Lord John Townshend PC (19 January 1757 – 23 February 1833), styled The Honourable John Townshend until 1787, was a British Whig politician.

Background

Townshend was the second son of

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

George Townshend, 1st Marquess Townshend Field Marshal George Townshend, 1st Marquess Townshend, PC (28 February 172414 September 1807), known as The Viscount Townshend from 1764 to 1787, was a British soldier and politician. After serving at the Battle of Dettingen during the War of t ...

, by his first wife

Charlotte Compton, 16th Baroness Ferrers of Chartley Charlotte Townshend, Viscountess Townshend (died 3 September 1770), ''suo jure'' 16th Baroness Ferrers of Chartley and 7th Baroness Compton, known as Lady Charlotte Compton until 1749 and as Lady Ferrers of Chartley from 1749 to 1764, was a Briti ...

George Townshend, 2nd Marquess Townshend George Townshend, 2nd Marquess Townshend, PC, FRS (18 April 1753 – 27 July 1811), known as The Lord Ferrers of Chartley from 1770 to 1784 and as The Earl of Leicester from 1784 to 1807, was a British peer and politician. Background and ...

, was his elder brother and

Charles Townshend Charles Townshend (28 August 1725 – 4 September 1767) was a British politician who held various titles in the Parliament of Great Britain. His establishment of the controversial Townshend Acts is considered one of the key causes of the Ame ...

his uncle. He was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

and

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...

Political career

Townshend was elected to 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. ...

for

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

in 1780, a seat he held until 1784, and later represented

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

from 1788 to 1790 and

Knaresborough Knaresborough ( ) is a market and spa town and civil parish in the Borough of Harrogate, in North Yorkshire, England, on the River Nidd. It is east of Harrogate. History Knaresborough is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as ''Chenares ...

from 1793 to 1818. He was admitted to 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 1806 and served under

Lord Grenville William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville, (25 October 175912 January 1834) was a British Pittite Tory politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1806 to 1807, but was a supporter of the Whigs for the duration of ...

Paymaster of the Forces The Paymaster of the Forces was a position in the British government. The office was established in 1661, one year after the Restoration (1660), Restoration of the Monarchy to King Charles II, and was responsible for part of the financing of t ...

(alongside Lord Temple) between 1806 and 1807.

Family

Georgiana Lady Townsend (d 1851) by Anonymous

Townshend married in 1787 Georgiana Anne Fawkener, daughter of William Poyntz, and the divorced wife of William Fawkener. Their elder son

Charles Fox Townshend Charles Fox Townshend (28 June 1795 – 1817) was the founder of the Eton Society. Townshend was the eldest son of Lord John Townshend, second son of George Townshend, 1st Marquess Townshend. His mother was Georgiana Anne, daughter of William Po ...

was the founder of the

Eton Society 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, ...

but died young. Their younger son

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

became an

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

and succeeded his first cousin as 4th

Marquess Townshend Marquess Townshend is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain held by the Townshend family of Raynham Hall in Norfolk. The title was created in 1787 for George Townshend, 4th Viscount Townshend. History The Townshend family descends from Rog ...

in 1855. Their daughter Elizabeth Frances Townshend (2 August 1789 –10 April 1862 Nice) married 20 October 1813 Captain

Augustus Clifford Admiral Sir Augustus William James Clifford, 1st Baronet, (26 May 1788 – 8 February 1877) was a British Royal Navy officer, court official, and usher of the Black Rod. Personal life Clifford was born in France in 1788, the illegitimate son of ...

R.N., later Sir Augustus Clifford, 1st Bt (1788-1877), illegitimate son of the 5th Duke of Devonshire and his mistress, Lady

Elizabeth Foster Elizabeth Christiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire (13 May 1758 – 30 March 1824) was an England, English aristocrat and letter writer. She is best known as Lady Elizabeth Foster, the close friend of Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshi ...

, née Hervey, later the Duke's second wife (1811).Clifford was born before his half-brother

William Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire William George Spencer Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire, (21 May 1790 K. D. Reynolds, ‘Cavendish, William George Spencer, sixth duke of Devonshire (1790–1858)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; ...

and outlived him by a decade. Mrs Clifford became Lady Clifford in 1838 when her husband was raised to a baronetcy. Townshend died in February 1833, aged 76. Lady Georgiana Anne died in 1851.

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Townshend, Lord John 1757 births 1833 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Younger sons of marquesses Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Cambridge University British MPs 1780–1784 British MPs 1784–1790 British MPs 1790–1796 British MPs 1796–1800 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies UK MPs 1801–1802 UK MPs 1802–1806 UK MPs 1806–1807 UK MPs 1807–1812 UK MPs 1812–1818 John Townshend Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Lords of the Admiralty

Background

Political career

Family

See also

Notes

References