Lord George Francis Hamilton (17 December 1845 – 22 September 1927) was a British Conservative Party politician of the late 19th and early 20th centuries who served as

First Lord of the Admiralty First Lord of the Admiralty, or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the title of the political head of the English and later British Royal Navy. He was the government's senior adviser on all naval affairs, responsible f ...

and

Secretary of State for India His (or Her) Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for India, known for short as the India secretary or the Indian secretary, was the British Cabinet minister and the political head of the India Office responsible for the governance of ...

Background

Hamilton was born in

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

into the aristocracy, the third son of James, Marquess of Abercorn (later the Duke of Abercorn) and Lady Louisa, daughter of John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford. His parents were "long remembered as the handsomest and most distinguished couple of their time." He was educated at Harrow. He served with the Rifle Brigade and

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarchy; due to this, it often ...

, achieving the rank of lieutenant.

Political career

Hamilton was Member of Parliament 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 ...

between 1868 and 1885 and for

Ealing Ealing () is a district in west London (sub-region), west London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. It is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Pl ...

between 1885 and 1906. He served under

Benjamin Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman, Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician and writer who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a ...

as Under-Secretary of State for India from 1874 to 1878 and as

Vice-President of the Committee on Education The secretary of state for education, also referred to as the education secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the work of the Department for Education. The incumbent is a member of the C ...

from 1878 to 1880 and was sworn of the Privy Council in 1878. He entered the cabinet as

under

Lord Salisbury Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (; 3 February 183022 August 1903), known as Lord Salisbury, was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United ...

in 1885, a post he held until 1886 and again between 1886 and 1892. In 1894 he was elected as Chairman of the London School Board, standing down after one year when the Unionists won the general election and he became

under Salisbury, which he remained until 1903, the last year under the premiership of

Arthur Balfour Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour (; 25 July 184819 March 1930) was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1902 to 1905. As Foreign Secretary ...

. He was appointed a Knight Grand Commander of the

Order of the Star of India The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes: # Knight Grand Commander ( GCSI) # Knight Commander ( KCSI) # Companion ( CSI) No appointments ...

(GCSI) in the 1903 Durbar Honours, and was knighted and invested with the decoration by King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...

on 28 January 1903, during a visit to Windsor Castle. In 1916 he was part of the Mesopotamia Commission of Inquiry.

Other public appointments

For a number of years, Hamilton was a member of the board of the Underground Electric Railways Company of London (UERL) which ran the majority of London's Underground lines. He served as the company's chairman between 1915 and 1919, following the resignation of Sir Edgar Speyer in 1915. Hamilton also held the honorary posts of Captain of Deal Castle (1899–1923) and Major of Deal (1909) and received the degree of honorary LLD from

Glasgow University The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in post-nominals; ) is a public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ...

and of honorary DCL from the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

. He was also a Justice of Peace for Middlesex and Westminster. Hamilton was a Founder of the London School Board Masonic Lodge No. 2611 in 1896 He was also President of the Royal Statistical Society from 1910 to 1912 and from 1915 to 1916.

Family and children

Hamilton married Lady Maud Caroline, daughter of Henry Lascelles, 3rd Earl of Harewood, in 1871. They had three sons: *Ronald James Hamilton OBE (1872–1958), who fought in the First World War, was wounded and in 1919 invested an OBE. He was awarded with the decoration of the

Order of the Crown (Belgium) The Order of the Crown (, ) is a national Order (decoration), order of the Belgium, Kingdom of Belgium. The Order is one of Belgium's highest honors. History The Order was established on October 15, 1897, by Leopold II of Belgium, King Leopold ...

. He served as First Secretary in the Diplomatic Service. In 1915 he married Florence Marguerite (Sarah Brooke) Hanna (d. 1959). They had one daughter: **Maud Sarah Hamilton (1917–1995). In 1939 she married Squadron Leader Count Manfred Maria Edmund Ralph Beckett Czernin von und zu Chudenitz, DFC, DSO, MC, RAF (1913–1962). With him she had one son and one daughter. *Major Anthony George Hamilton (1874–1936), who fought in the First World War with the East Kent Regiment. He died unmarried and without issue. *Vice-Admiral Robert Cecil Hamilton (1882–1947), who fought in the First World War. In 1911 he married Edith Maud Paley (d. 1967), daughter of the barrister Algernon Herbert Paley. Hamilton died in September 1927, aged 81, at his house in Portman Square, London. His wife survived him by eleven years and died in April 1938.

References

External links

*
CricketArchive: Lord George Hamilton
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, George 1845 births 1927 deaths People educated at Harrow School Secretaries of State for India Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Coldstream Guards officers Rifle Brigade officers First Lords of the Admiralty Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Younger sons of dukes Presidents of the Royal Statistical Society UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1874–1880 UK MPs 1880–1885 UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892 UK MPs 1892–1895 UK MPs 1895–1900 UK MPs 1900–1906 Captains of Deal Castle English cricketers English cricketers of 1864 to 1889 Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers People associated with transport in London Members of the London School Board Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India Recipients of the Order of the Crown (Belgium) English justices of the peace 19th-century British Army personnel