The Right Honourable
The Earl of Dartmouth
KG PC FRS
Portrait by Pompeo Batoni
President of the Board of Control
In office
1801–1802
MonarchGeorge III
Prime MinisterHenry Addington
Preceded byThe Viscount Melville
Succeeded byViscount Castlereagh
Lord Steward
In office
1802–1804
MonarchGeorge III
Prime MinisterHenry Addington
Preceded byThe Earl of Leicester
Succeeded byThe Earl of Aylesford
Lord Chamberlain
In office
1804–1810
MonarchGeorge III
Prime Minister
Preceded byThe Marquess of Salisbury
Succeeded byVacant
Member of Parliament
for Staffordshire
In office
1780–1784
Preceded byWilliam Bagot
Succeeded bySir Edward Littleton
Member of Parliament
for Plymouth
In office
1778–1780
Preceded byThe Viscount Barrington
Succeeded byGeorge Darby
Personal details
Born2 October 1755 (1755-10-02)
Died10 November 1810 (1810-11-11) (aged 55)
NationalityBritish
Spouse(s)Lady Frances Finch
(d. 1838)

George Legge, 3rd Earl of Dartmouth KG, PC, FRS (3 October 1755 – 10 November 1810), styled Viscount Lewisham until 1801, was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1778 to 1784.

Background

George Legge, known from birth as Viscount Lewisham, was born 3 October 1755. He was the eldest son of William Legge, 2nd Earl of Dartmouth, and Frances Katherine, daughter of Sir Charles Gounter Nicoll. He was the elder brother of Admiral Sir Arthur Kaye Legge and Edward Legge, Bishop of Oxford.[1]

He was educated at Eton College and Christ Church, Oxford, where he matriculated 22 October 1771, and was created M.A. 3 July 1775, and D.C.L. 28 October 1778.[1] At some time during the 1770s he went to Florence as he appears in an important painting by Johann Zoffany which the artist titled the Tribuna of the Uffizi.[2]

He was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel of the Staffordshire Militia on 12 March 1779 and took over as its Colonel in 1781. He resigned the command in 1783 when the regiment was disembodied at the end of the American War of Independence. (His son and successor also became colonel of the regiment in 1812.)[3]

Political career

Venus with a Satyr and Cupids by Annibale CarracciRaphael, Madonna della Sedia (Madonna of the Chair), c.1514Guido Reni, Charity, 1607Raphael, St John the BaptistReni, MadonnaMadonna della seggiolaCorreggio, Madonna and ChildJustus Sustermans, GalileoRaphael, Madonna of the GoldfinchFranciabigio - Madonna of the WellGuido Reni, Cleopatra, 1635–40Holy Family, then attributed to PeruginoRubens, Justus Lipsius with his Pupils, c.1615Portrait of Leo X with two Cardinals by RaphaelTribute Money? by Carravagio?Rubens, Justus Lipsius with his Pupils, c.1615Raphael, Pope Leo X with Cardinals Giulio de’ Medici and Luigi de’ Rossi, 1518Niccolini-Cowper Madonna by RaphaelLarge central paintingHolbein, Sir Richard Southwell, 1536Cristofano Allori, Miracle of St JulianHoly Family, attributed to Niccolò Soggiummm Raphael, Niccolini-Cowper Madonna, 1508, then in Lord Cowper’s possession, having bought it from Zoffany, now National Gallery of Art, Washington, DCTitian, Venus of Urbino, 1538Cupid and Psyche, Roman copy of a Greek original of the 1st or 2nd century BCThe ‘Arrotino’ (Knife-Grinder), a Pergamene original of 2nd or 3rd century BCDancing Faun, marble replica of a bronze of the circle of Praxiteles, 4th century BCThe Infant Hercules Strangling the SerpentsThe Wrestlers, marble copy of a bronze Permamene original, 2nd or 3rd century BCSouth Indian craterEtruscan helmetChimera - Etruscan art8 Oil lampsEgyptian ptahmose, 18th dynastyGreek bronze torsoBust of Julius CaeserRoman silver shieldHead of AntinousSouth Italian craterEtruscan jugOctagonal table with pietra dura top made for the Tribuna, designed by Jacopo Ligozzi and Bernardino Poccetti.Charles Loraine Smith (1751–1835)Richard Edgcumbe, later 2nd Earl of Mount Edgcumbe (1764–1839)George, 3rd Earl Cowper (1738–89)Sir John Dick (1720–1804), British Consul at LeghornOther Windsor, 6th Earl of Plymouth (1751–99)Johann ZoffanyMr Stevenson, companion to the Lord LewishamGeorge Legge, Lord Lewisham, later 3rd Earl of Dartmouth (1755–1810)unknown young manValentine Knightley of Fawsley (1744–96)Pietro Bastianelli, the custodian of the galleryMr GordonHon. Felton Hervey (1712–73)Thomas Patch (1725-82), PainterSir John Taylor Bt., (d. 1786)Sir Horace Mann (1706–86), British Consul in FlorenceGeorge Finch, 9th Earl of Winchilseaprob. Roger Wilbraham (1743-1829)Mr WattsMr Doughty, travelling with Charles Loraine SmithProbably Thomas Wilbraham (b. 1751), brother of RogerThe Medici Venus, Roman copy of a Greek original of the 2nd century BCJames Bruce (1730–94), African explorerUse a cursor to explore or press button for larger image & copyright
The Tribuna of the Uffizi by Johann Zoffany. Place cursor over artworks or persons to identify them.

Lewisham was returned to Parliament for Plymouth in 1778, a seat he held until 1780. In the latter year he was returned for both Horsham and Staffordshire 1784, but chose to represent the latter. He continued to represent this constituency until 1784. From 1783 to 1798 he served as Lord Warden of the Stannaries. He remained out of parliament for the next 17 years, but in 1801 he was summoned to the House of Lords through a writ of acceleration in his father's junior title of Baron Dartmouth.[4] He succeeded his father in the earldom later the same year. Dartmouth served under Henry Addington as President of the Board of Control between 1801 and 1802 and as Lord Steward between 1802 and 1804. From 1804 to 1810 he was Lord Chamberlain under successively Pitt the Younger, Lord Grenville, the Duke of Portland and Spencer Perceval. He was sworn of the Privy Council in 1801 and appointed a Knight of the Garter in 1805. He was also admitted a Fellow of the Royal Society on 3 May 1781[5] and was the first President of the British Institution in 1805.

Family

Joshua Reynolds - Lady Frances Finch c.1781-1782

Lord Dartmouth married Lady Frances (9 February 1761 – 21 November 1838), daughter of Heneage Finch, 3rd Earl of Aylesford, on 24 September 1782. They had fifteen children:

Downman - Countess of Dartmouth c.1784

Lord Dartmouth died on 10 November 1810, aged 55, and was succeeded in the earldom by his eldest son, William. Lady Dartmouth died on 21 November 1838.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b Rigg 1892.
  2. ^ A key to the people shown, oneonta.edu. Retrieved 11 June 2014
  3. ^ Wylly, C. H.; Charrington, F.; Bulwer, E. A. E. (1902). Historical Records of the 1st King's Own Stafford Militia: Now 3rd and 4th Battalions, South Staffordshire Regiment. Lichfield: A.C. Lomax. pp. 9–16.
  4. ^ "LEGGE, George, Visct. Lewisham (1755-1810)". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
  5. ^ "Lists of Royal Society Fellows". Archived from the original on 22 January 2007. Retrieved 15 December 2006.
  6. ^ The Register of Births and Baptisms in the Parish of St James within the Liberty of Westminster. 1761-1786. 1 January 1785.
  7. ^ "Key to Mr Leslie's picture of Queen Victoria receiving the Holy Sacrament at her Coronation". National Portrait Gallery.
  8. ^ England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1837-1915
Attribution

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Rigg, James McMullen (1892). "Legge, George (1755-1810)". In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 32. London: Smith, Elder & Co.

External links

Parliament of Great Britain Preceded byThe Viscount BarringtonSir Charles Hardy Member of Parliament for Plymouth 1778–1780 With: Sir Charles Hardy 1778–1780Sir Frederick Rogers, Bt 1780 Succeeded bySir Frederick Rogers, BtGeorge Darby Preceded byLord GreySir John Wrottesley, Bt Member of Parliament for Staffordshire 1780–1784 With: Sir John Wrottesley, Bt Succeeded bySir John Wrottesley, BtSir Edward Littleton, Bt Political offices Preceded byViscount Melville President of the Board of Control 1801–1802 Succeeded byViscount Castlereagh Preceded byThe Earl of Leicester Lord Steward 1802–1804 Succeeded byThe Earl of Aylesford Preceded byThe Marquess of Salisbury Lord Chamberlain 1804–1810 Succeeded byVacant Honorary titles Preceded byHumphry Morice Lord Warden of the Stannaries 1783–1798 Succeeded bySir John Morshead, Bt Peerage of Great Britain Preceded byWilliam Legge Earl of Dartmouth 1801–1810 Succeeded byWilliam Legge Peerage of England Preceded byWilliam Legge Baron Dartmouth 1801–1810 (writ of acceleration) Succeeded byWilliam Legge
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