John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley

John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley

Early life and education

Kimberley was born in 1826 in Wymondham, Norfolk, the eldest son of the Hon. Henry Wodehouse (1799–1834) and grandson of John Wodehouse, 2nd Baron Wodehouse.^[1] His mother was Anne Gurdon (d. 1880), daughter of Theophilus Thornhagh Gurdon. In 1846 he succeeded his grandfather as third Baron Wodehouse. He was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford, where he took a first-class degree in classics in 1847.^[1][2]

Early career (1852–1874)

He was by inheritance a Liberal in politics, and in 1852–1856 and 1859–1861 he was

In 1864 Kimberley became Under-Secretary of State for India, but towards the end of the year was made Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. In that capacity, he had to grapple with the first manifestations of Fenianism, and in recognition of his services, he was created Earl of Kimberley in 1866. In July 1866 he vacated his office with the fall of Lord Russell's ministry, but in 1868 he became Lord Privy Seal in Gladstone's cabinet, and in July 1870 was transferred from that post to be Secretary of State for the Colonies. It was the moment of the great diamond discoveries in southern Africa, and the town of Kimberley in the Cape Colony was named after him.^[1] Lord Kimberley has been credited with the change in British policy towards the independent Malay states that led to the signing of the Pangkor Treaty of 1874, after which British political agents known as Residents were placed in the Malay states as advisors to the rulers.^[3]

Later career (1875–1902)

After an interval in opposition from 1874 to 1880, Lord Kimberley returned to the Colonial Office in Gladstone's next ministry. He was in that office when responsible government was granted to Cape Colony, British Columbia was added to the Dominion of Canada and during the First Boer War. At the end of 1882 he exchanged this office first for that of Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and then for the secretaryship of state for India, a post he retained during the remainder of Gladstone's tenure of power (1882–1885, 1886, 1892–1894), though in 1892–1894 he combined with it that of the lord presidency of the council.^[1]

In

On 5 April 1850, he joined the Canterbury Association, formed to establish a colony (in the later Canterbury Region) on the South Island of New Zealand.^{[citation needed]}

Lord Kimberley took interest in education, and after being for many years a member of the senate of the University of London, he became its chancellor in 1899.^[1]

Family

Lord Kimberley married Lady Florence FitzGibbon (d. 1895), daughter of Richard FitzGibbon, 3rd Earl of Clare, on 16 August 1847.^[2] They had three children:

• John Wodehouse, 2nd Earl of Kimberley (10 Dec 1848 – 7 Jan 1932)
• Lady Alice Wodehouse (17 Dec 1850 – 8 Jan 1937) married Hussey Packe, son of George Hussey Packe, on 14 August 1872. They had two children, Sir Edward, and Florence, the wife of Lt.-Col. Cuthbert James.
• Hon. Armine Wodehouse (24 Sep 1860 – 1 May 1901)

He died at 35 Lowndes Square in London (now the High Commission of Pakistan) on 8 April 1902,^[2] aged 76, and was succeeded in his titles by his eldest son, John.^[1] His more distant relatives include the writer P. G. Wodehouse.^{[citation needed]}

Ancestry

Memorials

The following places were named after the 1st Earl of Kimberley:

• the Kimberley region of Western Australia;
• Kimberley, a town in South Africa and;
• Kimberley, New Zealand, a hamlet of in the Selwyn District.^[31]
• Kimberley Street
  in Hong Kong
• Kimberley Street, George Town, Penang, Malaysia^{[citation needed]}
• Kimberley Park, Falmouth, Cornwall
• County of Kimberley, a cadastral unit in South Australia.^[33]

Notes

References

• Bain, Rev. Michael (2007). The Canterbury Association (1848–1852): A Study of Its Members' Connections (PDF). Christchurch: Project Canterbury. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
• Burke and Burke (1847). A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain and Ireland, volume 1 (London: Henry Colburn).
• Burke, J.B. (1858). A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain and Ireland (London: Harrison).
• Hunter, J. and Clay, J.W. (ed.) (1895). Familiae Minorum Gentium, volume 3. (London: Harleian Society).
• Cokayne, G.E. (1892). Complete Peerage, 1st edition, volume 4 (London: George Bell and Sons; Exeter: William Pollard & Co.)
• Collins, A. (1779). [books.google.co.uk/books?id=zfk-AQAAMAAJ The Peerage of England], 5th edition, volume 6.
• Crisp, F.A. (1911). Visitation of England and Wales: Notes, volume 9 (printed privately).
• Wright, T. (1836). The History and Topography of the County of Essex, volume 1.
• Wroth, W.W. (1895). "Norris, John (1754-1777)", Dictionary of National Biography, volume 41.

Attribution:

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Kimberley, John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 15 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 798–799.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley.

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Earl of Kimberley
• "Archival material relating to John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley". UK National Archives.
• Portraits of John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley at the National Portrait Gallery, London

Political offices
Preceded by Lord Stanley	Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs 1852–1856	Succeeded by The Earl of Shelburne
Preceded by William Vesey-FitzGerald	Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs 1859–1861	Succeeded by Austen Henry Layard
Preceded by Hon. Thomas Baring	Under-Secretary of State for India 1864	Succeeded by The Lord Dufferin and Claneboye
Preceded by The Earl of Carlisle	Lord Lieutenant of Ireland 1864–1866	Succeeded by The Marquess of Abercorn
Preceded by The Earl of Malmesbury	Lord Privy Seal 1868–1870	Succeeded by The Viscount Halifax
Preceded by The Earl Granville	Colonial Secretary 1870–1874	Succeeded by The Earl of Carnarvon
Preceded by Sir Michael Hicks-Beach, Bt	Colonial Secretary 1880–1882	Succeeded by The Earl of Derby
Preceded by John Bright	Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 1882	Succeeded by John George Dodson
Preceded by Marquess of Hartington	Secretary of State for India 1882–1885	Succeeded by Lord Randolph Churchill
Preceded by Lord Randolph Churchill	Secretary of State for India 1886	Succeeded by The Viscount Cross
Preceded by The Viscount Cross	Secretary of State for India 1892–1894	Succeeded by Henry Fowler
Preceded by The Viscount Cranbrook	Lord President of the Council 1892–1894	Succeeded by The Earl of Rosebery
Preceded by The Earl of Rosebery	Foreign Secretary 1894–1895	Succeeded by The Marquess of Salisbury
Party political offices
Preceded by The Earl Granville	Leader of the Liberals in the House of Lords 1891–1894	Succeeded by The Earl of Rosebery
Preceded by The Earl of Rosebery	Leader of the Liberals in the House of Lords 1897–1902	Succeeded by The Earl Spencer
Preceded by The Earl of Rosebery	William Vernon Harcourt 1897–1898 Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman 1899–1902	Succeeded by Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman The Earl Spencer
Academic offices
Preceded by The Lord Herschell	Chancellor of the University of London 1899–1902	Succeeded by The Earl of Rosebery
Peerage of the United Kingdom
New creation	Earl of Kimberley 1866–1902	Succeeded by John Wodehouse
Peerage of Great Britain
Preceded by John Wodehouse	Baron Wodehouse 1846–1902	Succeeded by John Wodehouse
Baronetage of England
Preceded by John Wodehouse	Baronet of Wilberhall 1846–1902	Succeeded by John Wodehouse