George Ponsonby (5 March 17558 July 1817), was a British lawyer and Whig politician. He served as Lord Chancellor of Ireland from 1806 to 1807 in the Ministry of All the Talents.

Background and education

Ponsonby was the second surviving son of the Honourable John Ponsonby, speaker of the

Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, but on a highly restrictive fran ...

(1756–71), and his wife, Lady Elizabeth Cavendish (1723–1796), daughter of

William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire, (26 September 1698 – 5 December 1755) was a British nobleman and Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1721 to 1729 when he inherited the Dukedom. Life Cavendish was the son of Will ...

. He was educated at

Kilkenny College Kilkenny College is an independent Church of Ireland co-educational day and boarding secondary school located in Kilkenny, in the South-East of Ireland. It is the largest co-educational boarding school in Ireland. The school's students are mainly ...

and at

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. ...

Legal and political career

A barrister, Ponsonby became a member of the Irish Parliament in 1776. He sat for Wicklow Borough between 1778 and 1783 and subsequently for Inistioge between 1783 and 1797. From 1798 until the Act of Union in 1801, he represented Galway Borough. Ponsonby was

Chancellor of the Irish Exchequer The Chancellor of the Exchequer of Ireland was the head of the Exchequer of Ireland and a member of the Dublin Castle administration under the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in the Kingdom of Ireland. In early times the title was sometimes given as Ch ...

in 1782, afterwards taking a prominent part in the debates on the question of Roman Catholic relief, and leading the opposition to the union of the parliaments. After 1801 Ponsonby represented

Wicklow Wicklow ( ; ga, Cill Mhantáin , meaning 'church of the toothless one'; non, Víkingaló) is the county town of County Wicklow in Ireland. It is located south of Dublin on the east coast of the island. According to the 2016 census, it has a ...

and then

Tavistock Tavistock ( ) is an ancient stannary and market town within West Devon, England. It is situated on the River Tavy from which its name derives. At the 2011 census the three electoral wards (North, South and South West) had a population of 13 ...

in the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

; in 1806 to 1807 he was Lord Chancellor of Ireland, and from 1808 to 1817 he was the recognised leader of the opposition in the British House of Commons. Ponsonby had been selected as the first recognised leader of the opposition, rather than leader of an opposition, when the two leading Whig peers Lord Grenville and

Earl Grey Earl Grey is a title in the peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1806 for General Charles Grey, 1st Baron Grey. In 1801, he was given the title Baron Grey of Howick in the County of Northumberland, and in 1806 he was created Viscou ...

, proposed him to Whig MPs. Ponsonby was described by Foorde as "a little-known mediocrity who was related to Lady Grey". He proved to be a weak leader, but was unwilling to resign and so retained the leadership of the party in the House of Commons until his death. He was succeeded as party leader by George Tierney.

Personal life

In Dublin, he was a member of Daly's Club.T. H. S. Escott, ''Club Makers and Club Members'' (1913)
pp. 329–333
/ref> He married Lady Mary Butler, the daughter of

Brinsley Butler, 2nd Earl of Lanesborough Brinsley Butler, 2nd Earl of Lanesborough, PC (Ire) (4 March 1728 – 24 January 1779), styled The Honourable until 1756 and Lord Newtown-Butler from 1756 to 1768, was an Irish politician and peer. He was the son of Humphrey Butler, 1st Ea ...

and his wife Lady Jane Rochfort. He left an only daughter, Elizabeth, when he died in London on 8 July 1817, who went on to marry Francis Aldborough Prittie, MP, by whom she had six children.

References

* ''Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801–1922'', edited by B. M. Walker (Royal Irish Academy 1978) * ''His Majesty's Opposition 1714–1830'', by Archibald S. Foorde (Oxford University Press 1964)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ponsonby, George 1755 births 1817 deaths People educated at Kilkenny College Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Irish MPs 1776–1783 Irish MPs 1783–1790 Irish MPs 1790–1797 Irish MPs 1798–1800 Lord chancellors of Ireland Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Wicklow constituencies (1801–1922) Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Tavistock George Ponsonby UK MPs 1801–1802 UK MPs 1802–1806 UK MPs 1807–1812 UK MPs 1812–1818 Whig (British political party) MPs for Irish constituencies Whig (British political party) MPs for English constituencies Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Wicklow constituencies Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Kilkenny constituencies Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Galway constituencies