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
Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five.
Fifth or The Fifth may refer to:
* Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth"
* Fifth column, a political term
* Fifth disease, a contagious rash that ...
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 ...
in 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
East Grinstead is a town in West Sussex, England, near the East Sussex, Surrey, and Kent borders, south of London, northeast of Brighton, and northeast of the county town of Chichester. Situated in the extreme northeast of the county, the civ ...
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 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 ...
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
Maria Amalia, Duchess of Parma (Maria Amalia Josepha Johanna Antonia; 26 February 1746 – 18 June 1804) was Duchess of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla by marriage to Ferdinand, Duke of Parma. She was born an archduchess of Austria as the daugh ...
, 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
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