Richard Southwell Bourke, 6th

Earl of Mayo Earl of the County of Mayo, usually known simply as Earl of Mayo, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland created, in 1785, for John Bourke, 1st Earl of Mayo, John Bourke, 1st Viscount Mayo (of the second creation). For many years he served as "Firs ...

, (; ; 21 February 1822 – 8 February 1872) styled Lord Naas (; ) from 1842 to 1867 and Lord Mayo in India, was a British

statesman A statesman or stateswoman typically is a politician who has had a long and respected political career at the national or international level. Statesman or Statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States * ''The Statesman'' (Oregon), a n ...

and prominent member of the

British Conservative Party The Conservative Party, officially the Conservative and Unionist Party and also known colloquially as the Tories, is one of the two main political parties in the United Kingdom, along with the Labour Party. It is the current governing party, ...

who served as

Chief Secretary for Ireland The Chief Secretary for Ireland was a key political office in the British administration in Ireland. Nominally subordinate to the Lord Lieutenant, and officially the "Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant", from the early 19th century un ...

(1852, 1858–9, 1866–8) and

Viceroy of India The Governor-General of India (1773–1950, from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, commonly shortened to Viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom and after Indian independence in 19 ...

(1869–72).

Background and education

Mayo was born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, the eldest son of Robert Bourke, 5th Earl of Mayo (the son of Hon. Richard Burke,

Bishop of Waterford and Lismore The Bishop of Waterford and Lismore is an Episcopal polity, episcopal title which takes its name after the city of Waterford and town of Lismore, County Waterford, Lismore in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The title was used by the Church of Ireland ...

), and his wife, Anne Charlotte, daughter of the Hon. John Jocelyn. His younger brother the Hon. Robert Bourke was also a successful politician. He was educated at

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 ...

. He and his brothers were accomplished horsemen and enjoyed fox hunting.

Political career

After travelling in Russia, Mayo was elected MP for

Kildare Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 8,634 making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. The town lies on the R445, some west of Dublin – near enough for it to have become, despite being a regional cen ...

(1847–52),

Coleraine Coleraine ( ; from ga, Cúil Rathain , 'nook of the ferns'Flanaghan, Deirdre & Laurence; ''Irish Place Names'', page 194. Gill & Macmillan, 2002. ) is a town and civil parish near the mouth of the River Bann in County Londonderry, Northern I ...

(1852–7) and

Cockermouth Cockermouth is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Allerdale in Cumbria, England, so named because it is at the confluence of the River Cocker as it flows into the River Derwent. The mid-2010 census estimates state that Cocke ...

(1857–68). He was thrice appointed

– in 1852, 1858 and 1866 – and in 1869 he became the fourth

where he was locally often referred to as "Lord Mayo". He consolidated the frontiers of

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 ...

and reorganised the country's finances; he also did much to promote irrigation, railways, forests and other useful public works. To solve local problems he established local boards. During his tenure the first census took place in 1872. He founded

Mayo College Mayo College (informally Mayo) is a boys-only independent boarding school in Ajmer, Rajasthan, India. It was founded in 1875 by Richard Bourke, 6th Earl of Mayo, who was the Viceroy of India from 1869 to 1872. This makes it one of the oldest Pub ...

Ajmer Ajmer is one of the major and oldest cities in the Indian state of Rajasthan and the centre of the eponymous Ajmer District. It is located at the centre of Rajasthan. It is also known as heart of Rajasthan. The city was established as "''Aj ...

for the education of young Indian chiefs, with £70,000 being subscribed by the chiefs themselves.

Assassination

While visiting the convict settlement at

Port Blair Port Blair () is the capital city of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a union territory of India in the Bay of Bengal. It is also the local administrative sub-division (''tehsil'') of the islands, the headquarters for the district of South An ...

in the

Andaman Islands The Andaman Islands () are an archipelago in the northeastern Indian Ocean about southwest off the coasts of Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Region. Together with the Nicobar Islands to their south, the Andamans serve as a maritime boundary between th ...

in 1872 for the purpose of inspection, he was assassinated by

Sher Ali Afridi Sher Ali Afridi, also called Shere Ali, is known for killing Lord Mayo, the Viceroy of India, on 8 February 1872. He was a prisoner on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands at the time, sentenced for murder. Early life Sher Ali worked for the colonia ...

, a former Afghan soldier who was later convicted of murdering a relative in an argument who had become disgruntled. He vowed to kill a senior official in revenge. Mayo's body was brought home to Ireland and buried at the medieval ruined church in Johnstown, County Kildare, near his home at Palmerstown House. Afridi was hanged on March 11, 1872.

Memorials

Lord Mayo March

The traditional Irish

march March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of Marc ...

"Lord Mayo" (''Tiagharna Mhaighe-eo'') was named after him; according to tradition, it was composed by his harper David Murphy to appease Mayo after Murphy angered him.

''Papilio mayo'' Butterfly

In 1873, the newly discovered

swallowtail butterfly Swallowtail butterflies are large, colorful butterflies in the family Papilionidae, and include over 550 species. Though the majority are tropical, members of the family inhabit every continent except Antarctica. The family includes the large ...

'' Papilio mayo'' from the Andaman Islands was named in his honour.

St Paul's Cathedral

A Memorial to Lord Mayo is in the third recess of the South Wall at St Paul's Cathedral, London.

Statue in Cockermouth, Cumbria

On 19 August 1875, a statue of Lord Mayo was unveiled in the centre of the main street in the town of

. The 800-guinea cost of the statue (made by Messrs. Willis of London) had been raised by public subscription. The unveiling was attended by Mayo's son, the 7th Earl; Lord Napier and Ettrick;

Harvey Goodwin Harvey Goodwin (9 October 1818 – 25 November 1891) was an English academic and Anglican clergyman, Bishop of Carlisle from 1869 until his death. Life Born at King's Lynn, he was a son of Charles Goodwin, a solicitor there; his mother was Fra ...

Bishop of Carlisle The Bishop of Carlisle is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Carlisle in the Province of York. The diocese covers the county of Cumbria except for Alston Moor and the former Sedbergh Rural District. The see is in the city of Car ...

; and the

Earl of Lonsdale Earl of Lonsdale is a title that has been created twice in British history, firstly in the Peerage of Great Britain in 1784 (becoming extinct in 1802), and then in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1807, both times for members of the Lowth ...

. The statue, carved in Sicilian marble, depicts Lord Mayo in his viceregal garb, and still stands today.

Mayo Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan

Mayo Hospital Mayo Hospital is one of the oldest and biggest hospitals in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. King Edward Medical University, one of the oldest and most prestigious medical institutions in South Asia, is attached to Mayo Hospital. Mayo Hospital is locat ...

is one of the oldest and biggest hospitals in

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. The hospital is named after then

Viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning "k ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

, "Richard Bourke, 6th Earl of Mayo" also locally known as Lord Mayo.

Statue at Albert Hall Museum, Jaipur, India

A statue of Lord Mayo had been installed in the premises of

(currently known as the Mahilya Chikatsalya, Jaipur). The cast-iron statue, weighing around 3 tons, was ordered sculpted by the Maharaja Ram Singh ji of Jaipur, as a tribute to Lord Mayo after his assassination. The sculptors were J. Forsyth and R. Monti. The company's name as inscribed on the statue was R. Masefield & Co., London. This statue of Lord Mayo had been buried in the premises of the Albert Hall Museum of Jaipur at the time of the independence of India in 1947 to prevent

vandalism Vandalism is the action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property. The term includes property damage, such as graffiti and defacement directed towards any property without permission of the owner. The term f ...

. After six decades, this statue was unearthed by the Jaipur Mayo Alumni Chapter on 29 May 2007. It was later removed from the Albert Hall Museum in Jaipur and sent to

, in

, where it is now installed.

Mayo College, Ajmer, India

, was founded after the death of Lord Mayo in 1875. The College, named in honour of Lord Mayo, already had a full life-size statue of him sculpted in white marble installed in front of its famous main building since inception and a marble sculpted bust of him in its school museum. The College accepted the statue of Lord Mayo which was unearthed at Mayo Hospital, Jaipur in 2007.

Family

Lord Mayo married Blanche Julia, daughter of

George Wyndham, 1st Baron Leconfield George Wyndham, 1st Baron Leconfield (5 June 1787 – 18 March 1869), was a British soldier and peer. A direct descendant of Sir John Wyndham, he was the eldest natural son of George O'Brien Wyndham, 3rd Earl of Egremont, and Elizabeth Ili ...

, in 1848. He was succeeded in the earldom by his eldest son,

Dermot Diarmaid () is a masculine given name in the Irish language, which has historically been anglicized as Jeremiah or Jeremy, names with which it is etymologically unrelated. Earlier forms of the name include Diarmit and Diarmuit. Variations of the ...

. Lady Mayo died in 1918.

Arms

Notes

References

* * *Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990,
Encyclopædia Britannica Article on Richard Southwell Bourke, 6th earl of MayoObituary & Photo at the Mayo College, Ajmer, India website

External links

* *
The assassination of Lord Mayo: The 'first' jihad?
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayo, Richard Bourke, 6th Earl Of Viceroys of India 1860s in British India 1870s in British India Founders of Indian schools and colleges 1822 births 1872 deaths Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Assassinated British politicians British people murdered abroad Cumbria MPs Irish Anglicans Knights of St Patrick Irish knights Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Londonderry constituencies (1801–1922) Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Kildare constituencies (1801–1922) Politicians from County Dublin People murdered in India UK MPs 1847–1852 UK MPs 1852–1857 UK MPs 1857–1859 UK MPs 1859–1865 UK MPs 1865–1868 UK MPs who inherited peerages Deaths by stabbing in India

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 ...

Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Chief Secretaries for Ireland Earls of Mayo 1872 murders in India