Robert Wilmot-Horton
Hon. Edward Stanley | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born | 21 December 1784 |
| Died | 31 May 1841 (aged 56) |
| Nationality | British |
| Spouse | Anne Horton |
| Alma mater | Christ Church, Oxford |
Sir Robert John Wilmot-Horton, 3rd Baronet,
Early life and education
Robert John Wilmot was born on 21 December 1784. He was the only son of Sir Robert Wilmot, 2nd Baronet, of Osmaston, near Derby (see Wilmot baronets), and his first wife Juliana Elizabeth (née Byron).[1]
He was educated at Eton, and at Christ Church, Oxford.[1]
Career
Wilmot-Horton was a
Wilmot-Horton's
Wilmot-Horton is best remembered for advocating that poor British and Irish families should be allowed to emigrate to the colonies and be granted land there, and was mainly responsible in securing two parliamentary grants in 1823 and 1825 to fund an experiment where poor Irish families settled in Canada. He managed to establish a parliamentary committee on emigration and served as its chairman between 1826 and 1827. In this position he pushed for a plan where so called paupers gave up their rights to parish maintenance in return for grants of land in the colonies. However, the plans were dropped after Wilmot-Horton left the Colonial Office in 1827.[1]
In 1831 Wilmot-Horton was made a Knight Grand Cross of the
In 1834 Wilmot-Horton succeeded his father as third Baronet.[citation needed]
In his absence his plans on assisted emigration were ridiculed as those of an impractical dreamer by a succession of writers on colonial affairs, but Wilmot-Horton continued to write pamphlets advocating and defending his ideas. He returned to Britain in 1837.[1]
Family
Wilmot-Horton married Anne Beatrix Horton, daughter and co-heiress of Eusebius Horton, of the Catton Hall estate in Derbyshire, in 1806. Her beauty inspired Lord Byron to write the poem "She Walks in Beauty" after they first met at a party in June 1814. They had four sons and three daughters.
In 1823 he inherited the Catton Hall estate on the death of his father-in-law and pursuant to the latter's will added Horton as a second surname.[1]
Death and legacy
Wilmot-Horton died at Sudbrook Park, Petersham, in May 1841, aged 56, and was succeeded in the baronetcy by his eldest son, Robert.[1]
Horton Place in Colombo and Horton Plains National Park was named after the governor.[citation needed]
His memorial is located in St John the Baptist's Church, Croxall.[citation needed]
References
- ^ a b c d e f Australian Dictionary of Biography, Online Edition Horton, Sir Robert Wilmot (1784–1841)
- doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/13827. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ leighrayment.com House of Commons: Na H-Eileanan An Iar to Newport[usurped]
- ^ a b Hall, Catherine; Draper, Nicholas; McClelland, Keith (1 November 2015). Emancipation and the Remaking of the British Imperial World. Oxford University Press.
- S2CID 144301729.
- ^ a b Lamont, Stephen Peter (2015). "Robert Wilmot Horton and Liberal Toryism" (PDF). University of Nottingham.
- ^ "The Will of Major Thomas Moody, PROB 11/2101, Codicil of 09/01/1843; The Carlisle Patriot 22/09/1849, accessed via Legacies of British Slave-Ownership: Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Moody: Profile and Legacies Summary". University College London. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
- ^ Vinod Moonesinghe, OMG! And the Fishers of Ramboda, Ceylon Daily News, 22 June 2012. Archived 19 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine
Further reading
- Brynn, Edward (1972). "Politics and Economic Theory: Robert Wilmot Horton, 1820-1841". The Historian. 34 (2). Wiley: 260–277. JSTOR 24442850.
External links
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