Biography

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Sir Francis Thornhill Baring, Lord Northbrook (1796-1866)

This article was written by William Prideaux Courtney and was published in 1885.

Sir Francis Baring,a statesman, was the eldest son of Sir Thomas Baring, the second baronet. He was born at Calcutta on 20 April 1796. He was educated at Winchester School and Christ Church, Oxford, gaining the distinction of a double first class in 1817. In 1826 he was elected as a whig to the House of Commons for Portsmouth, and represented the place without an interruption until 1865. He climbed from step to step of the official ladder, and was a lord of the treasury between November 1830 and June 1834, its joint secretary from June to November 1834 and April 1835 to September 1839, and chancellor of the exchequer August 1839 to September 1841.

From 1849 to 1852 he was the first lord of the admiralty. He was created Baron Northbrook 4 January 1866, and died at Stratton Park 6 September 1866.

Lord Northbrook was twice married: first, 7 April 1825, at Portsmouth, to Jane, youngest daughter of the Hon. Sir George Grey, K.C.B., by whom he was father of Thomas George, created Earl Northbrook in 1876; and secondly, 31 March 1841, at St. George's, Hanover Square, to Lady Arabella Georgiana Howard, second daughter of the first Earl of Effingham. His first wife died at Belgrave Square, Pimlico, 23 April 1838; his second wife was still living in 1885. The speech which he made on 17 May 1841, on the budget resolutions for the year, was printed as a pamphlet; his proposals were keenly criticised by Sir Robert Peel. Several improvements were effected at the admiralty during his presidency of the board.