Frederic Thesiger, 1st Baron Chelmsford
PC, FRS | |
---|---|
Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain | |
In office 26 February 1858 – 11 June 1859 | |
Prime Minister | The Earl of Derby |
Preceded by | The Lord Cranworth |
Succeeded by | The Lord Campbell |
In office 6 July 1866 – 29 February 1868 | |
Prime Minister | The Earl of Derby |
Preceded by | The Lord Cranworth |
Succeeded by | The Lord Cairns |
Personal details | |
Born | London, United Kingdom | 25 April 1794
Died | 5 October 1878 London, United Kingdom | (aged 84)
Resting place | Brompton Cemetery |
Political party | Conservative |
Spouse |
Anna Maria Tinling
(m. 1822; died 1875) |
Frederic Thesiger, 1st Baron Chelmsford,
PC, FRS (25 April 1794 – 5 October 1878) was a British jurist and Conservative politician. He was twice Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain
.
Early life
Born in
St Vincent, West Indies, by his wife Mary Anne, daughter of Theophilus Williams. His paternal grandfather, John Andrew Thesiger, was born in Saxony but migrated to England and became secretary to Lord Rockingham.[1] Thesiger's uncle Sir Frederick Thesiger was naval aide-de-camp to Lord Nelson at the Battle of Copenhagen
in 1801.
Career
Thesiger was originally destined for a naval career, and he served as a
called to the bar on 18 November 1818. He joined the home circuit, and soon got into good practice at the Surrey sessions, while he also made a fortunate purchase in buying the right to appear in the old palace court (see Lord Steward). Another change of fortune, however, awaited him, for a volcano destroyed the family estate, and he was thrown back upon his prospect of a legal practice in the West Indies.[2]
In 1824, he distinguished himself by his defence of Joseph Hunt when on his trial at Hertford with
Peel government on 3 July 1846. Thus by three days Thesiger missed being chief justice of the common pleas, for on 6 July Sir Nicholas Tindal died, and the seat on the bench, which would have been Thesiger's as of right, fell to the Liberal attorney-general, Sir Thomas Wilde.[3]
Thesiger remained in parliament, changing his seat, however, again in 1852, and becoming member for
libel of Giacinto Achilli. On Lord Derby coming into office for the second time in 1858, Thesiger was raised straight from the bar to the Lord Chancellorship (as were Brougham and Vaux, Selborne and Halsbury). He served as Lord Chancellor again in Derby's 1866–67 government. In 1868. Lord Derby retired, and his successor, Benjamin Disraeli, wanted Lord Cairns as Lord Chancellor. Lord Chelmsford was very sore at his supersession and the manner of it, but according to Lord Malmesbury he retired under a compact made before he took office.[3]
Family
Lord Chelmsford married Anna Maria Tinling, daughter of William Tinling and Frances Pierson, in 1822. They had four sons and three daughters. His eldest son,
Lord Justice of Appeal, but died aged 42. Lady Chelmsford died in April 1875, aged 75. Lord Chelmsford survived her by three years and died in London on 5 October 1878, aged 84. He is buried in Brompton Cemetery in London.[4] His daughter, Julia (1833–1904) was married to Sir John Eardley Inglis who commanded the British forces during the Siege of Lucknow in 1857. She later wrote of her experiences during the siege including extracts from her diary.[5]
Arms
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Notes
- ^ Chisholm 1911, p. 23.
- ^ Chisholm 1911, pp. 23–24.
- ^ a b Chisholm 1911, p. 24.
- ^ www.brompton.org
- ^ Inglis, Julia Selina (1892). "The Siege of Lucknow: a Diary". A Celebration of Woman Writers. James R. Osgood, McIlvaine & Co. Retrieved 16 April 2011.
- ^ Debrett's Peerage. 1865.
References
- public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Chelmsford, Frederic Thesiger, 1st Baron". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 23–24. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
- Hamilton, John Andrew (1898). Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 56. London: Smith, Elder & Co. p. 128–128. . In
- Hamilton, J. A.; Agnew, Sinéad. "Thesiger, Frederick, first Baron Chelmsford (1794–1878)". doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/27176. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
External links
- Media related to Frederic Thesiger, 1st Baron Chelmsford at Wikimedia Commons
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Frederic Thesiger
- Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages
- Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs