Thomas Baring, 1st Earl of Northbrook

2025-08-20T07:46:11Z

2601:601:9C81:34F0:71C9:2AF8:2767:39F5: /* Legacy in India */

{{short description|British Liberal politician (1826–1904)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2021}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix = [[His Excellency]] [[The Right Honourable]]
| name = The Earl of Northbrook
| honorific-suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|GCSI|PC|FRS}}
| image = Thomas Baring Earl of Northbrook.jpg
| caption = The 1st Earl of Northbrook, {{circa|1889}}
| office = 5th [[Viceroy and Governor-General of India]]
| term_start = 3 May 1872
| term_end = 12 April 1876
| monarch = [[Victoria of the United Kingdom|Victoria]]
| predecessor = [[Francis Napier, 10th Lord Napier|The Lord Napier]] (as acting Viceroy)
| successor = [[Robert Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Earl of Lytton|The Lord Lytton]]
| office1 = [[Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire]]
| term_start1 = 7 November 1890
| term_end1 = 15 November 1904
| monarch1 = [[Victoria of the United Kingdom|Victoria]]
| predecessor1 = [[Henry Herbert, 4th Earl of Carnarvon|The Lord Carnarvon]]
| successor1 = [[Henry Paulet, 16th Marquess of Winchester|The Lord Winchester]]
| office2 = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] <br /> for [[Penryn and Falmouth (UK Parliament constituency)|Penryn and Falmouth]]
| term_start2 = 24 April 1857
| term_end2 = 15 October 1866
| predecessor2 = [[Howel Gwyn]]
| successor2 = [[Jervoise Smith]]
| birth_name = Thomas George Baring
| birth_date = {{birth date|1826|1|22|df=y}}
| birth_place =
| death_date = {{death date and age|1904|11|15|1826|1|22|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Stratton Park]], [[Hampshire]]
| nationality = [[British people|British]]
| party = [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal]]
| spouse = {{Marriage |Elizabeth Sturt |1848|1867|end=d}}
| alma_mater = [[Christ Church, Oxford]]
}}

'''Thomas George Baring, 1st Earl of Northbrook''', {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|sep=,|GCSI|PC|FRS}} (22 January 1826{{snd}}15 November 1904) was a British [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal]] politician and statesman who served as [[Governor-General of India|Viceroy of India]] 1872–1876.

His major accomplishments came as an energetic reformer who was dedicated to upgrading the quality of government in the [[British Raj]]. He reduced taxes and overcame bureaucratic obstacles in an effort to reduce both starvation and widespread social unrest.<ref>James S. Olson and Robert S. Shadle, ''Historical Dictionary of the British Empire'' (1996), p. 116.</ref> He also served as [[List of the First Lords of the Admiralty|First Lord of the Admiralty]] between 1880 and 1885.

==Background and education==
Northbrook was the eldest son of [[Francis Baring, 1st Baron Northbrook]], by his first wife Jane, daughter of the [[Sir George Grey, 1st Baronet]]. Jane died when young Thomas was less than thirteen, and he studied under a tutor, Mr. Bird, at home and took an interest in natural history. At fourteen Thomas wrote to his father who was holidaying at Weymouth to capture a yellow butterfly with black spots at the end of each wing known to be found on Portland Island. He was sent briefly to another tutor, Mr. Vaughan Johnson at Chalons-sur-Marne, to study French. He also took an interest in sketching, learning from S. Palmer, and later his friend [[Edward Lear]]. He went to [[Christ Church, Oxford]] in 1843, and graduated with honours in 1846. He travelled in Europe and took an interest in mountaineering, joining his friend from Oxford, Alfred Seymour.<ref>Mallet (1908):15-21.</ref>

==Political career==
Northbrook entered upon a political career, and was successively private secretary to [[Henry Labouchere, 1st Baron Taunton|Henry Labouchere]] (Board of Trade), [[Sir George Grey, 2nd Baronet|Sir George Grey]] (Home Office), and [[Charles Wood, 1st Viscount Halifax|Sir Charles Wood]] (India Office and then Admiralty to 1857). In 1847 he served on the committee of the [[British Relief Association]]. In 1857, he was returned to the [[British House of Commons|House of Commons]] for [[Penryn and Falmouth (UK Parliament constituency)|Penryn and Falmouth]], which he represented until becoming a peer on the death of his father in 1866. He served under [[Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston|Lord Palmerston]] as [[Civil Lord of the Admiralty (Royal Navy)|Civil Lord of the Admiralty]] between 1857 and 1858, as [[Under-Secretary of State for War]] in 1861, as [[Under-Secretary of State for India]] between 1861 and 1864, under Palmerston and [[John Russell, 1st Earl Russell|Lord Russell]] as [[Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department]] between 1864 and 1866 and under Russell as [[Secretary to the Admiralty]] in 1866.

When [[William Ewart Gladstone]] acceded to power in 1868, Baring was again appointed Under-Secretary of State for War, and this office he held until February 1872, when he was appointed [[Governor-General of India|Viceroy of India]]. On 3 May he was Knight Grand Commander of the [[Order of the Star of India]] and ex officio Grand Master of the Order.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/knightsofengland01shawuoft/page/310/mode/2up|title=The Knights of England. A complete record from the earliest time to the present day of the knights of all the orders of chivalry in England, Scotland, and Ireland, and of knights bachelors, incorporating a complete list of knights bachelors dubbed in Ireland|year=1906}}</ref>

In January 1876, however, he resigned. He had recommended the conclusion of arrangements with [[Sher Ali Khan]] which, as has since been admitted,{{by whom|date=April 2018}} would have prevented the [[Second Anglo-Afghan War]]; but his policy was overruled by the [[George Campbell, 8th Duke of Argyll|Duke of Argyll]], then [[Secretary of State for India]]. in 1876 he was created '''Viscount Baring''', of Lee in the County of Kent, and '''Earl of Northbrook''', in the County of Southampton.

[[File:Northbrook Granville Selbourne Salisbury Vanity Fair 5 July 1882.jpg|thumb|left|Caricature of The Lords Northbrook, [[Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville|Granville]], [[Roundell Palmer, 1st Earl of Selborne|Selborne]] and [[Robert Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury|Salisbury]]. Caption read "Purse, Pussy, Piety and Prevarication". Published in ''[[Vanity Fair (British magazine)|Vanity Fair]]'', 5 July 1882.]]
From 1880 to 1885 Northbrook held the post of [[List of the First Lords of the Admiralty|First Lord of the Admiralty]] in Gladstone's second government. During his tenure of office the state of the navy aroused much public anxiety and led to a strong agitation in favor of an extended shipbuilding programme. The agitation called forth [[Alfred Tennyson|Tennyson]]'s poem ''The Fleet''. In September 1884, Northbrook was sent to [[Egypt]] as special commissioner to inquire into its finances and condition. The inquiry was largely unnecessary, all the essential facts being well known, but the mission was a device of Gladstone's to avoid an immediate decision on a perplexing question. Northbrook, after six weeks of inquiry in Egypt, sent in two reports, one general, advising against the withdrawal of the British garrison, and one financial. His financial proposals, if accepted, would have substituted the financial control of Britain for the international control proposed at the London Conference of June–August of the same year, but this was not carried out. When Gladstone formed his third ministry in 1886 Baring held aloof, being opposed to the [[Home Rule]] policy of the prime minister; and he then ceased to take a prominent part in political life.

==Other work==
[[File:Arthur Stockdale Cope - Thomas George Baring, Earl of Northbrook.jpg|thumb|150px|Lord Northbrook]]
Baring had served in the [[Hampshire Yeomanry]], reaching the rank of [[Major (United Kingdom)|major]], and was appointed the regiment's [[Colonel (United Kingdom)#Ceremonial usage|Honorary Colonel]] on 26 January 1889.<ref>''Army List''.</ref>

In 1890 he was appointed [[Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire]].

In the 1880s he was president of an offshoot of the [[National Indian Association]], which was named the Northbrook Indian Society after its president.<ref>[http://www.open.ac.uk/researchprojects/makingbritain/content/northbrook-society Northbrook Society], Open University, Retrieved 27 July 2015.</ref> From 1890 to 1893 he was president of the [[Royal Asiatic Society]].

In 1898 he sold the land of [[Manor House Gardens]], to the London County Council, and also gifted land in Lee to public use, which was opened as [[Northbrook Park, London|Northbrook Park]] in 1903.

He was elected a Fellow of the [[Royal Botanic Society]] in November 1902.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Royal Botanic Society |date=10 November 1902 |page=12 |issue=36921}}</ref>

==Family==
[[File:Elizabeth Baring, by Richard Buckner.jpg|thumb|Elizabeth Baring, wife of Thomas Baring ([[Richard Buckner (artist)|Richard Buckner]])]]
Lord Northbrook married Elizabeth, daughter of Henry Charles Sturt and sister of [[Henry Sturt, 1st Baron Alington|Lord Alington]], in 1848. They had two sons and one daughter. She died in June 1867, aged 40. Lord Northbrook remained a widower until his death at [[Stratton Park]], [[Hampshire]], in November 1904, aged 78. There is a memorial to him at All Saints, [[East Stratton]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2969181 |title=Geograph |publisher=Geograph |date=2012-05-30 |access-date=2013-06-29}}</ref> He was succeeded in the earldom by his eldest son, [[Francis Baring, 2nd Earl of Northbrook|Francis]].

==Legacy in India==
The [[Ghanta Ghar (Multan)|Ghanta Ghar Multan]], or Clock Tower of [[Multan]], is named "Northbrook Tower". It is located in the center of [[Multan]] in [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]] province, [[Pakistan]]. A library named "Northbrook Hall" is located in Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh. Northbrook Gate was constructed in 1874 in Guwahati on the bank of the Brahmaputra river.

==See also==
*[[Northbrook Hall]]
*[[Manor House Gardens]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book|title=Thomas George earl of Northbrook, G.C.S.I. A memoir| author=Mallet, Bernard| year=1908|url=https://archive.org/details/thomasgeorgeearl00malliala | publisher=Longmans, Green and Co.|place= London}}
* Mersey, Viscount Charles Clive Bigham. ''The viceroys and governors-general of India, 1757-1947'' (1949)
* {{cite book|author=Gosto Behary Mullick|title=Lord Northbrook and his mission in India: a lecture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y0YOAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA9|year=1873}}, includes his speeches

==External links==
{{Commons category|Thomas Baring, 1st Earl of Northbrook}}
* {{Hansard-contribs | hon-thomas-baring | Thomas Baring }}
*{{UK National Archives ID}}

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| years = 1857–1866
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| after = [[Samuel Gurney (1816–1882)|Samuel Gurney]]<br />[[Jervoise Smith]]
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{{succession box | title=[[Viceroy of India]] | before=[[Francis Napier, 10th Lord Napier|The Lord Napier]], ''acting'' | after=[[Robert Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Earl of Lytton|The Lord Lytton]] | years=1872–1876}}
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{{First Lords of the Admiralty}}
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{{Viceroys of India}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Northbrook, Thomas Baring, 1st Earl Of}}
[[Category:1826 births]]
[[Category:1904 deaths]]
[[Category:People educated at Twyford School]]
[[Category:Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford]]
[[Category:Earls in the Peerage of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Royal Society]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India]]
[[Category:Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies|Baring, Thomas]]
[[Category:Lord-lieutenants of Hampshire]]
[[Category:First Lords of the Admiralty]]
[[Category:Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Penryn and Falmouth|Baring, Thomas]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1857–1859|Baring, Thomas]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1859–1865|Baring, Thomas]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1865–1868|Baring, Thomas]]
[[Category:UK MPs who inherited peerages|Northbrook, E1]]
[[Category:UK MPs who were granted peerages]]
[[Category:Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Baring family|Thomas]]
[[Category:Viceroys of India]]
[[Category:1870s in British India]]
[[Category:Presidents of the Royal Asiatic Society]]
[[Category:Presidents of the Royal Geographical Society]]
[[Category:Liberal Party (UK) hereditary peers]]
[[Category:Liberal Unionist Party peers]]
[[Category:Hampshire Yeomanry officers|Northbrook]]
[[Category:Lords of the Admiralty]]

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Thomas Baring, 1st Earl of Northbrook