Frederic Rogers, 1st Baron Blachford (31 January 1811 – 21 November 1889) was a British civil servant, styled as Sir Frederick Rogers, 8th Baronet from 1851 to 1871.

Biography

He was born on 31 January 1811, in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. He taught at Eton and

Oriel College, Oxford Oriel College () is Colleges of the University of Oxford, a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title for ...

, winning the Craven University scholarship, and taking a double first-class in classics and mathematics. He became a fellow of Oriel College in 1833 and won the

Vinerian Scholarship The Vinerian Scholarship is a scholarship given to the University of Oxford student who "gives the best performance in the examination for the degree of Bachelor of Civil Law". Currently, £2,500 is given to the winner of the scholarship, with an ...

(1834), and fellowship (1840). He was called to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar ** Chocolate bar * Protein bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a laye ...

in 1837, but never practised. At school and at Oxford he was a contemporary of

William Ewart Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party. In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...

, and at Oxford, he began a lifelong friendship with J. H. Newman and R. W. Church; his classical and literary tastes, and his combination of liberalism in politics with High Church views in religion, together with his good social position and interesting character, made him an admired member of their circles. From 1841 to 1844, he wrote for ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', and he helped to found ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' in 1846; he also did a good deal to assist the

Tractarian movement The Oxford Movement was a theological movement of high-church members of the Church of England which began in the 1830s and eventually developed into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose original devotees were mostly associated with the Uni ...

. But he eventually settled down to the life of a government official. He began in 1844 as registrar of

joint-stock companies A joint-stock company (JSC) is a business entity in which shares of the company's stock can be bought and sold by shareholders. Each shareholder owns company stock in proportion, evidenced by their shares (certificates of ownership). Shareholder ...

, and in 1846 became commissioner of lands and emigration. Between 1857 and 1859, he was engaged in government missions abroad, connected with colonial questions, and in 1860 he was appointed permanent

Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies The Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies was a junior Ministerial post in the United Kingdom government, subordinate to the Secretary of State for the Colonies and, from 1948, also to a Minister of State. Under-Secretaries of State for the Col ...

. Sir Frederic Rogers was the guiding spirit of the

Colonial Office The Colonial Office was a government department of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, first created in 1768 from the Southern Department to deal with colonial affairs in North America (particularly the Thirteen Colo ...

under six successive secretaries of state. He was appointed 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, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

(KCMG) in the

1869 Birthday Honours The 1869 Birthday Honours were appointments by Queen Victoria to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of the Queen, and we ...

and a Knight Grand Cross in the

1883 Birthday Honours The 1883 Birthday Honours were appointments by Queen Victoria to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of the Queen, and wer ...

. On his retirement in 1871, he was raised to the

Peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks. Peerages include: A ...

as Baron Blachford, of Wisdome in the County of Devon, a title taken from his country home. His barony became extinct upon his death on 21 November 1889.

References

Attribution: * {{DEFAULTSORT:Blachford, Frederic Rogers, 1st Baron 1811 births 1889 deaths Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Alumni of Oriel College, Oxford Civil servants in the Colonial Office Rogers, Frederic People educated at Eton College Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Peers of the United Kingdom created by Queen Victoria

Biography

See also

References