Sir Benjamin Hobhouse, 1st Baronet (1757–1831) was an English politician. He served as Member of Parliament from 1797 to 1818. Benjamin Hobhouse Audinet

Life

The son of John Hobhouse, a

slave trader The history of slavery spans many cultures, nationalities, and religions from ancient times to the present day. Likewise, its victims have come from many different ethnicities and religious groups. The social, economic, and legal positions o ...

and merchant at

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

(and nephew to

Isaac Hobhouse Isaac Hobhouse (1685 – 1763) was an English slave trader, merchant, and member of the Society of Merchant Venturers. Based in Bristol, he was at the centre of money, trade, and credit and acquired much of his fortune through the trade and exploi ...

), he received his education at

Bristol grammar school Bristol Grammar School (BGS) is a 4–18 Mixed-sex education, mixed, Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school in Bristol, England. It was founded in 1532 by Royal Charter for the teaching of 'good manners and literature', endowe ...

and

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The l ...

, where he graduated B.A. in 1778. In 1781 he proceeded M.A., 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 ...

at the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

. At the general election of 1796 Hobhouse stood for parliament at

without success, but in February 1797 he was elected M.P. for

Bletchingley Bletchingley (historically "Blechingley") is a village in Surrey, England. It is on the A25 road to the east of Redhill and to the west of Godstone, has a conservation area with medieval buildings and is mostly on a wide escarpment of the Gre ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, in 1802 for

Grampound Grampound () is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Grampound with Creed, in the Cornwall (district), Cornwall district, in the ceremonial county of Cornwall, England. It is at an ancient crossing point of the River Fal and ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

, and in 1806 for Hindon in

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

. He then represented Hindon till he withdrew from political life in 1818. In 1803 he took office under

Henry Addington Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth (30 May 175715 February 1844) was a British Tories (British political party), Tory statesman who served as prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1804 and as Speaker of the House of Commons (U ...

secretary to the board of control The Secretary to the Board of Control was a British government office in the late 18th and early 19th century, supporting the President of the Board of Control, who was responsible for overseeing the British East India Company and generally servin ...

. He resigned this post in May 1804, and in 1805 was appointed chairman of the committees for supplies. He was also first commissioner for investigating the debts of the nabobs of the Carnatic. Hobhouse was made a baronet on 22 December 1812. He was president of the Bath and West of England Society (1805–17), chairman of the committee of the Literary Fund, and a fellow of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

and of the

Society of Antiquaries of London The Society of Antiquaries of London (SAL) is a learned society of historians and archaeologists in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1707, received its royal charter in 1751 and is a Charitable organization, registered charity. It is based ...

. He was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

in 1818. He died in

Berkeley Square Berkeley Square is a garden square in the West End of London. It is one of the best known of the many squares in London, located in Mayfair in the City of Westminster. It was laid out in the mid 18th century by the architect William Kent, ...

on 14 August 1831.

Works

Hobhouse wrote: * ''A Treatise on Heresy as cognisable by the Spiritual Courts, and an Examination of the Statute of William III for Suppressing Blasphemy and Profaneness'', 1792. * ''A Reply to F. Randolph's Letter to Dr. Priestley; or an Examination of F. Randolph's Scriptural Revision of Socinian Arguments'', Trowbridge, 1792; another edition, Bath, 1793. Answered by Francis Randolph in ''Scriptural Revision of Socinian Arguments, vindicated against the Reply of Benjamin Hobhouse'', 1793. * Three letters addressed to "the several Patriotic Societies in London and its neighbourhood" and to the editor of the ''

Morning Chronicle ''The Morning Chronicle'' was a newspaper founded in 1769 in London. It was notable for having been the first steady employer of essayist William Hazlitt as a political reporter and the first steady employer of Charles Dickens as a journalist. It ...

'', occasioned by the "prevailing disposition to riot and insurrection", 1792. * ''An Inquiry into what constitutes the Crime of compassing and imagining the King's Death'', 1795. * ''Remarks on several parts of France, Italy, ... in the years 1783, 1784, and 1785'', Bath, 1796. * A collection of ''Tracts'', 1797.

Family

Hobhouse was twice married: # In September 1785, to Charlotte, daughter of Samuel Cam of Chantry House, near Bradford, Wiltshire; she died 25 November 1791; # In April 1793, to Amelia, daughter of Joshua Parry of Cirencester. By his first wife he had five children, and by his second fourteen. His eldest son was

John Cam Hobhouse John Cam Hobhouse, 1st Baron Broughton, (27 June 1786 – 3 June 1869), known as Sir John Hobhouse, Bt, from 1831 to 1851, was an English politician and diarist. Early life Born at Redland near Bristol, Broughton was the eldest son of Si ...

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Hobhouse, Benjamin 1757 births 1831 deaths English barristers Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Politicians from Bristol Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1796–1800 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies UK MPs 1801–1802 UK MPs 1802–1806 UK MPs 1806–1807 UK MPs 1807–1812 UK MPs 1812–1818 People educated at Bristol Grammar School Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford Members of the Middle Temple

Benjamin Benjamin ( ''Bīnyāmīn''; "Son of (the) right") blue letter bible: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h3225/kjv/wlc/0-1/ H3225 - yāmîn - Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (kjv) was the younger of the two sons of Jacob and Rachel, and Jacob's twe ...

Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Grampound