General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

Sir John Irwin KB (1727/28 – May 1788) was an Irish soldier who served in the British Army.

Career

Educated in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, Irwin was commissioned into the 5th Regiment of Foot in 1736.John Irwin at Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
/ref> He served in an attack on the French coast in 1758 and then fought under

Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

in 1760. He served as

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 ...

(MP) for East Grinstead from 1762 to 1783,

Governor of Gibraltar The governor of Gibraltar is the representative of the British monarch in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British government. The role of the governor is to act as the ...

from 1765 to 1767, member of the Irish privy council, and as

Commander-in-Chief, Ireland Commander-in-Chief, Ireland, was title of the commander of the British forces in Ireland before 1922. Until the Act of Union in 1800, the position involved command of the distinct Irish Army of the Kingdom of Ireland. History Marshal of Ireland ...

from 1775 to 1782. Losing the last of these posts on the fall of

Lord North Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford (13 April 17325 August 1792), better known by his courtesy title Lord North, which he used from 1752 to 1790, was 12th Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1770 to 1782. He led Great Britain through most o ...

's administration in March 1782, he moved back into his house in

Piccadilly Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road that connects central London to Hammersmith, Earl's Court, ...

and his place in parliament, rising to full

and retiring from parliament in 1783. In debt, in 1783 he moved to France and then Parma, where he was welcomed by

Ferdinand, Duke of Parma Ferdinand I (''Ferdinando Maria Filippo Lodovico Sebastiano Francesco Giacomo''; 20 January 1751 – 9 October 1802) was Duke of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla from his father's death on 18 July 1765 until he ceded the duchy to France by the Trea ...

and Maria Amalia, Duchess of Parma, and hosted British ex-patriates and visitors to the city until his death.

Family

He married three times: to Elizabeth Henry in 1749, to Anne Barry in 1753 and finally to Caroline with whom he had two children.

References

External links

* , - 1727 births 1788 deaths Military personnel from Dublin (city) 57th Regiment of Foot officers Carabiniers (6th Dragoon Guards) officers Commanders-in-Chief, Ireland Governors of Gibraltar Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1761–1768 British MPs 1768–1774 British MPs 1774–1780 British MPs 1780–1784 Members of the Privy Council of Ireland British Army generals British Army personnel of the Seven Years' War Irish colonial officials Irish soldiers {{England-GreatBritain-MP-stub