Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

Charles Abbot, 2nd Baron Colchester PC (12 March 1798 – 18 October 1867), known as Charles Abbot before 1829, was a British naval commander and Conservative politician.

Background and education

Colchester was the son of

Charles Abbot, 1st Baron Colchester Charles Abbot, 1st Baron Colchester PC, FRS (14 October 1757 – 8 May 1829) was a British barrister and statesman. He served as Speaker of the House of Commons between 1802 and 1817. Background and education Born in the Headmaster's Lodge ...

Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: * Speaker of ...

, and Elizabeth, daughter of

Sir Philip Gibbes, 1st Baronet Sir Philip Gibbes, 1st Baronet, also Gibbs (1731–1815) was a planter in Barbados. Life Gibbes was born in St James' Parish, Barbados, on 7 March 1731 and baptised that same year. His parents were Philip Gibbes (died 1763) and his wife Elizabeth ...

. He was educated at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

and the

Royal Naval College, Dartmouth Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

Naval career

Colchester served 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 ...

from 1811. He was promoted to Rear-Admiral in 1854, to Vice-Admiral in 1860 and to

on the Reserved List in 1864.

Political career

Colchester succeeded to his father's peerage in 1829 and entered 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, it was not until 1835 that he made his maiden speech. He served under the Earl of Derby as Paymaster-General and Vice-President of the Board of Trade in 1852 and as Postmaster General between 1858 and 1859. In 1852 he was sworn of the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

. Apart from his naval and political career he was also President of the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

between 1845 and 1847. On 7 June 1853 the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

conferred on him a DCL.

Family

Lord Colchester married the Hon. Elizabeth Susan, daughter of Edward Law, 1st Baron Ellenborough, in 1836. He died in October 1867, aged 69, and was succeeded in the barony by his son, Reginald. Lady Colchester died in March 1883.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Colchester, Charles Abbot, 2nd Baron 1798 births 1867 deaths Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Conservative Party (UK) hereditary peers United Kingdom Postmasters General People educated at Westminster School, London Presidents of the Royal Geographical Society Royal Navy admirals Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Eldest sons of British hereditary barons