Edward William Vernon Harcourt DL JP (26 June 1825 – 19 December 1891) was an English

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

politician.

Life

Harcourt was born in

Stanton Harcourt Stanton Harcourt is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Oxfordshire about southeast of Witney and about west of Oxford. The parish includes the Hamlet (place), hamlet of Sutton, north of the village. The United Kingdom C ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

, the son of Matilda Mary Gooch and Rev. William Vernon Harcourt who was a scientist, and grandson of Edward Harcourt,

Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers the ...

. His brother was the politician Sir William Vernon Harcourt,

Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and the head of HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, t ...

and

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...

. He matriculated at

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 ...

in 1843.

Career

Harcourt was a J.P. for

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

and

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

, and a J.P. and Deputy Lieutenant for Oxfordshire and

High Sheriff of Oxfordshire The High Sheriff of Oxfordshire, in common with other counties, was originally the King's representative on taxation upholding the law in Saxon times. The word Sheriff evolved from 'shire-reeve'. The title of High Sheriff is therefore much older ...

in 1875. He was Commanding Officer and later Honorary Colonel of the 1st Cinque Ports Artillery Volunteers of the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

. He was a member of Royal Commission for organizing the Volunteer Force in 1862, and was 15 years President of National Artillery Association. Nuneham House - geograph

He was the author of ''Sketch of Madeira'' (1851) and ''Sporting in Algeria'' (1859), published under the name of "Edward Vernon Harcourt". The former was dedicated to his mother-in-law,

Harriet Holroyd, Countess of Sheffield Harriet Holroyd, Countess of Sheffield (''née'' Lascelles; 19 June 1802 – 1 January 1889), styled as Lady Harriet Lascelles from 1820–5, was an English courtier who was Lady of the Bedchamber to Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, Queen Adelaide, th ...

. He inherited

Nuneham House Nuneham House is an eighteenth century villa in the Palladian architecture, Palladian style, set in parkland at Nuneham Courtenay in Oxfordshire, England. It is currently owned by Oxford University and is used as a retreat centre by the Brahma K ...

and Park in 1871 and had a new Nuneham Courtenay parish church built in 1872–74. He served as Member of

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

for

from 1878 to 1885 and for Henley from 1885 to 1886.

Personal life

In 1849, Harcourt was married to Lady Susan Harriet Holroyd (1829–1894), the daughter of

George Holroyd, 2nd Earl of Sheffield George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Gior ...

and Lady Harriet Lascelles. Together, they were the parents of: # Aubrey Harcourt (1852–1904), who died unmarried. # Edith Harcourt (1855–1944), who married Murray Finch-Hatton, 12th Earl of Winchilsea, in 1875.Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003. Harcourt died at Nuneham Park on 19 December 1891. His son died in 1904 and the Nuneham estates passed to Harcourt's brother, Sir William, who died shortly thereafter and his son,

Lewis Harcourt, 1st Viscount Harcourt Lewis Vernon Harcourt, 1st Viscount Harcourt (born Reginald Vernon Harcourt; 31 January 1863 – 24 February 1922), was a British Liberal Party politician who held the Cabinet post of Secretary of State for the Colonies from 1910 to 1915. Lor ...

References

External links

* 1825 births 1891 deaths English naturalists English ornithologists Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1874–1880 UK MPs 1880–1885 UK MPs 1885–1886 High sheriffs of Oxfordshire Deputy lieutenants of Oxfordshire Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford

Edward Edward is an English male name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortunate; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-S ...

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