General Richard Grenville (6 July 1742 – 22 April 1823) was a senior officer in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

and a 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 1774 to 1780.

Biography

Grenville was the second son of

James Grenville James Grenville (12 February 1715 – 14 September 1783) was a British politician. He was born at Wotton House, Buckinghamshire in 1715 into the influential Grenville political family and was one of five brothers who went into politics. He was ...

and was the twin brother of

James Grenville, 1st Baron Glastonbury James Grenville, 1st Baron Glastonbury, PC (6 July 1742 – 26 April 1825) of Butleigh Court, Somerset was a United Kingdom politician, who was a member of both houses of Parliament during his career. Background Grenville was the eldest son of ...

. He attended

Eton College 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, C ...

from 1754 to 1758, and in 1759 he entered the Army, as an ensign in the

1st Foot Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

. Grenville obtained the rank of captain in 1760, by raising an independent company, and on 7 May 1761 he was removed to a company in the

24th Regiment of Foot Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

. He served the campaigns of 1761 and 1762 in Germany, as aide-de-camp to the Marquess of Granby. In 1772 he purchased a company in the

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the monarchy; due to this, it often participates in state ceremonia ...

, and in 1776 he accompanied the brigade of Guards to America. On 19 February 1779 he received the rank of colonel, on 20 November 1782 that of major-general, on 21 April 1786, the colonelcy for life of the

23rd Regiment of Foot Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (d ...

, and on 3 May 1796 the rank of lieutenant-general. In 1798 he was appointed commandant of the garrison at Plymouth in the absence of the Governor, and on 1 January 1801 he was promoted to general. Grenville was returned 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 ...

for

Buckingham Buckingham ( ) is a market town in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire, which had a population of 12,890 at the 2011 Census. The town lies approximately west of Central Milton Keynes, sou ...

, together with his twin brother James, on the family interest at the 1774 general election. His military activities appear to have prevented him from making much of a contribution in Parliament. Whether by his own choice or at the instigation of Lord Temple, he did not stand in

1780 Events January–March * January 16 – American Revolutionary War – Battle of Cape St. Vincent: British Admiral Sir George Rodney defeats a Spanish fleet. * February 19 – The legislature of New York votes to allow ...

. Grenville was in charge of Prince Frederick Augustus's establishment in Hanover from about 1781 until 1787, then served as comptroller and master of the Household to him as Duke of York from 1788 until 1823.Mary M. Drummond
GRENVILLE, Richard (1742-1823).
in ''

The History of Parliament The History of Parliament is a project to write a complete history of the United Kingdom Parliament and its predecessors, the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of England. The history will principally consist of a prosopography, in w ...

: the House of Commons 1754-1790'' (1964). Grenville died unmarried in 1823.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Grenville, Richard 1742 births 1823 deaths

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Frankish language, Old Frankish and is a Compound (linguistics), compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' an ...

People educated at Eton College British Army generals Grenadier Guards officers Coldstream Guards officers Royal Welch Fusiliers officers South Wales Borderers officers British Army personnel of the Seven Years' War British Army personnel of the American Revolutionary War Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1774–1780