Admiral Charles Abbot, 2nd Baron Colchester PC (12 March 1798 – 18 October 1867), known as Charles Abbot before 1829, was a British naval commander and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

politician.

Background and education

Colchester was the son of Charles Abbot, 1st Baron Colchester,

Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: * Speaker of ...

, and Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Philip Gibbes, 1st Baronet. He was educated at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

and the

Royal Naval College, Dartmouth Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a ci ...

Naval career

Colchester served in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

from 1811. He was promoted to

Rear-Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

in 1854, to Vice-Admiral in 1860 and to Admiral on the Reserved List in 1864.

Political career

Colchester succeeded to his father's peerage in 1829 and entered the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

. However, it was not until 1835 that he made his maiden speech. He served under the

Earl of Derby Earl of Derby ( ) is a title in the Peerage of England. The title was first adopted by Robert de Ferrers, 1st Earl of Derby, under a creation of 1139. It continued with the Ferrers family until the 6th Earl forfeited his property toward the en ...

Paymaster-General His Majesty's Paymaster General or HM Paymaster General is a ministerial position in the Cabinet Office of the United Kingdom. The incumbent Paymaster General is Jeremy Quin MP. History The post was created in 1836 by the merger of the posit ...

and

Vice-President of the Board of Trade The office of Vice-President of the Board of Trade is a junior ministerial position in the government of the United Kingdom at the Board of Trade. The office was created in 1786 but fell into abeyance in 1867. From 1848 onwards, the office was he ...

in 1852 and as

Postmaster General A Postmaster General, in Anglosphere countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters. The practice of having a government official responsib ...

between 1858 and 1859. In 1852 he was sworn of the Privy Council. Apart from his naval and political career he was also President of the Royal Geographical Society between 1845 and 1847. On 7 June 1853 the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

conferred on him a DCL.

Family

Lord Colchester married the Hon. Elizabeth Susan, daughter of

Edward Law, 1st Baron Ellenborough Edward Law, 1st Baron Ellenborough, (16 November 1750 – 13 December 1818), was an English judge. After serving as a member of parliament and Attorney General, he became Lord Chief Justice. Early life Law was born at Great Salkeld, in Cum ...

, in 1836. He died in October 1867, aged 69, and was succeeded in the barony by his son, Reginald. Lady Colchester died in March 1883.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Colchester, Charles Abbot, 2nd Baron 1798 births 1867 deaths Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Conservative Party (UK) hereditary peers United Kingdom Postmasters General People educated at Westminster School, London Presidents of the Royal Geographical Society Royal Navy admirals Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Eldest sons of British hereditary barons