The Duke of Northumberland | |
---|---|
First Lord of the Admiralty | |
In office 28 February 1852 – 17 December 1852 | |
Monarch | Queen Victoria |
Prime Minister | The Earl of Derby |
Preceded by | Sir Francis Baring, Bt |
Succeeded by | Sir James Graham, Bt |
Personal details | |
Born | 15 December 1792 |
Died | 12 February 1865 | (aged 72)
Nationality | British |
Political party | Conservative |
Spouse(s) | Lady Eleanor Grosvenor (d. 1911) |
Parent(s) | Hugh Percy, 2nd Duke of Northumberland Frances Julia Burrell |
Alma mater | St John's College, Cambridge |
Military service | |
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Branch/service | Royal Navy |
Years of service | 1805–c.1862 |
Rank | Admiral |
Commands | HMS Scout HMS Pelorus HMS Caledonia HMS Cossack HMS Driver |
Battles/wars | |
Awards | Knight of the Order of the Garter |
Algernon Percy, 4th Duke of Northumberland, KG, PC, FRS, FSA, FRGS, FRAS (15 December 1792 – 12 February 1865), styled Lord Algernon Percy from birth until 1816 and known as Lord Prudhoe between 1816 and 1847, was a British naval commander, explorer and Conservative politician.
Northumberland was the second son of General Hugh Percy, 2nd Duke of Northumberland, and his second wife Frances Julia, daughter of Peter Burrell.[1] He was educated at Eton and St John's College, Cambridge.[1]
Northumberland succeeded his childless elder brother in the dukedom in 1847. In 1852 he was sworn of the Privy Council[10] and appointed First Lord of the Admiralty, with a seat in the cabinet, by the Earl of Derby, a post he held until the fall of the government in December 1852. In 1853 he was made a Knight of the Garter.[11]
Northumberland married, aged 49, Lady Eleanor Grosvenor, daughter of Richard Grosvenor, 2nd Marquess of Westminster, on 25 August 1842 at St George's, Hanover Square. They had no children. As a result of gout in his right hand, he died in February 1865, aged 72 at Alnwick Castle and was buried in the Northumberland Vault, within Westminster Abbey.[1][2][12] He was succeeded in his titles by his twice first cousin, George Percy, 2nd Earl of Beverley, except for the barony of Percy, which passed through the female line to his great-nephew, John Stewart-Murray, 7th Duke of Atholl. The Duchess of Northumberland died on 4 May 1911.
He was a fellow of the Royal Society, the Society of Antiquaries, the Royal Geographical Society, the Royal Astronomical Society, president of the Royal United Services Institute and the Royal Institution, a director of the British Institution and a trustee of the British Museum.[2]
Northumberland was a good friend of Arctic explorer Sir John Franklin, and Prudhoe Bay, on the north coast of Alaska, was named after him.[13]