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 ...

Lord George Henry Lennox (29 November 1737 – 25 March 1805) was a British Army officer and politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

from 1761 to 1790.

Early life

He was the second son of

Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond, 2nd Duke of Lennox, 2nd Duke of Aubigny, (18 May 17018 August 1750) of Goodwood House near Chichester in Sussex, was a British nobleman and politician. He was the son of Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmo ...

, and was a great-grandson of King

Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651, and King of England, Scotland and Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II was the eldest surviving child of ...

. He was a brother of the famous

Lennox sisters The Lennox sisters were four eighteenth-century British aristocrats, the daughters of Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond (1701–1750) by his wife Lady Sarah Cadogan (1705–1751). The four sisters were: * Caroline Fox, 1st Baroness Holland (17 ...

Military career

On 17 December 1751, Lennox was commissioned an ensign in the 2nd Regiment of Foot Guards. He was promoted to be captain of a company in the

25th Regiment of Foot Fifth is the Ordinal number (linguistics), ordinal form of the number 5, 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 ...

on 23 March 1756. From 1758 to 1762 George Lennox was the

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

of the

33rd Regiment of Foot The Duke of Wellington's Regiment (West Riding) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, forming part of the King's Division. In 1702, Colonel George Hastings, 8th Earl of Huntingdon, was authorised to raise a new regiment, which he di ...

. In 1757 a second

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...

(2nd/33rd) of the 33rd Regiment had been raised. In 1758, this battalion became an independent regiment, the

72nd Regiment of Foot The 72nd Highlanders was a British Army Scottish regiment, Highland Infantry Regiment of the Line. Raised in 1778, it was originally numbered 78th, before being redesignated the 72nd in 1786. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 78 ...

. At that time, his elder brother Charles Lennox had been the Colonel of the 33rd and was then appointed Colonel of the new regiment. George Lennox took command of the 33rd Regiment (1st/33rd). At the beginning of May 1758 the 33rd Regiment was stationed in

Blandford Blandford Forum ( ), commonly Blandford, is a market town in Dorset, England, sited by the River Stour about northwest of Poole. It was the administrative headquarters of North Dorset District until April 2019, when this was abolished and i ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

and was then moved 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 ...

to take part in an attack on the French coast at

St Malo Saint-Malo (, , ; Gallo: ; ) is a historic French port in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany, on the English Channel coast. The walled city had a long history of piracy, earning much wealth from local extortion and overseas adventures. In 1944, the Alli ...

on 5 May in the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754� ...

. On 1 August, both Brothers Regiments (33rd & 72nd) were involved in a highly successful

raid on Cherbourg The Raid on Cherbourg took place in August 1758 during the Seven Years' War when a British force was landed on the coast of France by the Royal Navy with the intention of attacking the town of Cherbourg as part of the British government's policy ...

, which resulted in the destruction of 30 French ships, and the capture of 200 guns and rockets, plus a number of French Regimental

Colours Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associ ...

and a large quantity of

booty Booty may refer to: Music *Booty music (also known as Miami bass or booty bass), a subgenre of hip hop * "Booty" (Jennifer Lopez song), 2014 *Booty (Blac Youngsta song), 2017 * Booty (C. Tangana and Becky G song), 2018 *"Booty", a 1993 song by G ...

. After this raid George Lennox and the 33rd Regiment remained inactive, garrisoned on the Isle of Wight on internal security duties. On 29 December 1762, he was appointed Colonel of the

, which he commanded until his death. On 16 February 1784, he was appointed

Constable of the Tower of London The Constable of the Tower is the most senior appointment at the Tower of London. In the Middle Ages a constable was the person in charge of a castle when the owner—the king or a nobleman—was not in residence. The Constable of the Tower had a ...

Parliamentary career

He was the Member of Parliament for

Chichester Chichester () is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only ci ...

from 1761 to 1767 and for

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

from 1767 to 1790. He was succeeded in the latter seat by his son. He was appointed a member of the

Privy Council 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 ...

in 1784.

Later life

In 1772, he was elected

Mayor of Chichester The following have been mayors of Chichester, Sussex: *William Combe 1390–91 MP for Chichester, 1382, 1384 and 1401 * William Neel 1393–95, 1401–02 MP for Chichester, 1388, 1399 and 1415. * William Horlebat 1398–99. MP ...

Family

Emilia Charlotte Lennox, by John Hoppner

Lord George Lennox married Lady Louisa Kerr, daughter of

William Kerr, 4th Marquess of Lothian General William Henry Kerr, 4th Marquess of Lothian (1710 – 12 April 1775) was a Scottish nobleman, British soldier and politician, the eldest son of William Kerr, 3rd Marquess of Lothian. He was styled Master of Jedburgh until 1722, Lord Jedbu ...

in 1759, and they had four children: * Lady Maria Louisa Lennox (2 November 1760 – July 1843). * Lady Emily Charlotte Lennox (December 1763 – 19 October 1832), married Adm. Hon. Sir

George Cranfield Berkeley Admiral Sir George Cranfield Berkeley GCB (10 August 1753 – 25 February 1818) was a British Royal Navy officer. An admiral, he was highly popular yet controversial in late eighteenth and early nineteenth century Britain. Serving on several ...

and had issue. *

Charles Lennox, 4th Duke of Richmond General Charles Lennox, 4th Duke of Richmond, 4th Duke of Lennox, 4th Duke of Aubigny, (9 December 176428 August 1819) was a Scottish peer, soldier, politician, and Governor-general of British North America. Background Richmond was born to Ge ...

(9 September 1764 – 28 August 1819). * Lady Georgiana Lennox (6 December 1765 – 20 January 1841), married

Henry Bathurst, 3rd Earl Bathurst Henry Bathurst, 3rd Earl Bathurst, (22 May 176227 July 1834) was a High Tory, High Church Pittite. He was an MP for thirty years before ennoblement. A personal friend of William Pitt the Younger, he became a broker of deals across cabinet fac ...

. Despite the Hanoverian side taken by his father, George made an arranged marriage for his own son Charles with the heiress of

Clan Gordon Clan Gordon is a Scottish Highlands, Highland Scottish clan, historically one of the most powerful Scottish clans. The Gordon lands once spanned a large territory across the Highlands. Presently, Gordon is seated at Aboyne Castle, Aberdeenshire ...

, a notable Jacobite family.

Ancestry

References

External links

thePeerage.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lennox, George 1737 births 1805 deaths Younger sons of dukes 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 British MPs 1784–1790 British Army generals 33rd Regiment of Foot officers Lord-Lieutenants of the Tower Hamlets Constables of the Tower of London King's Own Scottish Borderers officers Mayors of Chichester Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain Coldstream Guards officers