Frederick George Brabazon Ponsonby, 6th Earl of Bessborough (11 September 1815 – 11 March 1895), was an Anglo-Irish peer who played

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...

1834–56 for

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, Cambridge Town Club (''aka'' Cambridgeshire),

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

(CUCC) and

Marylebone Cricket Club The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's, Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London, England. The club was the governing body of cricket from 1788 to 1989 and retain ...

(MCC).

Background and education

Ponsonby was born in

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also ) is an area in London, England, and is located in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. Oxford Street forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropo ...

, the third son of

John Ponsonby, 4th Earl of Bessborough John William Ponsonby, 4th Earl of Bessborough, Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, PC (31 August 1781 – 16 May 1847), known as Viscount Duncannon from 1793 to 1844, was a British Whig (British political party), Whig politician. He w ...

, and his wife Lady Maria Fane. He was educated at Harrow and

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

. In 1837 he was admitted to

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, and was

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in 1840. He inherited the earldom on 28 January 1880 when his elder brother died without a male heir.

Cricket

Throughout his cricket career, Bessborough was known as the Hon. Frederic Ponsonby. He played at both Harrow and Cambridge University, batting right-handed. He was an active player until about 1845, after which, due to an arm injury, he could only play sporadically. Ponsonby was a founder of Surrey County Cricket Club and was elected its first vice-president. He was also a founder of I Zingari, and of the Old Stagers amateur theatre company.

Government

He chaired the Bessborough commission on the working of the 1870 Irish Land Act, set up by the second Gladstone administration in June 1880. The commission made radical proposals for increasing the rights of tenants in Ireland.

Personal life

Lord Bessborough died at

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

on 11 March 1895. He never married, and was succeeded in the earldom by his younger brother,

Walter Walter may refer to: People and fictional characters * Walter (name), including a list of people and fictional and mythical characters with the given name or surname * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–19 ...

. He owned 35,000 acres, mostly in Kilkenny and Carlow.The great landowners of Great Britain and Ireland
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References

External links

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1815 births 1895 deaths Ponsonby, Frederick Ponsonby, Frederick Ponsonby, Frederick Ponsonby, Frederick Ponsonby, Frederick Ponsonby, Frederick Ponsonby, Frederick Ponsonby, Frederick Frederick Ponsonby, 06th Earl of Bessborough Directors of the Great Western Railway Gentlemen cricketers Gentlemen of England cricketers People educated at Harrow School Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Frederick 06 Younger sons of earls {{Ireland-earl-stub