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Robert Percy Smith, known as "Bobus" Smith (7 May 1770 – 10 March 1845), was a British lawyer,
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 ...
, and Judge Advocate-General of
Bengal
Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
.
Smith was eldest son of Robert Smith, and brother of the writer and clergyman
Sydney Smith
Sydney Smith (3 June 1771 – 22 February 1845) was an English wit, writer, and Anglican cleric.
Early life and education
Born in Woodford, Essex, England, Smith was the son of merchant Robert Smith (1739–1827) and Maria Olier (1750–1801), ...
. He entered
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 ...
in 1782, and became very intimate with
John Hookham Frere
John Hookham Frere (21 May 1769 – 7 January 1846) was an English diplomat and author.
Early life
Frere was born in London. His father, John Frere, a member of a Suffolk family, had been educated at Caius College, Cambridge, and became Sec ...
,
George Canning, and
Henry Vassall-Fox, 3rd Baron Holland
Henry Richard Vassall-Fox, 3rd Baron Holland of Holland, and 3rd Baron Holland of Foxley PC (21 November 1773 – 22 October 1840), was an English politician and a major figure in Whig politics in the early 19th century. A grandson of Henry F ...
. With them in 1786 he started the school magazine entitled "The Microcosm", which ran for forty volumes, and procured for Smith an introduction to
Queen Charlotte
Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Sophia Charlotte; 19 May 1744 – 17 November 1818) was Queen of Great Britain and of Ireland as the wife of King George III from their marriage on 8 September 1761 until the union of the two kingdoms ...
. In 1788 he became a scholar on Dr. Battie's foundation, and in 1791 obtained Sir William Browne's medal for the best Latin ode. In the same year he entered
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the city ...
, and graduated B.A. in 1794 and M.A. in 1797. On 4 July of the same year he was called to the bar of
Lincoln's Inn
The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...
.
In 1803, through the influence of
William Petty, first Marquess of Lansdowne, and Sir
Francis Baring, he obtained the appointment of
Judge Advocate General of
Bengal
Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
. In seven years he returned to England with a fortune, and settled in London. While in India he allowed his brother Sydney
£100 a year, and on his return lent him £500 towards the expenses of his move into the country, and gave £100 a year to support Sydney's eldest son at Westminster.
In 1812 Smith entered
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. ...
as member for
Grantham
Grantham () is a market and industrial town in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road. It lies some 23 miles (37 km) south of the Lincoln and ...
, but made no reputation as a speaker. At the general election of 1818 he contested
Lincoln
Lincoln most commonly refers to:
* Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States
* Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England
* Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S.
* Lincol ...
unsuccessfully, but two years later he won the seat and sat as the representative of the borough until his retirement after the dissolution of 1826.
Although Robert never attained the same level of fame as his brother Sydney- with whom his relationship was always affectionate- those who knew both men considered "Bobus" to equal, if not surpass, Sydney in "the very qualities for which the younger was renowned"; he was considered "a man of great originality, a profound thinker, and of wide grasp of mind. His wit was proverbial... his conversation provoked the admiration of Madam de Staël." Canning referred to his language as "the essence of English"; Landor declared that "his Latin hexameters would not have discredited Lucretius". Smith's son published a number of his Latin verses, as "Early Writings of Robert Percy Smith" (Chiswick, 1850, quarto).
Smith was also a member of the
New River Company
The New River Company, formally The Governor and Company of the New River brought from Chadwell and Amwell to London, was a privately-owned water supply company in London, England, originally formed around 1609 and incorporated in 1619 by roy ...
, who developed part of
Finsbury
Finsbury is a district of Central London, forming the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Islington. It borders the City of London.
The Manor of Finsbury is first recorded as ''Vinisbir'' (1231) and means "manor of a man called Finn ...
as the head of the
New River, and Percy Circus in Finsbury is named after him.
Personal life
His country residence was at
Cheam
Cheam () is a suburb of London, England, south-west of Charing Cross. It is divided into North Cheam, Cheam Village and South Cheam. Cheam Village contains the listed buildings Lumley Chapel and the 16th-century Whitehall. It is adjacent to ...
,
Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
. In 1797 Smith married Caroline, daughter of Richard Vernon, M.P. for Tavistock. She was half-sister of the mothers of the third Lord Holland and of the third Lord Lansdowne. By her Smith was father of
Robert Vernon, who became a prominent
Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
politician and was created
Baron Lyveden in 1859.
Smith died on 10 March 1845 at his house in
Savile Row
Savile Row (pronounced ) is a street in Mayfair, central London. Known principally for its traditional bespoke tailoring for men, the street has had a varied history that has included accommodating the headquarters of the Royal Geographical ...
, London.
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Robert Percy
1770 births
1845 deaths
Alumni of King's College, Cambridge
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies
UK MPs 1812–1818
UK MPs 1820–1826
Politics of Lincoln, England
Politics of Grantham
People educated at Eton College