John Ponsonby, 5th Earl of Bessborough

The Right Honourable The Earl of Bessborough PC
Lord Steward of the Household
In office 20 January 1866 – 26 June 1866
Monarch	Victoria
Prime Minister	Lord John Russell
Preceded by	The Earl of St Germans
Succeeded by	The Duke of Marlborough
In office 12 December 1868 – 17 February 1874
Monarch	Victoria
Prime Minister	William Ewart Gladstone
Preceded by	The Earl of Tankerville
Succeeded by	The Earl Beauchamp
Personal details
Born	14 October 1809 London, England
Died	28 January 1880
Nationality	British
Political party	Liberal
Spouse(s)	(1) Lady Frances Lambton (d. 1835) (2) Lady Caroline Gordon-Lennox

John George Brabazon Ponsonby, 5th Earl of Bessborough PC (14 October 1809 – 28 January 1880), styled Viscount Duncannon from 1844 until 1847, was a British cricketer, courtier and Liberal politician.

Background

Born in London, Ponsonby was the eldest son of John Ponsonby, 4th Earl of Bessborough, and his wife Lady Maria Fane, third daughter of John Fane, 10th Earl of Westmorland. He was a cricketer in his youth and played five first-class matches for MCC in the 1830s.

Political career

Ponsonby entered the House of Commons in a by-election in 1831, sitting for Bletchingley. In the general election two months later, he was returned for Higham Ferrers until constituency's disenfranchisement in 1832. He was returned to the House for Derby in 1835 and represented it until June 1847, when he succeeded in the earldom on the death of his father. In 1832, Ponsonby spent some at the British embassy in St Petersburg and a year later, he became précis writer to Lord Palmerston. Lord Bessborough became a government minister when he was appointed Master of the Buckhounds under Lord John Russell in 1848, an office he held until the fall of the administration in 1852. He held the same office from 1852 to 1855 in Lord Aberdeen's coalition government, from 1855 to 1858 in Lord Palmerston's first administration and again from 1859 to 1866 in Palmerston's and Russell's second administrations. In January 1866 he was appointed Lord Steward of the Household under Russell, a post he held until the Liberals lost power in June 1866, and again between 1868 and 1874 in William Ewart Gladstone's first administration.

Lord Bessborough was also Lord-Lieutenant of Carlow between 1838 and his death in 1880.

Family

Lord Bessborough married Lady Frances Lambton, eldest daughter of John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, on 8 September 1835. She died on 18 December 1835, and on 4 October 1849, he married Lady Caroline Gordon-Lennox, eldest daughter of Charles Gordon-Lennox, 5th Duke of Richmond. There were no children from the two marriages. He died in January 1880, aged 70, and was succeeded by his younger brother Frederick.

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Earl of Bessborough

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Charles Tennyson Sir William Horne	Member of Parliament for Bletchingley Apr – Jul 1831 With: Charles Tennyson	Succeeded by The Viscount Palmerston Thomas Hyde Villiers
Preceded by Charles Pepys	Member of Parliament for Higham Ferrers 1831 – 1832	Constituency disenfranchised
Preceded by Henry Cavendish Edward Strutt	Member of Parliament for Derby 1835–1847 With: Edward Strutt	Succeeded by Edward Strutt Hon. Frederick Leveson-Gower
Political offices
Preceded by The Earl Granville	Master of the Buckhounds 1848–1852	Succeeded by The Earl of Rosslyn
Preceded by The Earl of Rosslyn	Master of the Buckhounds 1852–1858	Succeeded by The Earl of Sandwich
Preceded by The Earl of Sandwich	Master of the Buckhounds 1859–1866	Succeeded by The Earl of Cork
Preceded by The Earl of St Germans	Lord Steward January–June 1866	Succeeded by The Duke of Marlborough
Preceded by The Earl of Tankerville	Lord Steward 1868–1874	Succeeded by The Earl Beauchamp
Honorary titles
Preceded by The Earl of Bessborough	Lord Lieutenant of Carlow 1838–1880	Succeeded by Arthur Kavanagh
Peerage of Ireland
Preceded by John Ponsonby	Earl of Bessborough 1847–1880	Succeeded by Frederick Ponsonby