Thomas Denman, 3rd Baron Denman
PC | |
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5th Governor-General of Australia | |
In office 31 July 1911 – 18 May 1914 | |
Monarch | George V |
Prime Minister | Andrew Fisher Joseph Cook |
Preceded by | Lord Dudley |
Succeeded by | Sir Ronald Munro Ferguson |
Personal details | |
Born | London, England | 16 November 1874
Died | 24 June 1954 Hove, Sussex, England | (aged 79)
Spouse | |
Thomas Denman, 3rd Baron Denman,
Denman was born into the English nobility, inheriting his title at the age of 19 from a great-uncle. He attended the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, and served in the Second Boer War. Denman sat with the Liberal Party in the House of Lords, and was made a Lord-in-waiting in 1905 and Chief Whip in 1907. He was appointed to the governor-generalship at the age of 36, and remains the youngest person to have held the position. Denman and his young family were immensely popular with the general public, and he enjoyed friendly relations with Prime Minister Andrew Fisher, with whom he shared many similar political opinions. However, he suffered from ill health and returned to England after less than three years as governor-general. Denman never again held public office, but remained active in the House of Lords and briefly commanded a unit in the First World War.
Early life and military career
Denman was born in London on 16 November 1874, the son of Richard Denman and the former Helen Mary McMicking. His father was the grandson of Thomas Denman, 1st Baron Denman, who was Lord Chief Justice from 1832 to 1850. Denman was the second of three children, and the oldest son. His younger brother, Sir Richard Denman, was also a Liberal Party politician.
Denman's parents divorced in 1878. His father did not remarry, and died in 1883 when his son was eight. However, his mother remarried twice – in 1879 to James Walker (annulled due to desertion), and then in 1888 to Henry Primrose (a civil servant and cousin of Lord Rosebery).
In 1894, aged 19, Denman succeeded
Politics
Denman had little money until 1903, when he married
Governor-General
The Denmans arrived in Melbourne on 31 July 1911.
But Denman found that he had less real political influence than any previous Governor-General. As Australia, along with the other dominions, achieved political maturity, its Prime Minister communicated directly with his British counterpart, cutting the Colonial Secretary and the Governor-General out of the loop. The appointment of an Australian High Commissioner in London further reduced the Governor-General's diplomatic role.
In May 1913 the Labor government was unexpectedly defeated at a
The
Later years
With the outbreak of the
Arms
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Notes
- ^ "No. 27160". The London Gazette. 2 February 1900. p. 692.
- ^ "The War – Embarcation of Troops". The Times. No. 36078. London. 1 March 1900. p. 7.
- ^ "No. 27429". The London Gazette. 29 April 1902. p. 2866.
- ^ "No. 28050". The London Gazette. 13 August 1907. p. 5523.
- ^ "No. 28251". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 May 1909. p. 3753.
- ^ "No. 28483". The London Gazette. 7 April 1911. p. 2802.
- ^ ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 30 April 2008.
- ^ "No. 28505". The London Gazette (Supplement). 16 June 1911. p. 4593.
- ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
- ^ Canberra Times, 11 March 2013
- ^ "No. 28914". The London Gazette. 25 September 1914. p. 7600.
- ^ "No. 29418". The London Gazette. 28 December 1915. p. 12925.
- ^ "No. 32813". The London Gazette. 10 April 1923. p. 2648.
- ^ "No. 34069". The London Gazette. 13 July 1934. p. 4522.
- ^ Debrett's Peerage, and Titles of Courtesy. London, Dean. 1921. p. 279, DENMAN, BARON. (Denman.). Retrieved 26 June 2022. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ Burke, Bernard; Burke, Ashworth P. (1915). A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Peerage and Baronetage, the Privy Council, Knightage and Companionage (77th ed.). London : Harrison & Sons. pp. 613–614, DENMAN. Retrieved 26 June 2022. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.