George Henry FitzRoy, 4th Duke of Grafton, KG (14 January 1760 – 28 September 1844), styled Earl of Euston until 1811, was a British

peer Peer may refer to: Sociology * Peer, an equal in age, education or social class; see Peer group * Peer, a member of the peerage; related to the term "peer of the realm" Computing * Peer, one of several functional units in the same layer of a ne ...

and Whig politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

from 1782 to 1811 when he succeeded to the Dukedom.

Early life

Euston was the son of Augustus Fitzroy, 3rd Duke of Grafton, and his wife, Anne Lidell. He was educated at

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (sc ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

, where he became a close friend of the

William Pitt the Younger William Pitt the Younger (28 May 175923 January 1806) was a British statesman, the youngest and last prime minister of Great Britain (before the Acts of Union 1800) and then first prime minister of the United Kingdom (of Great Britain and Ir ...

. He married Lady Charlotte Maria Waldegrave (1761–1808), daughter of

James Waldegrave, 2nd Earl Waldegrave James Waldegrave, 2nd Earl Waldegrave, (4 March 171513 April 1763) was a British politician who is sometimes regarded as one of the shortest-serving British prime ministers in history. His brief tenure as First Lord of the Treasury is lent a m ...

, on 16 November 1784 at

Navestock Navestock is a civil parish in the Borough of Brentwood in south Essex, in the East of England region of the United Kingdom. It is located approximately northwest of the town of Brentwood and the M25 motorway cuts through the western edge of t ...

Essex Essex () is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the Riv ...

Political career

From 1782 to 1784, Euston was

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 o ...

for

Thetford Thetford is a market town and civil parish in the Breckland District of Norfolk, England. It is on the A11 road between Norwich and London, just east of Thetford Forest. The civil parish, covering an area of , in 2015 had a population of 24, ...

, and in 1784, he and Pitt were elected as MPs for

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. Euston held that seat until he succeeded his father in the dukedom in 1811. He was appointed a deputy lieutenant of Northamptonshire on 9 May 1803. Euston used his position in parliament to advocate for Britain having friendly relations with the newly created United States. He was appointed Knight, Order of the Garter (K.G.) in 1834.

Family

Grafton died on 28 September 1844 and was succeeded by his son Henry. He and his wife Charlotte had eleven children: * Lady Maria (Mary) Anne (1785–1855), married

Sir William Oglander, 6th Baronet Sir William Oglander, 6th Baronet (13 September 1769 – 17 January 1852) of Nunwell, Brading, Isle of Wight, was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1807 to 1812. Life William Oglander was born at Parnham, near Bridport, ...

and had issue. * Lady Georgiana (1787–1855), unmarried * Lady Elizabeth Anne (1788–1867), married her first cousin John Henry Smyth and had issue. * Henry, styled Earl of Euston, later 5th Duke of Grafton (1790–1863) * Lord Charles FitzRoy (1791–1865), married Lady Anne Cavendish (daughter of George Cavendish, 1st Earl of Burlington) and had issue. * Lady Isabella Frances (1792–1875), married Henry Joseph St. John (died 1857) * Lord William FitzRoy (1794–1804) * Lord Hugh George FitzRoy (1795–1797)Buried at St James's Church, Piccadilly, on 29 April 1797. Source: ''The Register Book for Burials. In the Parish of St James in Westminster in the County of Middlesex. 1754-1812''. 29 April 1797. * Lord Richard FitzRoy (1798–1798) * Lord Richard FitzRoy (1800–1801) * Lord James FitzRoy (1804–1834)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Grafton, George FitzRoy, 4th Duke of 1760 births 1844 deaths People educated at Harrow School Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Children of prime ministers of the United Kingdom Deputy Lieutenants of Northamptonshire 104 Earls of Arlington House of Stuart Garter Knights appointed by William IV Lord-Lieutenants of Suffolk Euston, George FitzRoy, Earl of Euston, George Euston, George FitzRoy, Earl of Euston, George FitzRoy, Earl of Euston, George FitzRoy, Earl of Euston, George FitzRoy, Earl of UK MPs who inherited peerages George FitzRoy, 4th Duke of Grafton Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Cambridge University Owners of Epsom Derby winners British MPs 1780–1784 British MPs 1784–1790 British MPs 1790–1796 British MPs 1796–1800