George Eden, 1st Earl of Auckland
Victoria | |
---|---|
Preceded by | Sir Charles Metcalfe (acting) |
Succeeded by | The Lord Ellenborough |
President of the Board of Trade | |
In office 22 November 1830 – 5 June 1834 | |
Prime Minister | The Earl Grey |
Preceded by | John Charles Herries |
Succeeded by | Charles Poulett Thomson |
Personal details | |
Born | 25 August 1784 Whig |
Parent(s) | William Eden, 1st Baron Auckland, Eleanor Elliot |
Alma mater | Christ Church, Oxford |
Profession | Lawyer, politician |
George Eden, 1st Earl of Auckland,
Lord Auckland signed the Tripartite Treaty in June 1838 with Maharaja Ranjit Singh of the Sikh Empire and Shah Shuja of Afghanistan.
Background and education
Born in
Political career, 1810–1836
Auckland was returned to Parliament for Woodstock in 1810 (succeeding his elder brother, William), a seat he held until 1812, and again between 1813 and 1814. The latter year he succeeded his father in the barony and took his seat in the House of Lords, supporting the reform party. In 1830 he became President of the Board of Trade and Master of the Mint under Lord Grey, and serving as one of the deputy Speakers of the House of Lords.
He was First Lord of the Admiralty under Grey and then Lord Melbourne in 1834 and again under Melbourne in 1835. He gave a commission to William Hobson to sail for the East Indies, which Hobson ultimately rewarded in the naming of his newly created city of Auckland, New Zealand in 1840.[1] Mount Eden in Auckland, the town of Eden, New South Wales and Auckland County, New South Wales were also named after him.
Governor-General of India, 1836–1842
In 1836 Lord Auckland was appointed of Governor-General of India. His private secretary was John Russell Colvin, who rose to be lieutenant-governor of the North-West Provinces and named his son Auckland Colvin after him. As a legislator, he dedicated himself especially to the improvement of native schools and the expansion of the commercial industry of India.
But complications in
Political career, 1842–1849
In 1846 he again became First Lord of the Admiralty, this time under Lord John Russell. In the words of a modern historian: "[M]inisterial talent in the House of Lords was not so plentiful as to disqualify the author of one of the worst disasters in British military history".[2] He held this office until his death three years later.
Personal life and character
Lord Auckland died on New Year's Day 1849, following what was described as a fit.[3] He was aged 64. Lord Auckland was unmarried and on his death the earldom became extinct, while he was succeeded in the barony by his younger brother, Robert.[citation needed]
In a recently published (2013) history Lord Auckland is described as "a clever and capable but somewhat complacent and detached Whig nobleman". In appearance he was slim and younger looking than his years. As a respected First Lord of the Admiralty Lord Auckland depended heavily on competent staff but his indecisive personality and indifference to Indian history and culture led to disastrous decisions being made during his term as Governor-General there.[4]
References
- ^ Simpson, K. A. "Hobson, William". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
- ISBN 978-1-4711-2946-9.
- ^ letter from his Admiralty assistant John Dunds
- ISBN 978-1-4088-3159-5.
- Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 2 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 893.
Further reading
- "Eden, George". doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/8451. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)