Claudius Amyand (10 August 1718 – 1 April 1774) was an English Whig politician and government official. He was the eldest son of Claudius Amyand, a distinguished

surgeon In medicine, a surgeon is a medical doctor who performs surgery. Even though there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon is a licensed physician and received the same medical training as physicians before spec ...

and

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

, born on 10 August 1718. Educated at

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

, he attended

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

and was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in 1742. Appointed Keeper of the King's Library in 1745, he was elected Member of Parliament for Tregony in the general election of 1747. He was appointed junior under secretary to the

Duke of Newcastle Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne was a title that was created three times, once in the Peerage of England and twice in the Peerage of Great Britain. The first grant of the title was made in 1665 to William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle, Willi ...

in 1750, becoming senior under-secretary to the Earl of Holderness the following year. He was offered the seat at

Bossiney Bossiney (, meaning ''Kyni's dwelling'') is a village in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is north-east of the larger village of Tintagel which it adjoins: further north-east are the Rocky Valley and Trethevy. Until 1832 the village, ...

for the election of 1754, but declined due to a lack of funds. Instead, he was elected at

Sandwich A sandwich is a Dish (food), dish typically consisting variously of meat, cheese, sauces, and vegetables used as a filling between slices of bread, or placed atop a slice of bread; or, more generally, any dish in which bread serves as a ''co ...

. He retained his office under Thomas Robinson and Henry Fox until William Pitt removed him to the Board of Customs in 1756. He served on that board until 1765 when he became Receiver of the Land Tax for

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

and London, a post he held until his death. On 26 November 1761 he married Frances, the widow of George Compton, 6th Earl of Northampton. She was described by Claudius' brother as "a very amiable woman with a

jointure Jointure was a legal concept used largely in late mediaeval and early modern Britain, denoting the estate given to a married couple by the husband's family. One of its most important functions was providing a livelihood for the wife if she became ...

of £2,500 per annum." The couple had no children. Claudius Amyand died in London on 1 April 1774.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Amyand, Claudius 1718 births 1774 deaths British MPs 1747–1754 British MPs 1754–1761 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British civil servants English people of French descent 18th-century English MPs People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Members of Lincoln's Inn