George John Spencer, 2nd Earl Spencer, (1 September 1758 – 10 November 1834), styled Viscount Althorp from 1765 to 1783, was a British Whig politician. He served as

Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, more commonly known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom and the head of the Home Office. The position is a Great Office of State, maki ...

from 1806 to 1807 in the Ministry of All the Talents. He was also the father of the Venerable Father Ignatius of St Paul, a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

convert to the priesthood.

Background and education

George John Spencer 2nd Earl Spencer 1774 76

Lord Spencer was born at Wimbledon Park House, London, the son of

John Spencer, 1st Earl Spencer John Spencer, 1st Earl Spencer (19 December 1734 – 31 October 1783), styled Viscount Spencer from 1761–5, was a British peerage, British peer and politician. Early life Spencer was born on 19 December 1734 at Althorp, his family's home ...

, and his wife Margaret Georgiana Poyntz, daughter of Stephen Poyntz, and was baptised there on 16 October 1758. His godparents were King George II, the Earl Cowper (his grandmother's second husband) and his great-aunt the Dowager Viscountess Bateman. His sister Lady Georgiana Spencer married the

Duke of Devonshire Duke of Devonshire is a title in the Peerage of England held by members of the Cavendish family. This (now the senior) branch of the Cavendish family has been one of the wealthiest British aristocratic families since the 16th century and has b ...

and became a famed Whig hostess. He was educated at

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (school founder), John Lyon, a local landowner an ...

from 1770 to 1775 and he won the school's ''Silver Arrow'' (an archery prize) in 1771. He then attended

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 ...

, from 1776 to 1778 and graduated with a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

. He acceded to the earldom on the death of his father in 1783.

Political career

Lord Spencer was Whig Member of Parliament for

Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...

from 1780 to 1782 and Whig MP 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 ...

from 1782 to 1783. He was sworn of the Privy Council in 1794 and served under

William Pitt the Younger William Pitt (28 May 1759 – 23 January 1806) was a British statesman who served as the last prime minister of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain from 1783 until the Acts of Union 1800, and then first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, p ...

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 ...

in 1794 and as

First Lord of the Admiralty First Lord of the Admiralty, or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the title of the political head of the English and later British Royal Navy. He was the government's senior adviser on all naval affairs, responsible f ...

from 1794 to 1801. He was later

from 1806 to 1807 under Lord Grenville in the Ministry of All the Talents.

Other public positions

Lord Spencer was also High Steward of

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

from 1783 to 1807, Mayor of St Albans in 1790, President of the

Royal Institution The Royal Institution of Great Britain (often the Royal Institution, Ri or RI) is an organisation for scientific education and research, based in the City of Westminster. It was founded in 1799 by the leading British scientists of the age, inc ...

from 1813 to 1825 and Commissioner of the

Public Records Public records are documents or pieces of information that are not considered confidential and generally pertain to the conduct of government. Depending on jurisdiction, examples of public records includes information pertaining to births, deat ...

in 1831. He became a Fellow of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

in 1780 and a Fellow of the

Society of Antiquaries of London The Society of Antiquaries of London (SAL) is a learned society of historians and archaeologists in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1707, received its royal charter in 1751 and is a Charitable organization, registered charity. It is based ...

in 1785. He was appointed to the

Order of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. The most senior order of knighthood in the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British honours system, it is outranked in ...

in 1799. On 18 February 1793, he was appointed a deputy lieutenant of Northamptonshire.

Book collecting

Spencer was known for an interest in literature, particularly early examples of printing. He was the instigator and first President of the exclusive, bibliophilic

Roxburghe Club The Roxburghe Club is a Bibliophilia, bibliophilic and Text publication society, publishing society based in the United Kingdom. Origins The spur to the Club's foundation was the sale of the enormous library of the John Ker, 3rd Duke of Roxburghe ...

founded in 1812. Spencer's tens of thousands of volumes included the most nearly complete collection of

Aldine editions The Aldine Press was the printing office started by Aldus Manutius in 1494 in Venice, from which were issued the celebrated Aldine editions of the classics (Latin and Greek masterpieces, plus a few more modern works). The first book that was dat ...

ever brought together. It was acquired in 1892 by Enriqueta Rylands for the

John Rylands Library The John Rylands Research Institute and Library is a Victorian era, late-Victorian Gothic Revival architecture, neo-Gothic building on Deansgate in Manchester, England. It is part of the University of Manchester. The library, which opened to t ...

and catalogued by Alice Margaret Cooke.Fernanda Helen Perrone, 'Cooke, Alice Margaret (1867–1940)',

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

, Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 26 December 2015
The manuscripts of Spencer's collection are relatively few; one has pasted into it a St Christopher block print dated 1423. From 1789 to 1818 Earl Spencer employed Tomaso d'Ocheda, an Italian, as his librarian; he had until 1789 been the librarian of Pierre-Antoine Bolongaro-Crevenna. When

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

was in the process of the secularization of religious houses in southern Germany, Spencer used the local British agent and

Benedictine monk The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, they ...

, Alexander Horn, to acquire many of their rare books and manuscripts.Mark Dilworth, 'Horn, Alexander (1762–1820)’,

, Oxford University Press, 2004. Rev.

Thomas Frognall Dibdin Thomas Frognall Dibdin (177618 November 1847) was an English bibliographer, born in Calcutta to Thomas Dibdin, the sailor brother of the composer Charles Dibdin. Dibdin was orphaned at a young age. His father and mother died in 1780 while re ...

, a Church of England clergyman and bibliographer, wrote the first of many bibliographical works: ''Introduction to the Knowledge of Editions of the Classics'' (1802), which brought him to the notice of Earl Spencer, to whom he owed important aid in his bibliographical pursuits. The rich library at Althorp was thrown open to him; he spent much time there and in 1814–1815 published ''Bibliotheca Spenceriana''. As the library was not open to the public, the information was found useful, but as its author was unable even to read the characters in which the books he described were written, it was marred by errors, as were almost all his productions. In 1818 Dibdin was commissioned by Earl Spencer to buy books for him on the continent, an expedition described in his sumptuous ''Bibliographical, Antiquarian and Picturesque Tour in France and Germany'' (1821). He also wrote ''Aedes Althorpianae'', an account of Althorp giving many details of the library.

Family

Lord Spencer married Lady Lavinia Bingham (1762–1831), daughter of Charles Bingham, 1st Earl of Lucan, on 6 March 1781. They had nine children: * John Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl Spencer (1782–1845) * Lady Sarah Spencer (1787–1870), who married William Lyttelton, 3rd Baron Lyttelton, and had issue *Hon. Richard Spencer (1789–1791) died in infancy. *Captain Hon. Sir Robert Cavendish Spencer (1791–1830), died unmarried at sea. *Hon. William Spencer (born and died 1792), died in infancy. *Lady Harriet Spencer (born and died 1793), died in infancy. *Lady Georgiana Charlotte Spencer (1794–1823), married Lord George Quin, son of Thomas Taylour, 1st Marquess of Headfort, and had issue. * Vice-Admiral Frederick Spencer, 4th Earl Spencer (1798–1857) *Very Reverend Hon. George Spencer (later known as The Venerable Father Ignatius Spencer) (1799–1864), a

convert who was declared

Venerable ''The Venerable'' often shortened to Venerable is a style, title, or epithet used in some Christianity, Christian churches. The title is often accorded to holy persons for their spiritual perfection and wisdom. Catholic In the Catholic Churc ...

on 20 February 2021 Lady Spencer died in June 1831, aged 68. Lord Spencer survived her by three years and died in November 1834, aged 76, at Althorp, and was buried in the nearby village of Great Brington on 19 November of that year.

Spencer jacket

The Spencer, a type of short jacket from which the UK military

mess jacket The mess jacket is a type of formal jacket that ends at the waist. It features either a non-fastening double breast cut or a single-breasted version that fastens.

is derived, is named after George Spencer, reportedly because he had a tail-coat adapted after its tails were burned by coals from a fire.

Coat of arms

Ancestry

References

* *

External links

* *Lister, Anthony (1989
"The Althorp Library of Second Earl Spencer, now in the John Rylands University Library of Manchester: its formation and growth".
(published in: '' Bulletin of the John Rylands University Library of Manchester''; vol. 71, no. 2 (summer 1989), pp. 67–86 ) {{DEFAULTSORT:Spencer, George John Spencer, 2nd Earl 1758 births 1834 deaths 02 Secretaries of State for the Home Department Lords Privy Seal Lords of the Admiralty English Anglicans Knights of the Garter People educated at Harrow School Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge British MPs 1780–1784 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies English book and manuscript collectors Mayors of St Albans Fellows of the Royal Society Deputy lieutenants of Northamptonshire Ambassadors of Great Britain to the Holy Roman Emperor