Robert James Tennent (1803 – 25 May 1880) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

Whig politician. Born in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

and the son of

Robert Tennent Robert Tennent FRSE (1815-15 December 1890) was an early Scottish photographer and major landowner in Australia. Life He was born in Edinburgh in 1813 the son of Margaret Rodger Lyon (1794-1867) and Patrick Tennant Writer to the Signet, WS (1782 ...

, medical doctor, merchant, and philanthropist, and Eliza née Macrone, Tennent was educated at the

Royal Belfast Academical Institution The Royal Belfast Academical Institution is an independent grammar school in Belfast, Northern Ireland. With the support of Belfast's leading reformers and democrats, it opened its doors in 1814. Until 1849, when it was superseded by what today is ...

and in

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

. In 1824, with his friend James Emerson, he volunteered to join the Greeks in their War of Independence. For Tennent, it was with conviction that having "learned too feelingly the black consequences of slavery by the wretched example of may own country", Ireland, he could not "remain a passive spectator of the conflict". He was soon disillusioned by the Greek insurgents, concluding that, beyond emancipation from the

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...

, they had "no idea of true liberty". In 1832, the two friends contested the general election in Belfast. Emerson (who having married an heiress cousin of Tennent's, was now James Emerson Tennent) stood the interest of the town's proprietor, Lord Donegall, as an Independent Whig (but subsequently took the Tory Whip) . In the cause of reform, Tennent stood against him as a Whig and lost. A Protestant loyalist mob celebrated his defeat with an attack on the central Catholic district (Hercules Street) and with an attempt to ransack Tennent's house. In 1826 Tennent had been admitted to Lincoln's Inn. He was called to the Irish Bar In 1833 he was called to the Irish Bar and to the English Bar in 1834. In 1830 he married Eliza, daughter of John McCracken in 1830 and niece of the

United Irishman ''The United Irishman'' was an Irish nationalist newspaper co-founded by Arthur Griffith and William Rooney.Arthur Griffith ...

Henry Joy McCracken Henry Joy McCracken (31 August 1767 – 17 July 1798) was an Irish republican, a leading member of the Society of the United Irishmen and a commander of their forces in the field in the Rebellion of 1798. In pursuit of an independent and democra ...

hanged in 1798. They had at least two children Robert Tennent,.and Letitia whose son Henry Harrison became an Irish Nationalist (Parnellite) MP. Tennent succeeded in being elected a Whig

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 o ...

(MP) for

at the 1847 general election and held the seat until 1852, when he was defeated again by a Tory.

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* Whig (British political party) MPs for Irish constituencies UK MPs 1847–1852 1803 births 1880 deaths Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Belfast constituencies (1801–1922) Politicians from Belfast Members of Lincoln's Inn Lawyers from Belfast Irish barristers Alumni of Trinity College Dublin {{Ireland-UK-MP-stub