Sir John Robert Mowbray, 1st Baronet PC (3 June 1815 – 22 April 1899), known as John Cornish until 1847, was a British

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 and long-serving

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 ...

, eventually serving as Father of the House.

Family and education

Mowbray was the son of Robert Stirling Cornish and 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 Christ Church, Oxford. In 1847 he married Elizabeth Mowbray, the sole heiress of George Isaac Mowbray of

Bishopwearmouth Bishopwearmouth is a former village and parish which now constitutes the west side of Sunderland City Centre, merging with the settlement as it expanded outwards in the 18th and 19th centuries. It is home to the Sunderland Minster church, which ...

. The same year he assumed by royal licence the surname Mowbray in lieu of his patronymic to reflect the large fortune into which he married. They had three sons, all of whom succeeded to their father's baronetcy, and two daughters: * Annie Maud Mowbray (died 29 Oct 1926), who married the Rev.

Charles Thomas Cruttwell Charles Thomas Cruttwell (1847–1911) was an English cleric, headmaster and classical scholar, known as a historian of Roman literature. Life He was born in London on 30 July 1847, eldest son of Charles James Cruttwell, barrister-at-law, of the I ...

, canon residentiary of

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

* Edith Marian Mowbray (died 27 March 1933), unmarried * Sir Robert Gray Cornish Mowbray, 2nd Baronet (21 May 1850–23 July 1916) * Sir Reginald Ambrose Mowbray, 3rd Baronet (5 April 1852–30 December 1916) * Rev. Sir Edmund George Lionel Mowbray, 4th Baronet (26 June 1859–2 February 1919) John Mowbray Vanity Fair 1882-04-08

Career

In 1853 Mowbray was elected to 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 ...

for

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

, a seat he held until 1868, and then represented

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...

from 1868 until his death in 1899. In the House, he was chair of the Committee of Selection and of the Standing Orders Committee. He served as Judge Advocate General 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 ...

from 1858 to 1859, and under Derby and later Benjamin Disraeli from 1866 to 1868. He was admitted to the Privy Council in 1858 and in 1880 he was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14t ...

. From 1898 until his death the following year Mowbray was

Father of the House of Commons Father of the House is a title that has been traditionally bestowed, unofficially, on certain members of some legislatures, most notably the House of Commons in the United Kingdom. In some legislatures the title refers to the longest continuously- ...

. A bronze bust was erected as a memorial in the House of Commons in 1900.

Notes

Sources

* *

External links

*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990, * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mowbray, Sir John, 1st Baronet 1815 births 1899 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for City of Durham Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the University of Oxford UK MPs 1852–1857 UK MPs 1857–1859 UK MPs 1859–1865 UK MPs 1865–1868 UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1874–1880 UK MPs 1880–1885 UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892 UK MPs 1892–1895 UK MPs 1895–1900 People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Presidents of the Oxford Union Church Estates Commissioners