Sir George Gough Arbuthnot (28 August 1848 – 3 May 1929) was a businessman and civic leader in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

Early life

Arbuthnot was born on 28 August 1848. He was the youngest son of Archibald Francis Arbuthnot and the Hon. Gertrude Sophia Gough. His elder siblings included Maj.-Gen. William Arbuthnot, Hugh Gough Arbuthnot (who married Caroline Molyneux), Maj. Archibald Ernest Arbuthnot (who married Anne Elizabeth Ball), Frances Arbuthnot (who married Sir John Kennaway, 3rd Baronet), Robert George Arbuthnot (who married Helen Mary Muir), and Anne ''Gertrude'' Grace Arbuthnot. His paternal grandparents were

Sir William Arbuthnot, 1st Baronet Sir William Arbuthnot, 1st Baronet of Edinburgh FRSE (24 December 1766 – 18 September 1829) was a Scottish landowner and politician. He served as Lord Provost of Edinburgh and Lord Lieutenant of the City of Edinburgh. Early life William w ...

and Anne Alves (a daughter of John Alves of Shipland). His maternal grandparents were

Hugh Gough, 1st Viscount Gough Field Marshal Hugh Gough, 1st Viscount Gough, (3 November 1779 – 2 March 1869) was a senior British Army officer. After serving as a junior officer at the seizure of the Cape of Good Hope during the French Revolutionary Wars, Gough commanded ...

and Frances Maria Stephens (a daughter of Gen. Edward Stephens).Mosley, Charles, editor. ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes.''

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...

Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd Burke's Peerage Limited is a British genealogical publisher, considered an authority on the order of precedence of noble families and information on the lesser nobility of the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1826, when the Anglo-Irish geneal ...

, 2003, volume 1, page 121-124.

Career

Arbuthnot was six times a member of the

Madras Legislative Council Tamil Nadu Legislative Council was the upper house of the former bicameral legislature of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It began its existence as Madras Legislative Council, the first provincial legislature for Madras Presidency. It was initia ...

. He was seven times made chairman of the Madras

Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to a ...

, several times President of the board of directors of the Bank of Madras, and in 1900 became chairman of the Famine Relief Fund. Grandson of 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 14th ...

, he was made a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

on 10 December 1901 for services to the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

. He became partner of

Arbuthnot & Co Arbuthnot & Co was a mercantile bank, based in Madras, India. It had been founded as Francis Latour & Co in the late 18th century and then became Arbuthnot De Monte & Co. It failed spectacularly on 22 October 1906. In the last quarter of 1906, M ...

of Madras 1871 and was senior partner in the firm at the time of its spectacular crash in 1906, as a result of which he was sentenced to 18 months rigorous imprisonment. The charges against him were (1) Cheating in respect of a fixed deposit in the name of the Rajah Krishna Badahur; (2) breach of trust respecting the Madras Equitable Assurance Society; and (3) breach of trust in misappropriating the funds of Arbuthnot's Industrials.

Personal life

On 9 September 1873, Arbuthnot married Isabella Albinia Boyle (d. 1929), daughter of the Rev. Hon. Richard Cavendish Boyle (the son of the 8th Earl of Cork) and Eleanor Vere Gordon. They had two daughters: * Eleanor Mary Arbuthnot (1874–1875), who died young. * Cecilia Albinia Arbuthnot (–1956), who married Lt.-Col. Hon. Robert Lygon, son of

Frederick Lygon, 6th Earl Beauchamp Frederick Lygon, 6th Earl Beauchamp (10 November 1830 – 19 February 1891), styled The Honourable Frederick Lygon between 1853 and 1866, was a British Conservative politician. Background and education Beauchamp was the third son of Henry Ly ...

and Lady Emily Pierrepont (daughter of the 3rd Earl Manvers), in 1903. Sir George died on 3 May 1929 and his widow, Lady Arbuthnot, died a few months later on 25 August 1929.

References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Arbuthnot, George Gough 1848 births 1929 deaths George Gough Arbuthnot Members of the Madras Legislative Council British white-collar criminals Businesspeople from Chennai Knights Bachelor Scottish bankers British people in colonial India 19th-century Scottish businesspeople 20th-century Scottish businesspeople