Thomas Knox, 1st Earl of Ranfurly (5 August 1754 – 26 April 1840), styled The Honourable Thomas Knox between 1781 and 1818 and known as The Viscount Northland between 1818 and 1831, 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 ...

peer and politician.

Background

Ranfurly was the eldest son of

Thomas Knox, 1st Viscount Northland Thomas Knox, 1st Viscount Northland (20 April 1729 – 5 November 1818), known as The Lord Welles between 1781 and 1791, was an Irish politician. Background Thomas Knox was the son of Thomas Knox and Hester Echlin. He died on 5 November 1818 age ...

, and the Hon. Anne, daughter of

John Vesey, 1st Baron Knapton John Denny Vesey, 1st Baron Knapton (died 1761), was an Anglo-Irish politician and peer. Vesey was the son of Sir Thomas Vesey, 1st Baronet, and his wife and cousin Mary Muschamp, only surviving daughter and heiress of Denny Muschamp of Horsley, ...

. His brothers included bishops William Knox and Edmund Knox,

George Knox The Honourable George Knox PC, FRS (14 January 1765 – 13 June 1827), was an Irish Tory politician. Knox was the fifth son of Thomas Knox, 1st Viscount Northland. In 1790, Knox entered the Irish House of Commons for Dungannon. Subsequently, ...

, and Archdeacon Charles Knox.

Political career

Ranfurly was elected a member of the

Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, but on a highly restrictive fra ...

for Carlingford in 1776, a seat he held until 1783, and then represented

Dungannon Dungannon () is a town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the second-largest town in the county (after Omagh) and had a population of 14,340 at the 2011 Census. The Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council had its headquarters in the ...

between 1783 and 1790 and

County Tyrone County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six Counties of Northern Ireland, counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional Counties of Ireland, counties of Ireland. It is no longer used as an admini ...

between 1790 and 1798. He was also a member of the

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 mem ...

for

from 1806 to 1812. On 18 May 1793 he was commissioned as

Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

and second-in-command of the newly raised Royal Tyrone Militia. He commanded the regiment on garrison duty for a year, resigning in 1794. In 1818 he succeeded his father in the viscountcy of Northland, but, as this was an

Irish peerage The Peerage of Ireland consists of those titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It is one of the five divisio ...

it did not entitle him to a seat in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

. However, in 1826 he was created Baron Ranfurly, of Ramphorlie in the

County of Renfrew Renfrewshire or the County of Renfrew is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It contains the local government council areas of Inverclyde, Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire, as w ...

, in the

Peerage of the United Kingdom The Peerage of the United Kingdom is one of the five Peerages in the United Kingdom. It comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Acts of Union 1800, Acts of Union in 1801, when it replaced the ...

, which entitled him and his successors to a seat in the upper chamber of parliament. In 1831 he was further honoured when he was made Earl of Ranfurly in the Peerage of Ireland.

Family

Lord Ranfurly married his cousin the Honourable Diana Jane, daughter of

Edmund Pery, 1st Viscount Pery Edmund Sexton Pery, 1st Viscount Pery (8 April 1719 – 24 February 1806; middle name also spelt ''Sexten'') was an Anglo-Irish politician who served as Speaker of the Irish House of Commons between 1771 and 1785. Early life He was born in Limer ...

and Elizabeth Vesey, in 1785. Their second son the Honourable Edmund Knox (1787–1867) was an Admiral in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

. Lady Ranfurly died in November 1839. Lord Ranfurly only survived her by a few months and died in April 1840, aged 85. He was succeeded in his titles 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 Ap ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ranfurly, Thomas Knox, 1st Earl of 1754 births 1840 deaths Irish MPs 1776–1783 Irish MPs 1783–1790 Irish MPs 1790–1797 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Tyrone constituencies (1801–1922) UK MPs 1806–1807 UK MPs 1807–1812 UK MPs who inherited peerages UK MPs who were granted peerages Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Louth constituencies Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Tyrone constituencies Tyrone Militia officers Earls of Ranfurly Peers of the United Kingdom created by George IV Peers of Ireland created by William IV