Charles Grant, 1st Baron Glenelg

The Right Honourable
The Lord Glenelg
PC FRS
President of the Board of Trade
In office
4 September 1827  11 June 1828
Monarch George IV
Prime Minister The Viscount Goderich
The Duke of Wellington
Preceded by William Huskisson
Succeeded by William Vesey-FitzGerald
Secretary of State for War and the Colonies
In office
18 April 1835  20 February 1839
Monarch William IV
Victoria
Prime Minister The Viscount Melbourne
Preceded by The Earl of Aberdeen
Succeeded by The Marquess of Normanby
Personal details
Born 26 October 1778 (1778-10-26)
Calcutta, India
Died 23 April 1866 (1866-04-24) (aged 87)
Nationality British
Political party Tory
Whig
Alma mater Magdalene College, Cambridge

Charles Grant, 1st Baron Glenelg PC FRS (26 October 1778 – 23 April 1866) was a Scottish politician and colonial administrator.

Background and education

Grant was born in Kidderpore, Bengal, India, the eldest son of Charles Grant, chairman of the directors of the British East India Company. His brother, Sir Robert Grant, was also an MP as well as Governor of Bombay. He was educated at Magdalene College, Cambridge, and became a fellow in 1802.[1] He was called to the bar in 1807.

Political career

In 1811 Grant was elected to the British House of Commons as Member of Parliament for Inverness Burghs. He held that seat until 1818, when was returned for Inverness-shire. He was a Lord of the Treasury from December 1813 until August 1819, when he became Chief Secretary for Ireland and a Privy Counsellor. In 1823 he was appointed Vice-President of the Board of Trade; from September 1827 to June 1828 he was President of the Board of Trade and Treasurer of the Navy.

Grant broke with the Tories over Reform and joined the Whigs (via the Canningite Tory splinter group). He was President of the Board of Control under Lord Grey and Lord Melbourne from November 1830 to November 1834. At the Board of Control Grant was primarily responsible for the Act of 1833 that altered the constitution of the Government of India. In April 1835 he became Secretary of State for War and the Colonies, and was created Baron Glenelg, of Glenelg in the County of Inverness.[2] His term of office was a stormy one. His differences with Sir Benjamin d'Urban, Governor of Cape Colony, were serious; but more so were those with King William IV and others over the administration of Canada. Lord Glenelg was still Secretary when the Canadian rebellion broke out in 1837; his policy was fiercely attacked in Parliament; he became involved in disputes with Lord Durham, and the movement for his supersession found supporters even among his colleagues in the cabinet. In February 1839 Lord Glenelg resigned. He has been called the last of the Canningites.

Personal life

Lord Glenelg died in Cannes, France in April 1866, aged 87. The barony became extinct on his death.

Notes

  1. "Grant, Charles (post Lord Glenelg) (GRNT795C)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  2. The London Gazette: no. 19267. p. 877. 5 May 1835.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Peter Baillie
Member of Parliament for Inverness Burghs
1811–1818
Succeeded by
George Cumming
Preceded by
Charles Grant
Member of Parliament for Inverness-shire
18181835
Succeeded by
Alexander William Chisholm
Political offices
Preceded by
Robert Peel
Chief Secretary for Ireland
1818–1821
Succeeded by
Henry Goulburn
Preceded by
Thomas Wallace
Vice-President of the Board of Trade
1823–1828
Succeeded by
Thomas Frankland Lewis
Preceded by
William Huskisson
President of the Board of Trade
1827–1828
Succeeded by
William Vesey-FitzGerald
Treasurer of the Navy
1827–1828
Preceded by
The Lord Ellenborough
President of the Board of Control
1830–1834
Succeeded by
The Lord Ellenborough
Preceded by
The Earl of Aberdeen
Secretary of State for War and the Colonies
1835–1839
Succeeded by
The Marquess of Normanby
Peerage of the United Kingdom
New creation Baron Glenelg
1835–1866
Extinct

Public Domain This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "article name needed". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

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