Dudley Ryder, 2nd Earl of Harrowby (19 May 179819 November 1882), styled Viscount Sandon between 1809 and 1847, was a British politician. He held office under

Lord Palmerston Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston (20 October 1784 – 18 October 1865), known as Lord Palmerston, was a British statesman and politician who served as prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1855 to 1858 and from 1859 to 1865. A m ...

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is a ministerial office in the Government of the United Kingdom. Excluding the prime minister, the chancellor is the highest ranking minister in the Cabinet Office, immediately after the prime minister ...

in 1855 and as

Lord Privy Seal The Lord Privy Seal (or, more formally, the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal) is the fifth of the Great Officers of State (United Kingdom), Great Officers of State in the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord President of the Council and abov ...

between 1855 and 1858.

Background and education

Harrowby was born in London, the son of

Dudley Ryder, 1st Earl of Harrowby Dudley Ryder, 1st Earl of Harrowby, PC, FSA (22 December 176226 December 1847) was a prominent British politician of the Pittite faction and the Tory party. Background and education Born in London, Ryder was the eldest son of Nathaniel Ryd ...

and his wife Lady Susanna Leveson-Gower (1772 - 1838), daughter of Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Marquess of Stafford. He was educated at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

. He was an officer of the Staffordshire Yeomanry, being commissioned as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in the

Stafford Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, England. It is located about south of Stoke-on-Trent, north of Wolverhampton, and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 71,673 at the 2021–2022 United Kingd ...

Troop on 20 December 1819 and being promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

on 26 March 1826. He resigned his commission in March 1831.

Political career

Harrowby was elected Member of Parliament for Tiverton in 1819, a seat he held until 1831 before switching to represent

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

until 1847. He served as a Lord of the Admiralty in 1827 and as Secretary to the Board of Control under Lord Grey between 1830 and 1831. He had a London home in

Grosvenor Square Grosvenor Square ( ) is a large garden square in the Mayfair district of Westminster, Greater London. It is the centrepiece of the Mayfair property of the Duke of Westminster, and takes its name from the duke's surname "Grosvenor". It was deve ...

. In 1847, he became Earl of Harrowby and took up a seat in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

. He remained out of office for a long time, but in 1855, eight years after he had succeeded his father as Earl of Harrowby, he was appointed

, becoming a

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council, formally His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its members, known as privy counsellors, are mainly senior politicians who are current or former ...

at the same time. In a few months he was transferred to the office of

, a position which he resigned in 1858. He was made a Knight of the Garter in 1859. Harrowby was also three times President of the Royal Statistical Society (1840–1842, 1849–1851, 1855–1857), chairman of the Maynooth commission and a member of other important royal commissions. He was regarded as among the most stalwart and prominent defenders of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

Animal welfare

Harrowby campaigned for animal welfare and was president of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) from 1861.Ryder, Richard Dudley. (1998). ''The Political Animal: The Conquest of Speciesism''. McFarland. p. 23. In 1864, he met

Henry Bergh Henry Bergh (August 29, 1813 – March 12, 1888) founded the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) in April, 1866, three days after the first effective legislation against animal cruelty in the United States was passed ...

who had visited England and helped him with the formulation of ASPCA's policies. Harrowby was President of the RSPCA until 1878; he was succeeded by Lord Aberdare.Preece, Rod. (2011). ''Animal Sensibility and Inclusive Justice in the Age of Bernard Shaw''. p. 118. Unlike Abderdare, Harrowby was sympathetic to the cause of anti-vivisection. Thomas Jackson's animal welfare book ''Our Dumb Companions'' (1864) was dedicated to Harrowby.

Marriage and children

Lord Harrowby married Lady Frances Stuart, daughter of John Stuart, 1st Marquess of Bute, on 15 September 1823. They had two sons:Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003 * Dudley Francis Stuart Ryder, 3rd Earl of Harrowby (16 January 1831 - 26 March 1900) * Henry Dudley Ryder, 4th Earl of Harrowby (3 May 1836 - 11 December 1900)

Death

Lady Harrowby died in March 1859. Lord Harrowby remained a widower until his death at Sandon Hall on 19 November 1882, aged 84. He was succeeded in the earldom and other titles by his elder son,

Dudley Dudley ( , ) is a market town in the West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically part of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley. In the ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Harrowby, Dudley Ryder, 2nd Earl of 1798 births 1882 deaths British animal welfare workers Chancellors of the Duchy of Lancaster Earls of Harrowby Fellows of the Royal Society Knights of the Garter Lords Privy Seal Ryder, Dudley Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Presidents of the Royal Statistical Society RSPCA workers

Staffordshire Yeomanry officers Ryder, Dudley Ryder, Dudley Ryder, Dudley Ryder, Dudley Ryder, Dudley Ryder, Dudley Ryder, Dudley Ryder, Dudley Ryder, Dudley Harrowby, E2