Uchter John Mark Knox, 5th Earl of Ranfurly (14 August 1856 – 1 October 1933), was a British politician and colonial governor. He was

Governor of New Zealand The governor-general of New Zealand ( mi, te kāwana tianara o Aotearoa) is the viceregal representative of the monarch of New Zealand, currently King Charles III. As the King is concurrently the monarch of 14 other Commonwealth realms and liv ...

from 1897 to 1904.

Early life

Lord Ranfurly was born into an

Ulster-Scots Ulster Scots, may refer to: * Ulster Scots people The Ulster Scots ( Ulster-Scots: ''Ulstèr-Scotch''; ga, Albanaigh Ultach), also called Ulster Scots people (''Ulstèr-Scotch fowk'') or (in North America) Scotch-Irish (''Scotch-Airisch'') ...

aristocratic family in

Guernsey Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency. It is the second largest of the Channel Islands ...

, the second son of The 3rd Earl of Ranfurly by his wife Harriet, daughter of John Rimmington, of Broomhead Hall,

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

. He was educated at

Harrow School (The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God) , established = (Royal Charter) , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , religion = Church of E ...

. Becoming a cadet on board HMS ''Britannia'', he passed for 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 ...

, but, giving up a naval career, entered

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

, at the age of eighteen. He succeeded in the earldom (and several subsidiary titles) in May 1875 when his elder brother died on a shooting expedition in

Abyssinia The Ethiopian Empire (), also formerly known by the exonym Abyssinia, or just simply known as Ethiopia (; Amharic and Tigrinya: ኢትዮጵያ , , Oromo: Itoophiyaa, Somali: Itoobiya, Afar: ''Itiyoophiyaa''), was an empire that historica ...

. His family had owned a large country estate centred on

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 ...

in the southeast of

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 ...

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

since 1692.

Political career

Ranfurly served as a

Lord-in-Waiting Lords-in-waiting (male) or baronesses-in-waiting (female) are peers who hold office in the Royal Household of the sovereign of the United Kingdom. In the official Court Circular they are styled "Lord in Waiting" or "Baroness in Waiting" (without ...

under

Lord Salisbury Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (; 3 February 183022 August 1903) was a British statesman and Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom three times for a total of over thirteen y ...

between 1895 and 1897 and was knighted as a Knight Commander of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

(KCMG) in 1897 for his public services. He was appointed to succeed The Earl of Glasgow as

on 6 April 1897, assuming office on 10 August. Lord Ranfurly became Honorary Colonel of the 1st Wellington Battalion (1898) and of the 1st South Canterbury Mounted Rifles (1902). He was created a Knight Grand Cross of the

(GCMG) in June 1901, on the occasion of the visit of TRH the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York (later

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...

and Queen Mary) to New Zealand. His term ended on 19 June 1904, when he personally handed over office to Lord Plunket. He is remembered for his donation of the

Ranfurly Shield The Ranfurly Shield, colloquially known as the Log o' Wood, is a trophy in New Zealand's domestic rugby union competition. First played for in 1904, the Shield is based on a challenge system. The holding union must defend the shield in challeng ...

, a New Zealand sporting trophy. On his return to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Ranfurly was made an Irish Privy Counsellor (1905); then for a time, he returned to farm in Mildura, Victoria, Australia. But he soon devoted more and more time to his other great interest, the

Order of St. John of Jerusalem The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic Church, Catholic Military ord ...

. In 1914 he was a Knight of Justice, and Registrar of the Order in London, becoming (1915–19) Director of its Ambulance Department. In 1919 the French Government made him an

Officer of the Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

for his services in this connection during the war. After the

partition of Ireland The partition of Ireland ( ga, críochdheighilt na hÉireann) was the process by which the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland divided Ireland into two self-governing polities: Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland. I ...

, Lord Ranfurly was made a Privy Counsellor for Northern Ireland in 1923, also serving as Deputy Lieutenant and

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

for his family's native

. He continued his association with the Order of St. John, becoming Bailiff Grand Cross in 1926. Lord Ranfurly died on 1 October 1933, aged 77, and was succeeded by his grandson,

Daniel Knox, 6th Earl of Ranfurly Thomas Daniel Knox, 6th Earl of Ranfurly (29 May 1914 – 6 November 1988), known as Dan Ranfurly, was a British Army officer and farmer, who served as Governor of the Bahamas. His exploits in the Second World War, along with those of his wife ...

Family

Lord Ranfurly married the Honourable Constance Elizabeth Caulfeild, only child of James Alfred Caulfeild, 7th Viscount Charlemont, on 10 February 1880. They had four children: *Thomas Uchter Knox, Viscount Northland (1882–1915) *Lady Annette Agnes (1880–1886) * Lady Constance Harriet Stuart (1885–1964) *Lady Eileen Maud Juliana (1891–1972) One of the tiny subantarctic Bounty Islands was named after him: Ranfurly Island.

Awards and decorations

* Knight Grand Cross of the

(June 1901) * Privy Counsellor (Ireland) (23 August 1905) * Officer of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

(France, 1919) * Privy Counsellor (Northern Ireland) (27 November 1923) * Bailiff Grand Cross of the

Venerable Order of St John The Order of St John, short for Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (french: l'ordre très vénérable de l'Hôpital de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem) and also known as St John International, is a British royal order of c ...

(1927)

References

NZETC The New Zealand Electronic Text Collection (NZETC; mi, Te Pūhikotuhi o Aotearoa) is a freely accessible online archive of New Zealand and Pacific Islands texts and heritage materials that are held by the Victoria University of Wellington Library ...

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Uchter Knox, 5th Earl of Ranfurly 1856–1933 (Person)
–

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well know ...

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The Cyclopedia of New Zealand (Auckland Provincial District) Uchter John Mark
–

RANFURLY, Sir Uchter John Mark Knox, Fifth Earl of, P.C., G.C.M.G., Bailiff Grand Cross of the Order of St. John, Deputy Lieutenant and Justice of the Peace, County Tyrone
by Bernard John Foster, M.A., Research Officer, Department of Internal Affairs, Wellington.

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ranfurly, Uchter Knox 5th Earl of 1856 births 1933 deaths Guernsey people People educated at Harrow School Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Bailiffs Grand Cross of the Order of St John Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Governors-General of New Zealand Conservative Party (UK) Baronesses- and Lords-in-Waiting Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Members of the Privy Council of Northern Ireland Deputy Lieutenants of Tyrone Earls of Ranfurly