands separated by shallow sea. These seven islands were part of a larger archipelago in the Arabian sea, off the western coast of India. The date of city's founding is unclear—historians tr ...

, serving until 1835. In 1835 he was invested as a Knight Grand Cross of the

Royal Guelphic Order The Royal Guelphic Order (german: Königliche Guelphen-Orden), sometimes referred to as the Hanoverian Guelphic Order, is a Hanoverian order of chivalry instituted on 28 April 1815 by the Prince Regent (later King George IV). It takes its name ...

, was a member of the

Royal Asiatic Society The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, commonly known as the Royal Asiatic Society (RAS), was established, according to its royal charter of 11 August 1824, to further "the investigation of subjects connected with and for the en ...

from 1839 and invested as a Knight of St Patrick in 1845. He was Deputy Lieutenant of the County of Limerick from 1846 to 1849 and afterwards Lord Lieutenant of the City of Limerick for the remainder of his life.

Personal life

On 14 April 1826, he married the Hon. Elizabeth Burrell, daughter of Peter Burrell, 1st Lord Gwydwyr and Priscilla Bertie, ''

suo jure ''Suo jure'' is a Latin phrase, used in English to mean 'in his own right' or 'in her own right'. In most nobility-related contexts, it means 'in her own right', since in those situations the phrase is normally used of women; in practice, especi ...

Baroness Willoughby de Eresby Baron Willoughby de Eresby ( ) is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1313 for Robert de Willoughby. Since 1983, the title has been held by Jane Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 28th Baroness Willoughby de Eresby. History Th ...

. Her dowry was between £30,000 and £60,000. The couple lived apart, Lady Clare moving to the Isle of Wight where she built a Catholic church at Ryde and a Priory at Carisbrooke. He was also known to have been a great friend of

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and Peerage of the United Kingdom, peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and h ...

while attending Harrow School. Byron had claimed to love him "ad infinitum" and said that he could never hear the word "Clare" without "a murmur of the heart". O'Brien, Edna (2009), ''Byron in Love: A Short Daring Life''; W.W. Norton & Co., pg 18. Lord Clare died on 18 August 1851 and, as he had no issue, was succeeded in his titles and estates by his younger brother. His remains are deposited in Catacomb B, Vault 63, in

Kensal Green Cemetery Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in the Kensal Green area of Queens Park in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. Inspired by Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, it was founded by the barrister George Frederic ...

, London where his

cap of maintenance Typical of British heraldry, a cap of maintenance, known in heraldic language as a ''chapeau gules turned up ermine'', is a ceremonial cap of crimson velvet lined with ermine, which is worn or carried by certain persons as a sign of nobility or ...

may be seen inside the vault. His widow was buried at Mountjoy Cemetery in

Carisbrooke Carisbrooke is a village on the south western outskirts of Newport, Isle of Wight and is best known as the site of Carisbrooke Castle. It also has a medieval parish church. St Mary's Church (overlooking Carisbrooke High Street with views to the ...

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

, next to her close companion Miss Charlotte Elliot.

References

External links

John Fitzgibbon, 2nd Earl of Clare (1792-1851), Governor of Bombay
at the National Portrait Galler, London. {{DEFAULTSORT:Clare, John FitzGibbon, 2nd Earl of 1792 births 1851 deaths Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Earls of Clare Knights of St Patrick Lord-Lieutenants of Limerick Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Governors of Bombay Burials at Kensal Green Cemetery People educated at Harrow School