Stephen Rumbold Lushington (6 May 1776 – 5 August 1868) was an English

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. The ...

politician and an administrator in India. He was

governor of Madras This is a list of the governors, agents, and presidents of colonial Madras, initially of the English East India Company, up to the end of British colonial rule in 1947. English Agents In 1639, the grant of Madras to the English was finalized ...

from 1827 to 1835.

Early life

He was born at Bottisham,

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...

, the son of the Rev. James Stephen Lushington of

Rodmersham Rodmersham is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Swale in the north of the English county of Kent. It is just under south of Bapchild on the A2 road and south-east of the town of Sittingbourne. Rodmersham Green, which forms the b ...

and his second wife, Mary Christian, daughter of the Rev. Humphrey Christian. He was educated at

Rugby School Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. ...

, and was in India from 1792. Initially he was a translator. In England from 1807, he unsuccessfully contested the borough of Canterbury at the 1807 general election, but in July that year he was elected at an uncontested by-election as a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

(MP) for the borough of Rye in Sussex. At the 1812 general election he was returned without a contest for

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...

, and held that seat until the 1830 general election. He was

Secretary to the Treasury In the United Kingdom, there are several Secretaries to the Treasury, who are Treasury ministers nominally acting as secretaries to HM Treasury. The origins of the office are unclear, although it probably originated during Lord Burghley's tenure ...

from 1814 to 1827. Norton Court - geograph

Lushington owned Norton Court in Norton, Kent, where he knew Jane Austen, and founded nearby schools.

Governor of Madras

In 1827, Lushington was appointed

in succession to

Thomas Munro, 1st Baronet Major-General Sir Thomas Munro, 1st Baronet KCB (27 May 17616 July 1827) was a Scottish soldier and British colonial administrator. He served as an East India Company Army officer and statesman, in addition to also being the governor of Mad ...

. But as Munro fell ill and died even before his tenure had ended, Henry Sullivan Graeme acted as the governor in interim till Lushington's arrival in Madras. Lushington served as Governor of Madras from 1827 to 1832. The Madras Club was started in 1832 during Lushington's tenure as governor. In 1830, the Court of Directors of the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Sout ...

sent a despatch to Madras urging the authorities to improve the quality of English education in the presidency.

Later life

Lushington unsuccessfully contested Canterbury again at the 1835 general election, but the result was overturned on

petition A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication. In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to some offic ...

. He held the seat until he stood down in

1837 Events January–March * January 1 – The destructive Galilee earthquake causes 6,000–7,000 casualties in Ottoman Syria. * January 26 – Michigan becomes the 26th state admitted to the United States. * February – Charles Dickens ...

Family

Lushington was twice married. #Firstly, in 1797, he married Anne Elizabeth Harris (died 1856), da. of Gen.

George Harris, 1st Baron Harris George Harris, 1st Baron Harris GCB (18 March 1746 – 19 May 1829) was a British soldier. Military career Harris was the son of the Reverend George Harris, curate of Brasted, Kent. He was educated at Westminster School and at the Roya ...

. They had six sons and two daughters. #Secondly, in 1858, to Marianne Hearne, daughter of James Hearne of

Great Portland Street Great Portland Street in the West End of London links Oxford Street with Albany Street and the A501 Marylebone Road and Euston Road. A commercial street including some embassies, it divides Fitzrovia, to the east, from Marylebone to the west. ...

. There was no issue. Lushington's 1840 book ''The Life and Services of General Lord Harris, G.C.B.'' was a biography of his father-in-law by his first marriage.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lushington, Stephen Rumbold 1776 births 1868 deaths British East India Company civil servants Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Tory MPs (pre-1834) Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1807–1812 UK MPs 1812–1818 UK MPs 1818–1820 UK MPs 1820–1826 UK MPs 1826–1830 UK MPs 1835–1837 People educated at Rugby School People from Godmersham People from the Borough of Swale Governors of Madras