John Brabazon Ponsonby, 1st Viscount Ponsonby, GCB ( – 21 February 1855) was an Anglo-Irish diplomat, politician and peer.

Political career

Ponsonby, born about 1770 in

County Kilkenny County Kilkenny () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is named after the City status in Ir ...

, was the eldest son of

William Ponsonby, 1st Baron Ponsonby William Brabazon Ponsonby, 1st Baron Ponsonby (of Imokilly), (15 September 17445 November 1806) was a leading Irish Whig politician, being a member of the Irish House of Commons, and, after 1800, of the United Kingdom parliament. Ponsonby was ...

, and Louisa Molesworth, and brother of Major-General Sir William Ponsonby. He served as a Member of Parliament (MP) in the

Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until the end of 1800. The upper house was the Irish House of Lords, House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, ...

for

Tallow Tallow is a rendered form of beef or mutton suet, primarily made up of triglycerides. In industry, tallow is not strictly defined as beef or mutton suet. In this context, tallow is animal fat that conforms to certain technical criteria, inc ...

between 1793 and 1797. Elected in 1798 for both

Banagher Banagher ( or ) is a town in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, located in the midlands, on the western edge of County Offaly in the province of Leinster, on the banks of the River Shannon. The town had a population of 3,000 at the height of its ...

and

Dungarvan Dungarvan () is a coastal town and harbour in County Waterford, on the south-east coast of Ireland. Prior to the merger of Waterford County Council with Waterford City Council in 2014, Dungarvan was the county town and administrative centre of ...

, he chose to sit for the latter from 1798 to the Act of Union in 1800/01. He then represented Galway Borough in the

United Kingdom House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 memb ...

until 1802.

Diplomatic career

On the death of his father on 5 November 1806, Ponsonby succeeded him as Baron Ponsonby, and for some time held an appointment in the

Ionian Islands The Ionian Islands (Modern Greek: , ; Ancient Greek, Katharevousa: , ) are a archipelago, group of islands in the Ionian Sea, west of mainland Greece. They are traditionally called the Heptanese ("Seven Islands"; , ''Heptanēsa'' or , ''Heptanē ...

. On 28 February 1826, he went to

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

as envoy-extraordinary and minister-plenipotentiary until 1828, and moved then to

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

in the same capacity. An exceptionally handsome man, he was sent, it was reported, to South America by

George Canning George Canning (; 11 April 17708 August 1827) was a British Tory statesman. He held various senior cabinet positions under numerous prime ministers, including two important terms as foreign secretary, finally becoming Prime Minister of the U ...

to please

King George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 29 January 1820 until his death in 1830. At the time of his accession to the throne, h ...

, who was envious of the attention paid him by Lady Conyngham. Once there he greatly fostered the independence of

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

as a

buffer state A buffer state is a country geographically lying between two rival or potentially hostile great powers. Its existence can sometimes be thought to prevent conflict between them. A buffer state is sometimes a mutually agreed upon area lying between t ...

between

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

and

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, to the benefit of British commerce and overall peace. In December 1830 he was entrusted with a special mission to

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, in connection with the candidature of Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg to the Belgian throne, and remained in Brussels until Leopold was elected king on 4 June 1831. His dealings in this matter were adversely criticised in ''The Guet-à-Pens Diplomacy, or Lord Ponsonby at Brussels, …'' London, 1831, but the Prime Minister, Lord Grey, eulogised him 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 ...

on 25 June 1831. Thus, as a diplomat, he was sent twice by the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

to promote the instauration of buffer states to protect its interests, Uruguay and Belgium, both of which survive to this very day, still deeply similar to their bigger neighbours. In addition to this, Ponsonby served as envoy to

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

from 8 June to 9 November 1832, as ambassador at

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

from 27 November 1832 to 1841, and as ambassador at

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

from 10 August 1846 to 31 May 1850.

Later life

Through Lord Grey, who had married his sister Mary Elizabeth, he had great influence, but his conduct as an ambassador sometimes caused official embarrassment, notably when he accompanied the emperor to

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...

in 1848. He was a keen diplomat of the "old school", a shrewd observer, and a man of large views and strong will.LOFTUS, Diplomatic Reminiscences, 1892, i. 129–30. He was gazetted G.C.B. on 3 March 1834, and created Viscount Ponsonby, of Imokilly in the County of Cork, on 20 April 1839. He had previously married, on 13 January 1803, Lady Frances Villiers, seventh daughter of George Villiers, 4th Earl of Jersey. She died at 62 Chester Square, London, on 14 April 1866, having had no issue. Ponsonby published "Private Letters on the Eastern Question, written at the date thereon," Brighton, 1854, and died at

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

on 21 February 1855. The viscountcy thereupon became extinct, but the barony devolved on his nephew William, son of Sir William Ponsonby.

References

*Mosley, Charles (editor). (1999). Burke's Peerage & Baronetage, 106th edition. Attribution: *

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ponsonby, John Ponsonby, 1st Viscount 1770 births 1855 deaths Diplomatic peers Irish MPs 1790–1797 Irish MPs 1798–1800 Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath

John Ponsonby, 1st Viscount Ponsonby John Brabazon Ponsonby, 1st Viscount Ponsonby, GCB ( – 21 February 1855) was an Anglo-Irish diplomat, politician and peer. Political career Ponsonby, born about 1770 in County Kilkenny, was the eldest son of William Ponsonby, 1st Baron ...

2 Viscounts in the Peerage of the United Kingdom UK MPs 1801–1802 UK MPs who were granted peerages UK MPs who inherited peerages Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Galway constituencies (1801–1922) Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to the Ottoman Empire Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Portugal Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Argentina Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Waterford constituencies Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for King's County constituencies Peers of the United Kingdom created by Queen Victoria