Thomas Lister, 4th Baron Ribblesdale (29 October 1854 – 21 October 1925) was a British

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

politician.

Early life

Thomas Lister was born on 29 October 1854 in

Fontainebleau Fontainebleau (; ) is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department, and it is the seat of the ''arrondissement ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, the eldest son of

Thomas Lister, 3rd Baron Ribblesdale Thomas Lister, 3rd Baron Ribblesdale (28 April 1828 – 25 August 1876) was an English Peer of the Realm. Lister was the only son of Thomas Lister, 2nd Baron Ribblesdale and Adelaide, the daughter of Thomas Lister (1772–1828). He was born a ...

(1828–1876), and his wife Emma (''née'' Mure) (1833–1911), daughter of William Mure. He succeeded his father in the barony in 1876.

Career

Lord Ribblesdale sat on the Liberal benches in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

and served as a

Lord-in-waiting Lords-in-waiting (male) or baronesses-in-waiting (female) are peers who hold office in the Royal Household of the sovereign of the United Kingdom. In the official Court Circular they are styled "Lord in Waiting" or "Baroness in Waiting" (without ...

(government whip in the House of Lords) under

William Ewart Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...

from 1880 to 1885 and in 1886 and as

Master of the Buckhounds The Master of the Buckhounds (or Master of the Hounds) was an officer in the Master of the Horse's department of the British Royal Household. The holder was also His/Her Majesty's Representative at Ascot. The role was to oversee a hunting pack; a ...

under Gladstone and later

Lord Rosebery Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, 1st Earl of Midlothian, (7 May 1847 – 21 May 1929) was a British Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from March 1894 to June 1895. Between the death of ...

from 1892 to 1895. Apart from his political career he was also a Captain in the

Rifle Brigade The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Rifle ...

and a Trustee of the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...

from 1909 to 1925. His portrait was painted by

John Singer Sargent John Singer Sargent (; January 12, 1856 – April 14, 1925) was an American expatriate artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian-era luxury. He created roughly 900 oil paintings and more ...

and is said to epitomise the British aristocrat.

Personal life

On 7 April 1877, Lord Ribblesdale married Charlotte Monkton Tennant (1858–1911), daughter of

Sir Charles Tennant, 1st Baronet Sir Charles Clow Tennant, 1st Baronet JP DL (4 November 1823 – 4 June 1906) was a Scottish businessman, industrialist and Liberal politician. Early life Tennant was the son of John Tennant (1796–1878) and Robina (née Arrol) Tennant. His ...

(1823–1906) and Emma Winsloe (1849–1895), and sister of

Margot Tennant Emma Margaret Asquith, Countess of Oxford and Asquith (' Tennant; 2 February 1864 – 28 July 1945), known as Margot Asquith, was a British socialite, author. She was married to H. H. Asquith, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from 189 ...

, at The

Savoy Chapel The King's Chapel of St John the Baptist in the Precinct of the Savoy, also known as the King's Chapel of the Savoy, is a church in the City of Westminster, London. Facing it are 111 Strand, the Savoy Hotel, the Institution of Engineering and Te ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Lady Ribblesdale died on 2 May 1911. The couple had five children: *Hon. Thomas Lister, DSO (1878–1904), a captain in the

10th Royal Hussars The 10th Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales's Own) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army raised in 1715. It saw service for three centuries including the First World War and Second World War but then amalgamated with the 11th Hussars (Prince A ...

, who received the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...

(DSO) for service in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

(1899-1902), and was killed in action during the Somaliland campaign of 1903–04. *Hon. Barbara Lister (1880–1943), who married

Sir Mathew Wilson, 4th Baronet Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Mathew Richard Henry Wilson, 4th Baronet, CSI, DSO (25 August 1875 – 17 May 1958) was a British landowner, soldier, and Unionist politician. Biography Mathew Wilson was the son of Sir Matthew Amcotts Wilson, 3rd Baron ...

(1875–1958), and had three sons *Hon. Charles Alfred Lister (1887–1915), a second lieutenant who died from wounds received at the Battle of Gallipoli during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

*Hon. Laura Lister (1892–1965), who married

Simon Fraser, 14th Lord Lovat Major-General Simon Joseph Fraser, 14th Lord Lovat and 3rd Baron Lovat, (25 November 1871 – 18 February 1933), was a leading Roman Catholic aristocrat, landowner, forester, soldier, politician and the 23rd Chief of Clan Fraser. While l ...

(1871–1933) *Hon. Diana Lister (1893–1983), who first married Captain Percy Lyulph Wyndham, then Captain Arthur "Boy" Capel (1881–1919), and thirdly

Vere Fane, 14th Earl of Westmorland Lieutenant-Commander Vere Anthony Francis Fane, 14th Earl of Westmorland (25 March 1893 – 12 May 1948), styled Lord Burghersh until 1922, was a British peer. Styled Lord Burghersh from birth, he was the eldest son of Anthony Fane, 13th Earl of ...

(1893–1948) On 3 June 1919, Lord Ribblesdale married secondly

Ava Lowle Willing Ava Lowle Willing (September 15, 1868 – June 9, 1958) was an American socialite. She was the first wife of Colonel John Jacob Astor IV and later married Thomas Lister, 4th Baron Ribblesdale. Early life Ava Lowle Willing was born on September ...

, daughter of Edward Shippen Willing and Alice Bell Barton and former wife of

John Jacob Astor IV John Jacob Astor IV (July 13, 1864 – April 15, 1912) was an American business magnate, real estate developer, investor, writer, lieutenant colonel in the Spanish–American War, and a prominent member of the Astor family. He died in the sinki ...

, at

St Mary's, Bryanston Square St Mary's, Bryanston Square, is a Church of England church dedicated to the Virgin Mary on Wyndham Place, Bryanston Square, London. A related Church of England primary school which was founded next to it bears the same name. History St Mary's, ...

in London. He died on 21 October 1925, aged 70 at his townhouse in

Grosvenor Square Grosvenor Square is a large garden square in the Mayfair district of London. It is the centrepiece of the Mayfair property of the Duke of Westminster, and takes its name from the duke's surname "Grosvenor". It was developed for fashionable re ...

Mayfair, London Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in the world ...

, and was buried in the Lister vault at St Mary the Virgin Churchyard,

Gisburn Gisburn (formerly Gisburne) is a village and civil parish within the Ribble Valley borough of Lancashire, England. Historically within the West Riding of Yorkshire, it lies northeast of Clitheroe and west of Skipton. The civil parish had a pop ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

. With his death the barony became extinct. Lady Ribblesdale died on 9 June 1958 in her apartment at

720 Park Avenue 720 Park Avenue is a historic residential building in Lenox Hill on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, USA. A cooperative, the building has 34 apartments, a gymnasium and storage spaces. It is secured by a full-time doorman. Histor ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and she was buried in

Trinity Church Cemetery The parish of Trinity Church has three separate burial grounds associated with it in New York City. The first, Trinity Churchyard, is located in Lower Manhattan at 74 Trinity Place, near Wall Street and Broadway. Alexander Hamilton, Albert Gal ...

Descendants

Among his grandchildren were Simon Fraser, 15th Lord Lovat and 4th Baron Lovat (1911–1995), Sir Hugh Fraser (1918–1984), the

Secretary of State for Air The Secretary of State for Air was a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state position in the British government, which existed from 1919 to 1964. The person holding this position was in charge of the Air Ministry. The Secretar ...

from 1962 to 1964,

David Fane, 15th Earl of Westmorland David Anthony Thomas Fane, 15th Earl of Westmorland, (31 March 1924 – 8 September 1993), styled Lord Burghersh until 1948, was a British courtier, landowner and member of the House of Lords. Early life and military service The elder s ...

(1924–1993), Julian Fane (1927–2009), the author. The actress Georgina Ward (1941-2010) was his great-granddaughter.

Early life

Career

Personal life

Descendants

Arms

References

Further reading