Charles Grant, 1st Baron Glenelg PC FRS (26 October 1778 – 23 April 1866) was a Scottish politician and colonial administrator who served as Secretary of State for War and the Colonies

Background and education

Grant was born in Kidderpore,

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William and later Bengal Province, was a subdivision of the British Empire in India. At the height of its territorial jurisdiction, it covered large parts of what is now South Asia an ...

Company Raj Company rule in India (sometimes, Company ''Raj'', from hi, rāj, lit=rule) refers to the rule of the British East India Company on the Indian subcontinent. This is variously taken to have commenced in 1757, after the Battle of Plassey, when ...

, the eldest son of

Charles Grant Charles or Charlie Grant may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Charles Jameson Grant (), American editorial cartoonist * Charles L. Grant (1942–2006), American novelist * Charles Grant (actor) (born 1957), American actor * Charles Grant (dance ...

, chairman of the directors of the British East India Company. His brother, Sir Robert Grant, was also an MP as well as

Governor of Bombay Until the 18th century, Bombay consisted of seven islands separated by shallow sea. These seven islands were part of a larger archipelago in the Arabian sea, off the western coast of India. The date of city's founding is unclear—historians tr ...

. He was educated at

Magdalene College, Cambridge Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Ma ...

, and became a fellow in 1802. He was called to the bar in 1807.

Political career

In 1811 Grant was elected to the

British 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 65 ...

as Member of Parliament for Inverness Burghs. He held that seat until 1818, when he was returned for

Inverness-shire Inverness-shire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Nis) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. Covering much of the Highlands and Outer Hebrides, it is Scotland's largest county, though one of the smallest in popula ...

. He was a Lord of the Treasury from December 1813 until August 1819, when he became

Chief Secretary for Ireland The Chief Secretary for Ireland was a key political office in the British administration in Ireland. Nominally subordinate to the Lord Lieutenant, and officially the "Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant", from the early 19th century u ...

and a Privy Counsellor. In 1823 he was appointed Vice-President of the Board of Trade; from September 1827 to June 1828 he was

President of the Board of Trade The president of the Board of Trade is head of the Board of Trade. This is a committee of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, first established as a temporary committee of inquiry in the 17th century, that evolved gradually into a government ...

and Treasurer of the Navy. Grant broke with the Tories over Reform and joined the Whigs (via the Canningite Tory splinter group). He was

President of the Board of Control The President of the Board of Control was a British government official in the late 18th and early 19th century responsible for overseeing the British East India Company and generally serving as the chief official in London responsible for Indian ...

under Lord Grey and

Lord Melbourne William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, (15 March 177924 November 1848), in some sources called Henry William Lamb, was a British Whig politician who served as Home Secretary (1830–1834) and Prime Minister (1834 and 1835–1841). His first pr ...

from November 1830 to November 1834. At the Board of Control Grant was primarily responsible for the Act of 1833 that altered the constitution of the Government of India. In April 1835 he became Secretary of State for War and the Colonies, and was created Baron Glenelg, of Glenelg in the County of Inverness. His term of office was a stormy one. His differences with

Sir Benjamin d'Urban Lieutenant General Sir Benjamin D'Urban (16 February 1777 – 25 May 1849) was a British general and colonial administrator, who is best known for his frontier policy when he was the Governor in the Cape Colony (now in South Africa). Early ...

, Governor of

Cape Colony The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope, which existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with ...

, were serious; but more so were those with King William IV and others over the administration of Canada. Lord Glenelg was still Secretary when the Canadian rebellion broke out in 1837; his policy was fiercely attacked in Parliament; he became involved in disputes with

Lord Durham Earl of Durham is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1833 for the Whig politician and colonial official John Lambton, 1st Baron Durham. Known as "Radical Jack", he played a leading role in the passing of the Gre ...

, and the movement for his supersession found supporters even among his colleagues in the cabinet. In February 1839 Lord Glenelg resigned. He has been called the last of the Canningites.

Personal life

Lord Glenelg died in Cannes, France in April 1866, aged 87. The barony became extinct on his death.

Legacy

A ship, the ''Lord Glenelg'' was named after him which voyaged from Britain to Australia in 1841.

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Glenelg, Charles Grant, 1st Baron 1778 births 1866 deaths 18th-century Scottish people 19th-century Scottish politicians Politicians from Kolkata Presidents of the Board of Control British Secretaries of State Whig (British political party) MPs for Scottish constituencies Scottish Tory MPs (pre-1912) Fellows of Magdalene College, Cambridge Grant, Charles Alumni of Magdalene College, Cambridge Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Fellows of the Royal Society Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Grant, Charles Grant, Charles Grant, Charles Grant, Charles Grant, Charles Grant, Charles Grant, Charles Grant, Charles UK MPs who were granted peerages Chief Secretaries for Ireland Presidents of the Board of Trade Peers of the United Kingdom created by William IV