George Byng (1764–1847)

George Byng DL JP (17 May 1764 – 10 January 1847), of Wrotham Park in Middlesex (now Hertfordshire), and of Wentworth House, 5, St James's Square, London,[2] was a British Whig politician.

George Byng („Byng-Go" by Richard Dighton, 1820)
Wrotham Park in 1820
Left: Wentworth House, 5, St James's Square, London, townhouse built 1748-51 by William Wentworth, 2nd Earl of Strafford (1722–1791) to the design of Matthew Brettingham The Elder[1]

Origins

He was the eldest son and heir of George Byng (1735-1789) (eldest son of Robert Byng (1703-1740), third son of Admiral George Byng, 1st Viscount Torrington (1663-1733)[3][4]) of Wrotham Park, by his wife Anne Conolly, a daughter of William Conolly (d.1754), of Stratton Hall, Staffordshire and of Castletown, co. Kildare,[5] a Member of Parliament. Anne's mother was Lady Anne Wentworth, a daughter of Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford (1672–1739). His younger brother was Field Marshal John Byng, 1st Earl of Strafford (1772-1860),[4] elevated to the peerage in 1847 with the same territorial designation as the earldom of his maternal cousins, which earldom had become extinct in 1799.

Career

He was educated at Göttingen University from 1780[6] where he studied under Georg Christoph Lichtenberg. Byng was returned to Parliament for Middlesex in 1790, a seat he held until his death 57 years later.[7] During his early years he was an associate of Charles James Fox.[8] Between 1832 and 1847 he was Father of the House of Commons. He was offered a peerage in order to increase the Whig majority in the House of Lords prior to the 1832 Reform Act, but refused.[8] He was also a Deputy Lieutenant and Justice of the Peace for Middlesex.[9]

Marriage

In 1797 he married Harriet Montgomery, a daughter of Sir William Montgomerie, 1st Baronet, of Macbie Hill, Peebles,[10] but had no children.[8]

Death & succession

He died on 10 January 1847,[10] aged 82. His heir was his younger brother, Field Marshal John Byng, 1st Earl of Strafford (1772-1860), elevated to the peerage in the same year.

References
  1. http://www.5stjamesssquare.com/the-building/
  2. History of Parliament biography
  3. MPs for Twickenham and Middlesex: Bankers and Politicians. The Twickenham Museum (2003-11-07). Retrieved on 2010-12-30.
  4. John Burke Genealogical and heraldic history of the commoners of Great Britain and Ireland enjoying territorial possessions or high official rank: but uninvested with heritable honours, Colburn, 1836, p. 14
  6. 22. September 1780, stud. math., Anglus
  7. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs Archived 10 August 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  8. Wrotham Park and its History Archived 27 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Londonopenhouse
  9. "Biographies of Honorary (Unpaid) Lunacy Commissioners 1828–1912. Francis Thornhill Baring MA MP". Archived from the original on 4 August 2008. Retrieved 28 May 2009.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link), A Middlesex University resource
  10. http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1820-1832/member/byng-george-1764-1847
Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by
John Wilkes
William Mainwaring		 Member of Parliament for Middlesex
1790–1801
With: William Mainwaring		 Succeeded by
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Parliament of Great Britain		 Member of Parliament for Middlesex
1801–1847
With: William Mainwaring 1801–1802
Sir Francis Burdett, Bt 1802–1804, 1805–1806
George Boulton Mainwaring 1804–1805, 1806
William Mellish 1806–1820
Samuel Charles Whitbread 1820–1830
Joseph Hume 1830–1837
Thomas Wood 1837–1847		 Succeeded by
Thomas Wood
Lord Robert Grosvenor
Preceded by
Samuel Smith		 Father of the House of Commons
1832–1847		 Succeeded by
Charles Williams-Wynn
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