Sir George Granville Leveson-Gower

KBE KBE may refer to: * Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, post-nominal letters * Knowledge-based engineering Knowledge-based engineering (KBE) is the application of knowledge-based systems technology to the domain o ...

(19 May 1858 – 18 July 1951), was a British civil servant and Liberal politician from the

Leveson-Gower family Leveson-Gower ( ), also Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, is the name of a historically prominent British noble family. Over time, several members of the Leveson-Gower family were made knights, baronets and peers. Hereditary titles held by the family incl ...

. He held political office as

Comptroller of the Household The Comptroller of the Household is an ancient position in the British royal household, nominally the second-ranking member of the Lord Steward's department after the Treasurer of the Household. The Comptroller was an ''ex officio'' member of ...

between 1892 and 1895 and later served as a Commissioner of Woods and Forests from 1908 to 1924. In 1921 he was knighted.

Background and education

A member of the

headed by the

Duke of Sutherland Duke of Sutherland is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom which was created by William IV in 1833 for George Leveson-Gower, 2nd Marquess of Stafford. A series of marriages to heiresses by members of the Leveson-Gower family made ...

, Leveson-Gower was the son of the Honourable Frederick Leveson-Gower, third son of

Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Earl Granville Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Earl Granville, (12 October 1773 – 8 January 1846), styled Lord Granville Leveson-Gower from 1786 to 1815 and The Viscount Granville from 1815 to 1833, was a British Whig statesman and diplomat from the Leveson-G ...

. His mother was Lady Margaret Compton, daughter of

Spencer Compton, 2nd Marquess of Northampton Spencer Joshua Alwyne Compton, 2nd Marquess of Northampton (2 January 1790 – 17 January 1851), known as Lord Compton from 1796 to 1812 and as Earl Compton from 1812 to 1828, was a British nobleman and patron of science and the arts. Life The ...

. She died shortly after his birth and his father never remarried. He was educated at Eton and

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and aro ...

Career

Leveson-Gower was private secretary to Prime Minister

William Ewart Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party. In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...

from 1880 to 1885. He then entered Parliament for Staffordshire North-West, and served under Gladstone as a Junior Lord of the Treasury from February to July 1886. He lost his seat in the 1886 general election but returned to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...

when he was elected for

Stoke-upon-Trent Stoke-upon-Trent, also known as Stoke, is one of the six towns that along with Hanley, Staffordshire, Hanley, Burslem, Fenton, Staffordshire, Fenton, Longton, Staffordshire, Longton and Tunstall, Staffordshire, Tunstall form the city of Stoke-o ...

in an 1890 by-election, a seat he held until 1895. He was

from 1892 to 1895 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 h ...

. Leveson-Gower later served as chairman of the Home Counties Liberal Federation from 1905 to 1908 and as a Commissioner of Woods and Forests from 1908 to 1924. He was appointed

Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(KBE) in January 1921.

Family

Leveson-Gower married the Honourable Adelaide Violet Cicely Monson, daughter of Debonnaire John Monson, 8th Baron Monson, in 1898. They had three daughters. He died in London on 18 July 1951, aged 93. Lady Leveson-Gower died in April 1955.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leveson-Gower, George Granville 1858 births 1951 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892 UK MPs 1892–1895 George Leveson-Gower Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Members of the London School Board Church Estates Commissioners