Thomas Robinson, 1st Baron Grantham, (c. 169530 September 1770), of Newby, Yorkshire, was a British diplomat and 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. ...

between 1727 and 1761.

Early life

Robinson was a younger son of Sir William Robinson, Bt (1655–1736) of Newby-on-Swale, Yorkshire, who was Member of Parliament for

York York is a cathedral city with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many hist ...

from 1697 to 1722. His elder brother was Rear Admiral Sir Tancred Robinson. He had been a scholar and minor fellow of Trinity College,

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge beca ...

Career

Robinson gained his earliest diplomatic experience in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

. At the 1727 British general election he was returned as

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for

Thirsk Thirsk is a market town and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England known for its racecourse; quirky yarnbomber displays, and depiction as local author James Herriot's fictional Darrowby. History Archeological ...

on the Frankland interest, after his eldest brother, for whom the seat had originally been intended, resigned his pretensions to him. He was absent, presumably on account of his diplomatic duties, from all the recorded divisions of that Parliament. After Paris he went to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, where he was English ambassador from 1730 to 1748. During 1741 he sought to make peace between the empress

Maria Theresa Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position '' suo jure'' (in her own right) ...

and

Frederick the Great Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the S ...

, but in vain, and in 1748 he represented his country at the Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle. He was made a Knight Companion of the Bath in 1742. Returning to England Robinson sat in parliament for

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

from 1749 to 1761. In 1750, he was appointed to the Privy Council.

Southern Secretary

Paul Sandby - Caricature of George Bubb Dodington and Sir Thomas Robinson - Google Art Project

In 1754 Robinson was appointed

Secretary of State for the Southern Department The Secretary of State for the Southern Department was a position in the cabinet of the government of the Kingdom of Great Britain up to 1782, when the Southern Department became the Home Office. History Before 1782, the responsibilities of ...

and

Leader of the House of Commons The leader of the House of Commons is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom whose main role is organising government business in the House of Commons. The leader is generally a member or attendee of the cabinet of the ...

by the prime minister, the

Duke of Newcastle Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne was a title that was created three times, once in the Peerage of England and twice in the Peerage of Great Britain. The first grant of the title was made in 1665 to William Cavendish, 1st Marquess of Newcastle ...

, and it was on this occasion that

Pitt Pitt most commonly refers to: *The University of Pittsburgh, commonly known as Pitt, a university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States **Pitt Panthers, the athletic teams of the University of Pittsburgh * Pitt (surname), a surname o ...

made the famous remark to

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelv ...

, "the duke might as well have sent us his jackboot to lead us." In November 1755 he resigned, and in April 1761 he was created Baron Grantham.

Later career

He was Master of the Great Wardrobe 1749–1754 and again 1755–1760, and was joint

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in 1765 and 1766. He died in London on 30 September 1770. He married Frances, daughter of Thomas Worsley of Hovingham, on 13 July 1737, and had two sons and six daughters. He was succeeded in the peerage by his eldest son

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the ...

. The town of Grantham, New Hampshire in the United States of America is named after Robinson.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Grantham, Thomas Robinson, 1st Baron 1695 births 1770 deaths Barons in the Peerage of Great Britain Peers of Great Britain created by George III British MPs 1727–1734 British MPs 1747–1754 British MPs 1754–1761 British Secretaries of State Knights Companion of the Order of the Bath Robinson, Thomas Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain Robinson, Thomas Leaders of the House of Commons of Great Britain Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge Ambassadors of Great Britain to Poland People from Grantham United Kingdom Postmasters General

Ambassadors of Great Britain to the Holy Roman Emperor