George Ponsonby

{{Short description|British lawyer and Whig politician}} {{For|his nephew, the Hon. George Ponsonby (1773–1863), Junior Lord of the Treasury|George Ponsonby (Junior Lord of the Treasury)}} {{Use British English|date=October 2013}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = [[The Right Honourable]] | name = George Ponsonby | honorific_suffix = | image = GeorgePonsonby.jpg | image_size = 200px | caption = George Ponsonby. | order1 = [[Lord Chancellor of Ireland]] | term_start1 = 1806 | term_end1 = 1807 | monarch1 = [[George III of the United Kingdom|George III]] | prime_minister1 = [[William Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville|The Lord Grenville]] | predecessor1 = [[John Mitford, 1st Baron Redesdale|The Lord Redesdale]] | successor1 = [[Thomas Manners-Sutton, 1st Baron Manners|The Lord Manners]] | birth_date = {{birth date text|5 March 1755}} | birth_place = | death_date = {{death date and age|8 July 1817|5 March 1755}} | death_place = | party = [[Whig (British political faction)|Whig]] | alma_mater = [[Trinity College, Cambridge]] | spouse = }}

'''George Ponsonby''' (5 March 1755{{snd}}8 July 1817), was a British lawyer and [[Whig (British political faction)|Whig]] politician. He was [[Lord Chancellor of Ireland]] from 1806 to 1807 in the [[Ministry of All the Talents]].

==Background and education== Ponsonby was the second surviving son of the Honourable [[John Ponsonby (politician)|John Ponsonby]], speaker of the [[Irish House of Commons]] (1756–71), and his wife, Lady Elizabeth Cavendish (1723–1796), daughter of [[William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire]]. He was educated at [[Kilkenny College]] and at [[Trinity College, Cambridge]].<ref>{{acad|id=PNSY773G|name=Ponsonby, George}}</ref>

==Legal and political career== A [[barrister]], Ponsonby became a member of the [[Irish House of Commons]] in 1776. He sat for [[Wicklow (Parliament of Ireland constituency)|Wicklow]] between 1778 and 1783 and subsequently for [[Inistioge (Parliament of Ireland constituency)|Inistioge]] between 1783 and 1797. From 1798 until the [[Act of Union, 1800|Act of Union]] in 1801, he represented [[Galway Borough (Parliament of Ireland constituency)|Galway Borough]].{{Citation needed|date=May 2020}} Ponsonby was [[Chancellor of the Irish Exchequer]] in 1782, afterwards taking a prominent part in the debates on the question of Roman Catholic relief, and leading the opposition to the union of the parliaments.<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Ponsonby, John|display=Ponsonby, John s.v. George Ponsonby|volume=22|page=62}}</ref>

After 1801 Ponsonby represented [[County Wicklow (UK Parliament constituency)|County Wicklow]] and then [[Tavistock (UK Parliament constituency)|Tavistock]] in the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]]; in 1806 to 1807 he was [[Lord Chancellor of Ireland]], and from 1808 to 1817 he was the recognised leader of the opposition in the [[British House of Commons]].<ref name="EB1911"/>

Ponsonby had been selected as the first recognised [[Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom)|leader of the opposition]], rather than leader of an opposition, when the two leading [[Whig Party (UK)|Whig]] peers [[William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville|Lord Grenville]] and [[Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey|Earl Grey]], proposed him to Whig MPs. Ponsonby was described by Foorde as "a little-known mediocrity who was related to Lady Grey". He proved to be a weak leader, but was unwilling to resign and so retained the leadership of the party in the House of Commons until his death. He was succeeded as party leader by [[George Tierney]].

==Personal life== In Dublin, he was a member of [[Daly's Club]].<ref>T. H. S. Escott, ''Club Makers and Club Members'' (1913), [https://archive.org/stream/cu31924028066979#page/n371/mode/2up pp. 329–333]</ref>

He married Lady Mary Butler, the daughter of [[Brinsley Butler, 2nd Earl of Lanesborough]] and his wife Lady Jane Rochfort. He left an only daughter, Elizabeth, when he died in London on 8 July 1817, who went on to marry [[Francis Aldborough Prittie]], MP, by whom she had six children.

== References == {{reflist}} * {{cite book|title=Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801–1922|editor-first=Brian M. |editor-last=Walker |publisher=Royal Irish Academy |date=1978}} * ''His Majesty's Opposition 1714–1830'', by Archibald S. Foorde (Oxford University Press 1964)

== External links == * {{Hansard-contribs | mr-george-ponsonby-1 | George Ponsonby }}

{{s-start}} {{s-par|ie}} {{s-bef| before = [[Robert Ward (1754–1831)|Hon. Robert Ward]] [[Sir William Fownes, 2nd Baronet|Sir William Fownes, Bt]] }} {{s-ttl| title = Member of Parliament for [[Wicklow (Parliament of Ireland constituency)|Wicklow]] | with = [[Robert Ward (1754–1831)|Hon. Robert Ward]] | years = 1778–1783 }} {{s-aft| after = [[John Lloyd (Irish politician)|John Lloyd]] [[Edward Tighe]] }}

{{s-bef| before = [[John Flood (politician)|John Flood]] [[Sir John Parnell, 2nd Baronet|Sir John Parnell, Bt]] }} {{s-ttl| title = Member of Parliament for [[Inistioge (Parliament of Ireland constituency)|Inistioge]] | years = 1783–1797 | with = [[John Ussher (1730–1796)|John Ussher]] 1783–1790 [[John Lloyd (Irish politician)|John Lloyd]] 1790–1797 }} {{s-aft| after = [[Henry Tighe]] [[John Lloyd (Irish politician)|John Lloyd]] }}

{{s-bef| before = [[Peter Daly (politician)|Peter Daly]] [[Sir Skeffington Smyth, 1st Baronet|Sir Skeffington Smyth, Bt]] }} {{s-ttl| title = Member of Parliament for [[Galway Borough (Parliament of Ireland constituency)|Galway]] | with = [[St George Daly]] | years = 1798–[[1801 United Kingdom general election|1801]] }} {{s-aft| after = Parliament of the United Kingdom }}

{{s-par|uk}} {{s-bef| before = [[William Hoare Hume]] Vacant }} {{s-ttl| title = Member of Parliament for [[County Wicklow (UK Parliament constituency)|County Wicklow]] | with = [[William Hoare Hume]] | years = [[1801 United Kingdom general election|1801]]–[[1806 United Kingdom general election|1806]] }} {{s-aft| after = [[William Hoare Hume]] [[William Tighe]] }}

{{s-bef| before = [[Lord William Russell]] [[Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey|Viscount Howick]] }} {{s-ttl| title = Member of Parliament for [[Tavistock (UK Parliament constituency)|Tavistock]] | with = [[Lord William Russell]] | years = 1808–[[1812 United Kingdom general election|1812]] }} {{s-aft| after = [[Lord William Russell]] [[Richard FitzPatrick|Hon. Richard FitzPatrick]] }}

{{s-bef| before = [[William Elliot (Irish politician)|William Elliot]] [[Francis Russell, 7th Duke of Bedford|Marquess of Tavistock]] }} {{s-ttl| title = Member of Parliament for [[Peterborough (UK Parliament constituency)|Peterborough]] | with = [[William Elliot (Irish politician)|William Elliot]] | years = [[1812 United Kingdom general election|1812]]–1816 }} {{s-aft| after = [[William Elliot (Irish politician)|William Elliot)]] [[William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne|Hon. William Lamb]] }}

{{s-bef| before = [[William Tighe]] [[Granville Proby, 3rd Earl of Carysfort|Hon. Granville Proby]] }} {{s-ttl| title = Member of Parliament for [[Wicklow (UK Parliament constituency)|Wicklow]] | with = [[Granville Proby, 3rd Earl of Carysfort|Hon. Granville Proby]] | years = 1816–1817 }} {{s-aft| after = [[Granville Proby, 3rd Earl of Carysfort|Hon. Granville Proby]] [[William Hayes Parnell]] }}

{{s-off}} {{succession box | title = [[Lord Chancellor of Ireland]] | before = [[John Mitford, 1st Baron Redesdale|The Lord Redesdale]] | after = [[Thomas Manners-Sutton, 1st Baron Manners|The Lord Manners]] | years = 1806–1807 }} {{s-new| office}} {{s-ttl | title = [[Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom)|Leader of the Opposition]] in the [[British House of Commons|House of Commons]] | years = 1808–1817 }} {{s-aft | after = [[George Tierney]]}}

{{s-ppo}} {{s-new| office}} {{s-ttl | title = [[Whig Party (UK)|Leader of the Whig Party in the House of Commons]] | years = 1808–1817 }} {{s-aft | after = [[George Tierney]]}} {{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ponsonby, George}} [[Category:1755 births]] [[Category:1817 deaths]] [[Category:People educated at Kilkenny College]] [[Category:Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge]] [[Category:Irish MPs 1776–1783]] [[Category:Irish MPs 1783–1790]] [[Category:Irish MPs 1790–1797]] [[Category:Irish MPs 1798–1800]] [[Category:Lord chancellors of Ireland]] [[Category:Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom]] [[Category:Members of the Privy Council of Ireland]] [[Category:Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Wicklow constituencies (1801–1922)]] [[Category:Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Tavistock]] [[Category:Ponsonby family|George Ponsonby]] [[Category:UK MPs 1801–1802]] [[Category:UK MPs 1802–1806]] [[Category:UK MPs 1807–1812]] [[Category:UK MPs 1812–1818]] [[Category:Whig (British political party) MPs for Irish constituencies]] [[Category:Whig (British political party) MPs for English constituencies]] [[Category:Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Wicklow constituencies]] [[Category:Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Kilkenny constituencies]] [[Category:Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Galway constituencies]]