Henry Temple, 2nd Viscount Palmerston
Henry Temple, 2nd Viscount Palmerston, FRS (4 December 1739 – 17 April 1802), was a British politician.
Life
Temple was a son of Henry Temple (son of Henry Temple, 1st Viscount Palmerston) and Jane, daughter of Sir John Barnard, Lord Mayor of London.[1]
He was born into 'the Ascendancy', the Anglo-Irish aristocracy. His family owned a vast country estate in the north of County Sligo in the west of Ireland. He succeeded to the peerage in 1757, and was educated at Clare College, Cambridge from 1757 to 1759.[2]
As a member of the British House of Commons, he represented the constituencies of East Looe between 1762 and 1768, Southampton between 1768 and 1774, Hastings between 1774 and 1784, Boroughbridge between 1784 and 1790, Newport, Isle of Wight between 1790 and 1796, and Winchester between 1796 and his death in 1802.
He was appointed to the Board of Trade in 1765, was a Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty between 1766 and 1777, and was a Lord of the Treasury from 1777 to 1782.
In 1763 Temple journeyed to Italy, staying with Voltaire at Ferney en route. He reached Rome in 1764, and from there visited Paestum, south of Naples. He bought antiquities and paintings from Gavin Hamilton, antiquities from Giovanni Battista Piranesi, paintings from Angelica Kauffman, cameos from Giovanni Pichler and sculpture from Joseph Nollekens.[3]
He died on 17 April 1802 at his house in Hanover Square, Westminster,[1] and left behind his wife and children. His son, Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century.
A portrait of Henry Temple by Angelica Kauffman is held at Broadlands, Hampshire.
References
- Davies, Edward J. (2008). "The Ancestry of Lord Palmerston". The Genealogist. 22: 62–77.
- "Palmerston, Henry (Temple), Viscount (PLMN757HT)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- Bignamini, Ilaria; Hornsby, Clare (2010). Digging and Dealing in Eighteenth-Century Rome. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press. pp. 313–315. ISBN 978-0300160437.
Further reading
- Brian Connell, Portrait of a Whig Peer. Compiled from the papers of the Second Viscount Palmerston 1739 - 1802 (1957. London)
| Parliament of Great Britain | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Francis Gashry John Buller |
Member of Parliament for East Looe 1762–1768 With: John Buller |
Succeeded by Richard Hussey John Buller |
| Preceded by Henry Dawkins Hans Stanley |
Member of Parliament for Southampton 1768–1774 With: Hans Stanley |
Succeeded by John Fleming Hans Stanley |
| Preceded by Samuel Martin William Ashburnham |
Member of Parliament for Hastings 1774–1784 With: Charles Jenkinson John Ord |
Succeeded by John Stanley John Dawes |
| Preceded by Anthony Eyre Charles Ambler |
Member of Parliament for Boroughbridge 1784–1790 With: Sir Richard Sutton, Bt |
Succeeded by Morris Robinson Sir Richard Sutton, Bt |
| Preceded by Edward Rushworth George Byng |
Member of Parliament for Newport 1790–1796 With: Viscount Melbourne to 1793 Peniston Lamb from 1793 |
Succeeded by Jervoise Clarke Jervoise Edward Rushworth |
| Preceded by Henry Penton Richard Grace Gamon |
Member of Parliament for Winchester 1796–1800 With: Richard Grace Gamon |
Succeeded by Parliament of the United Kingdom |
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by Parliament of Great Britain |
Member of Parliament for Winchester 1801–1801 With: Richard Grace Gamon |
Succeeded by Sir Henry St John-Mildmay, Bt Richard Grace Gamon |
| Peerage of Ireland | ||
| Preceded by Henry Temple |
Viscount Palmerston 1757–1802 |
Succeeded by Henry Temple |
