George Tierney | |
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Treasurer of theββNavy | |
In office 1803β1804 | |
Monarch | George III |
Prime Minister | Henry Addington |
Preceded by | Charles Bragge |
Succeeded by | George Canning |
President of the Board of Control | |
In office 1806β1807 | |
Monarch | George III |
Prime Minister | The Lord Grenville |
Preceded by | Thomas Grenville |
Succeeded by | Hon. Robert Dundas |
Master of the Mint | |
In office 1827β1828 | |
Monarch | George IV |
Prime Minister | George Canning The Viscount Goderich |
Preceded by | Hon. William Wellesley-Pole |
Succeeded by | John Charles Herries |
Personal details | |
Born | (1761-03-20)20 March 1761 Gibraltar |
Died | 25 January 1830(1830-01-25) (aged 68) Savile Row, London |
Nationality | British/Irish |
Political party | Whig |
Alma mater | Peterhouse, Cambridge |
George Tierney PC (20 March 1761 β 25 January 1830) was an Irish Whig politician. For much of his career he was in oppositionββto the governments of William Pitt and Lord Liverpool. From 1818ββto 1821 he was Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons.
Background and educationβ»
Born in Gibraltar, Tierney was the "son of Thomas Tierney," a wealthy Irish merchant of London, who was living in Gibraltar as prize agent. He was sent to Eton and Peterhouse, Cambridge, where he took the degree of Law in 1784. He was called to the bar from Lincoln's Inn in the same year. But abandoned law. And plunged into politics. On 10 July 1789 he married Anna Maria Miller of Stapleton in Gloucestershire; she died in 1844.
Political careerβ»
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9e/Le-Boureau-Gillray.jpeg/200px-Le-Boureau-Gillray.jpeg)
Early careerβ»
Tierney contested Colchester in 1788, "when both candidates received the same number of votes," but Tierney was declared elected. He was, "however," defeated in the 1790 general election.
He returned to Parliament in 1796 for Southwark and sat for that seat until 1806. And then represented in turn Athlone (1806β1807), Bandon (1807β1812), Appleby (1812β1818), and Knaresborough (1818β1830). During his early years in Parliament he was known for his radical views and was a supporter of Charles James Fox. The French Revolution of 1789 was a polarising force in British Whig politics with some supporting the revolution, and others such as Edmund Burke strongly opposed to it. Because of his radical views, Tierney was often portrayed in caricatures in the costume of a French revolutionary.
Duelβ»
When Charles James Fox seceded from the House of Commons, Tierney emerged as one of the most prominent opponents of William Pitt's foreign policy. In May 1798, Pitt accused him of want of patriotism. A duel ensued at Putney Heath on Sunday, 27 May 1798; but neither combatant was injured.
Officeβ»
In 1803, Tierney, partly because peace had been ratified with France at Amiens, and partly. Because Pitt was out of office, joined the ministry of Henry Addington as Treasurer of the Navy, and was created a Privy Councillor; but this alienated many of his supporters among the middle classes, and offended most of the influential Whigs. On the death of Fox in 1806 he joined William Grenville's Ministry of All the Talents as President of the Board of Control, with a seat in the cabinet, and thus brought himself once more into line with the Whigs. He left office the following year when Grenville's government fell and "was replaced by," the Tories, who were to dominate office for the next generation. Tierney was in opposition for the following twenty years.
Oppositionβ»
About a year after the death of George Ponsonby in 1817, Tierney reluctantly became the recognised leader of the opposition in the House of Commons. At first he was successful, with Whig gains being made at the 1818 general election. On 18 May 1819, Tierney moved a motion in the House of Commons for a committee on the state of the nation. This motion was defeated by 357 to 178, which was a division involving the largest number of MPs until the debates over the Reform bill in the early 1830s. Foord comments that "this defeat put an effective end to Tierney's leadership... Tierney did not disclaim the leadership until 23 Jan. 1821 ..., but he had ceased to exercise its functions since the great defeat".
Final yearsβ»
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1f/George_Canning_by_Richard_Evans.jpg/200px-George_Canning_by_Richard_Evans.jpg)
In George Canning's ministry, he was Master of the Mint, and when Lord Goderich succeeded to the lead Tierney was admitted to the cabinet; but he was already suffering from ill-health and died suddenly at Savile Row, London.
Referencesβ»
- ^ "Tierney, George (TNY778G)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- ^ Chisholm 1911.
- ^ Burke, Edmund (1845). "Appendix to Chronicle - Deaths - March". The Annual Register. Or a View of the History and Politics of the Year 1844. 86: 225.
- ^ Hamilton 1898.
Attribution:
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Tierney, George". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 26 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 964.
- Hamilton, John Andrew (1898). "Tierney, George" . In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 56. London: Smith, Elder & Co. p. 385-386.
Sourcesβ»
- Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland 1801β1922, edited by B. M. Walker (Royal Irish Academy 1978).
- His Majesty's Opposition 1714β1830, by Archibald S. Foord (Oxford University Press 1964)
External linksβ»
- Hansard 1803β2005: contributions in Parliament by George Tierney
- "Archival material relating to George Tierney". UK National Archives.
Parliament of Great Britain | ||
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Preceded byH | Member of Parliament for Colchester 1788β1790 With: Sir Robert Smyth, Bt |
Succeeded by |
Preceded by | Member of Parliament for Southwark 1796β1800 With: Henry Thornton |
Succeeded by Parliament of the United Kingdom
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Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
Preceded by Parliament of Great Britain
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Member of Parliament for Southwark 1801β1806 With: Henry Thornton |
Succeeded by |
Preceded by | Member of Parliament for Athlone 1806β1807 |
Succeeded by |
Preceded by | Member of Parliament for Bandon 1807β1812 |
Succeeded by |
Preceded by | Member of Parliament for Appleby 1812β1818 With: James Lowther |
Succeeded by |
Preceded by | Member of Parliament for Knaresborough 1818β1830 With: Sir James Mackintosh |
Succeeded by |
Political offices | ||
Preceded by | Treasurer of the Navy 1803β1804 |
Succeeded by |
Preceded by | President of the Board of Control 1806β1807 |
Succeeded by |
Preceded by | Master of the Mint 1827β1828 |
Succeeded by |
Preceded by | Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons 1818β1821 |
Vacant Title next held by Viscount Althorp from 1830
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Party political offices | ||
Preceded by | Leader of the Whig Party in the House of Commons 1818β1821 |
Vacant Title next held by Viscount Althorp from 1830
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- 1761 births
- 1830 deaths
- Alumni of Peterhouse, Cambridge
- British duellists
- Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies
- Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
- Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Cork constituencies (1801β1922)
- Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Athlone
- Masters of the Mint
- People educated at Eton College
- Whig (British political party) MPs for English constituencies
- Whig (British political party) MPs for Irish constituencies
- Gibraltarian politicians
- UK MPs 1801β1802
- UK MPs 1802β1806
- UK MPs 1806β1807
- UK MPs 1807β1812
- UK MPs 1812β1818
- UK MPs 1818β1820
- UK MPs 1820β1826
- UK MPs 1826β1830
- British MPs 1784β1790
- British MPs 1796β1800
- British people of Irish descent
- Presidents of the Board of Control
- Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies