George Pitt, 1st Baron Rivers (1 May 1721 – 7 May 1803) was an English diplomat and politician.

Background and education

He was born in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

, the eldest son of George Pitt of Stratfieldsaye (today rendered Stratfield Saye), Hampshire, and his wife Mary Louise Bernier from

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label= Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the ...

. General Sir William Augustus Pitt was his younger brother. He was educated at

Winchester Winchester is a cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, at the western end of the South Downs National Park, on the River Itchen. It is south-west of Lon ...

, with attendance recorded in 1731, and matriculated on 26 September 1737 at

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the ...

, being awarded an MA on 13 March 1739 and a

DCL DCL or may refer to: * 650 in Roman numerals, see 650 (disambiguation) Computers * Data Center Linux, see Open Source Development Labs * Data Control Language, a subset of SQL * Dialog Control Language, a language and interpreter within Aut ...

on 21 August 1745. He travelled on the

continent A continent is any of several large landmasses. Generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, up to seven geographical regions are commonly regarded as continents. Ordered from largest in area to smallest, these seven ...

from 1740 to 1742 and succeeded his father in 1745. He inherited Stratfield Saye House in Hampshire, making extensive alterations to the house and park.

Politics

Soon after returning from Europe, he was elected

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

at a by-election for

Shaftesbury Shaftesbury () is a town and civil parish in Dorset, England. It is situated on the A30 road, west of Salisbury, Wiltshire, Salisbury, near the border with Wiltshire. It is the only significant hilltop settlement in Dorset, being built about ...

that followed the death of Charles Ewer, and sat as a

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...

. He voted with the opposition during the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession () was a European conflict that took place between 1740 and 1748. Fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic and Mediterranean, related conflicts included King George's W ...

against the employment of the Hanoverians. At the 1747 election, he stood for Shaftesbury, largely on his own interest, although Lord Shaftesbury endorsed him a few weeks before the poll. He also stood for the county of

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

, a Tory stronghold, and was returned for both constituencies, choosing to sit for Dorset. In his electoral survey of c. 1749,

John Perceval, 2nd Earl of Egmont John Perceval, 2nd Earl of Egmont, PC, FRS (25 February 17114 December 1770) was a British politician, political pamphleteer, and genealogist who served as First Lord of the Admiralty. Early life He was the son and heir of John Perceval, 1st ...

, examining individuals' political support for and on behalf of

Frederick, Prince of Wales Frederick, Prince of Wales, (Frederick Louis, ; 31 January 170731 March 1751), was the eldest son and heir apparent of King George II of Great Britain. He grew estranged from his parents, King George and Queen Caroline. Frederick was the fat ...

, considered Pitt "not proper". He represented Dorset continuously until 1774, becoming an independent, supporting the government from the accession of

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Bri ...

. Upon the formation of the

Dorset Militia The Dorset Militia (also titled Dorsetshire Militia) was a county Militia regiment of the British Army that was in existence from 1757 to 1881. Purpose The militias that were listed in the army of Queen Victoria were those units created by the ...

under the Militia Act 1757, Pitt was commissioned colonel of the regiment, and served until his resignation in 1798. In 1760, he was appointed a

Groom of the Bedchamber Groom of the Chamber was a position in the Household of the monarch in early modern England. Other ''Ancien Régime'' royal establishments in Europe had comparable officers, often with similar titles. In France, the Duchy of Burgundy, and in ...

to the King, in which office he served until 1770, when he was asked to resign to make way for Sir George Osborn, 4th Baronet, a cousin of

Lord North Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford (13 April 17325 August 1792), better known by his courtesy title Lord North, which he used from 1752 to 1790, was 12th Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1770 to 1782. He led Great Britain through most o ...

Diplomacy

From 1761 to 1768, he served as Envoy-extraordinary to the

Kingdom of Sardinia The Kingdom of Sardinia,The name of the state was originally Latin: , or when the kingdom was still considered to include Corsica. In Italian it is , in French , in Sardinian , and in Piedmontese . also referred to as the Kingdom of Savoy-S ...

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. Th ...

, although he went on leave in 1764 and never returned. In 1770 he was appointed

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

, but was superseded the following year.

Peerage

On 20 May 1776, he was raised to the peerage as Baron Rivers, of

Stratfield Saye Stratfield Saye is a small village and civil parish in the Borough of Basingstoke and Deane and the English county of Hampshire. The parish includes the hamlets of West End Green, Fair Oak Green and Fair Cross. Etymology The name means 'Street- ...

, Hampshire. His ancestor George Pitt (d.1694) of Stratfield Saye, had married Jane Savage, daughter of John Savage, 2nd Earl Rivers. In 1780, he was appointed

Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire. Since 1688, all the Lords Lieutenant have also been Custos Rotulorum of Hampshire. From 1889 until 1959, the administrative county was named the County of Southampton. * ...

, but was replaced in 1782, when he became a

Lord of the Bedchamber Gentleman of the Bedchamber was a title in the royal household of the Kingdom of England from the 11th century, later used also in the Kingdom of Great Britain. A Lord of the Bedchamber was a courtier in the Royal Household; the term being f ...

. He was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Dorset in 1793. On 16 March 1802, he obtained a new patent as Baron Rivers, of

Sudeley Castle Sudeley Castle is a Grade I listed castle in the parish of Sudeley, in the Cotswolds, near to the medieval market town of Winchcombe, Gloucestershire, England. The castle has 10 notable gardens covering some 15 acres within a 1,200-acre estate ne ...

, Gloucestershire, with special remainder, in default of male issue, to his brother Sir William and his issue male, failing which to his daughter Louisa's son Horace Beckford and his issue male. He died on 7 May 1803 at Stratfield Saye and was succeeded by his only son George.

Family

On 4 January 1746, at Oxford Chapel,

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropolitan borough, it mer ...

, he married Penelope, daughter of Sir Henry Atkins, 4th Baronet, of

Clapham Clapham () is a suburb in south west London, England, lying mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, but with some areas (most notably Clapham Common) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. History Early history ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

. They had four children: *

George Pitt, 2nd Baron Rivers George Pitt, 2nd Baron Rivers (19 September 1751 – 20 July 1828) was a British nobleman and politician. Born in Angers, France, he was the only son of George Pitt, 1st Baron Rivers and his wife Penelope, daughter of Sir Henry Atkins, 4th Baro ...

(1751–1828) * Penelope Pitt, (1749-1827) married Edward Ligonier, 1st Earl Ligonier, in 1766; divorced in 1771 and married Capt. Smith in 1784 * Louisa Pitt (1754–1791), married Sir Peter Beckford (1740–1811) on 22 March 1773 *Marcia Lucy Pitt (1756–1822), married James Fox-Lane in 1789 Their marriage was unhappy and they separated in 1771, living mostly in France and Italy until her death on 1 January 1795 in Milan. She was buried in the Protestant Cemetery in

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (prono ...

, Italy.

Legacy

Rivers Inlet, a

fjord In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, ...

on the Central Coast of British Columbia, was named by Captain

George Vancouver Captain George Vancouver (22 June 1757 – 10 May 1798) was a British Royal Navy officer best known for his 1791–1795 expedition, which explored and charted North America's northwestern Pacific Coast regions, including the coasts of what are ...

for George Pitt.

References

* * *
ThePeerage.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rivers, George Pitt, 1st Baron 1721 births 1803 deaths Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Pitt, George Pitt, George Pitt, George Pitt, George Pitt, George Barons in the Peerage of Great Britain Peers of Great Britain created by George III Lord-Lieutenants of Dorset Lord-Lieutenants of Hampshire People educated at Winchester College Pitt, George Ambassadors of Great Britain to Spain British Militia officers George People from Stratfield Saye