John_Shaw-Lefevre_Vanity_Fair_1_July_1871

Sir John George Shaw Lefevre KCB (24 January 1797 – 20 August 1879) was a British barrister, Whig politician and civil servant.

Career

Shaw Lefevre was the son of Charles Shaw Lefevre by his wife Helen, daughter of John Lefevre.

Charles Shaw-Lefevre, 1st Viscount Eversley Charles Shaw-Lefevre, 1st Viscount Eversley, Order of the Bath, GCB, Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, PC (22 February 1794 – 28 December 1888), was a British Whigs (British political party), Whig politician. He served as Speaker of ...

, was his elder brother. He was educated at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

, where he was

Senior Wrangler The Senior Wrangler is the top mathematics undergraduate at the University of Cambridge in England, a position which has been described as "the greatest intellectual achievement attainable in Britain". Specifically, it is the person who achiev ...

in 1818, 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 ...

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

. He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

in 1820. He was returned to Parliament for

Petersfield Petersfield is a market town and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is north of Portsmouth. The town has its own Petersfield railway station, railway station on the Portsmouth Direct line, the mainline rai ...

in December 1832, but was unseated on petition in March 1833. He served under Lord Grey as

Under-Secretary of State for War and the Colonies The Under-Secretary of State for War and the Colonies was a junior Ministerial post in the United Kingdom government, subordinate to the Secretary of State for War and the Colonies The Secretary of State for War and the Colonies was a British ...

in 1834. The latter year Shaw Lefevre was appointed a

Poor Law Commissioner The Poor Law Commission was a body established to administer poor relief after the passing of the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834. The commission was made up of three commissioners who became known as "The Bashaws of Somerset House", their secretary ...

after the passing of the

Poor Law Amendment Act The Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 ( 4 & 5 Will. 4. c. 76) (PLAA) known widely as the New Poor Law, was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed by the Whig government of Earl Grey denying the right of the poor to subsistence. It c ...

, which he remained until 1841. Between 1856 and 1875 he served as

Clerk of the Parliaments The Clerk of the Parliaments is the chief clerk of the House of Lords in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The position has existed since at least 1315, and duties include preparing the minutes of Lords proceedings, advising on proper parli ...

. He also helped found the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

and served as its Vice-Chancellor for many years. He was made a

Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

(KCB) in 1857 for his public services.

Marriage and family

Shaw Lefevre married Rachel Emily, daughter of Ichabod Wright, in 1824. They had one surviving son,

George 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 ...

, who became a prominent politician and was ennobled as Baron Eversley, and five daughters. One daughter, Madeleine Shaw-Lefevre, was the first Principal of

Somerville Hall Somerville College is a constituent college A collegiate university is a university where functions are divided between a central administration and a number of constituent colleges. Historically, the first collegiate university was the Univer ...

; another daughter, Rachel, married Arthur Hamilton-Gordon, son of the Prime Minister the 4th Earl of Aberdeen. Shaw Lefevre died in August 1879, aged 82. His wife lived for six more years before dying in February 1885.

Legacy

The

Lefevre Peninsula The Lefevre Peninsula is a peninsula located in the Australian state of South Australia located about northwest of the Adelaide city centre. It is a narrow sand spit of about running north from its connection to the mainland. The name given ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

, was named by

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

John Hindmarsh Rear-Admiral Sir John Hindmarsh KH (baptised 22 May 1785 – 29 July 1860) was a naval officer and the first Governor of South Australia, from 28 December 1836 to 16 July 1838. Family His grandfather William Hindmarsh was a gardener in Coni ...

on 3 June 1837 after Shaw Lefevre, who was one of South Australia's Colonisation Commissioners. In 1880, Lady Shaw Lefevre presented his library of Russian books to the

University of London Library Senate House is the administrative centre of the University of London, situated in the heart of Bloomsbury, London, immediately to the north of the British Museum. The Art Deco building was constructed between 1932 and 1937 as the first phase ...

References

* *

External links

*
Parliamentary Archives, Papers of John George Shaw Lefevre, 1797-1879
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaw Lefevre, John 1797 births 1879 deaths Senior Wranglers Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Whig (British political party) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1832–1835 Members of the Inner Temple Vice-chancellors of the University of London Fellows of the Royal Society Clerks of the Parliaments Church Estates Commissioners Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Committee members of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge