Percy Smythe, 6th Viscount Strangford
Encyclopedia
Percy Clinton Sydney Smythe, 6th Viscount Strangford, GCB
, GCH
(31 Aug 1780–29 May 1855) was an Anglo-Irish
diplomat
.
He was educated at Harrow
and graduated from Trinity College, Dublin
in 1800, entered the diplomatic service, and in the following year succeeded to the title of Viscount Strangford in the Peerage of Ireland
. In 1817, he married Ellen, daughter of Sir Thomas Burke, Bt. They had five children.
After the death of his wife in 1826 Smythe had three children by Katherine Benham, the eldest of whom was the artist Lionel Percy Smythe
.
On his death he was succeeded by his eldest son George Smythe, 7th Viscount Strangford
, who was an active figure in the Young England
movement of the early 1840s.
of Luís de Camões
, and in 1825 was created Baron Penshurst, of Penshurst in the County of Kent, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
, enabling him to sit in the House of Lords
.
In 1807, as Britain's envoy to Portugal, Lord Strangford coordinated the Portuguese royal family's flight
from Portugal to Brazil.
He was made Grand Cross in the Order of the Bath (GCB) in 1815 and Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Guelphic Order (GCH) in 1825.
In February 1825 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society
As ambassador to the Sublime Porte, he had opportunities to assemble fragments of Greek sculpture. Among his collection of antiquities
was the "Strangford Shield", a 3rd century CE Roman marble that reproduces the shield of Athena Parthenos
, Phidias
' sculpture formerly in the Parthenon
. The "Strangford Shield" is conserved in the British Museum
.
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
, GCH
Royal Guelphic Order
The Royal Guelphic Order, sometimes also referred to as the Hanoverian Guelphic Order, is a Hanoverian order of chivalry instituted on 28 April 1815 by the Prince Regent . It has not been conferred by the British Crown since the death of King William IV in 1837, when the personal union of the...
(31 Aug 1780–29 May 1855) was an Anglo-Irish
Anglo-Irish
Anglo-Irish was a term used primarily in the 19th and early 20th centuries to identify a privileged social class in Ireland, whose members were the descendants and successors of the Protestant Ascendancy, mostly belonging to the Church of Ireland, which was the established church of Ireland until...
diplomat
Diplomat
A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...
.
Personal life
He was the son of Lionel Smythe, 5th Viscount Strangford and Mary Eliza Philipse.He was educated at Harrow
Harrow School
Harrow School, commonly known simply as "Harrow", is an English independent school for boys situated in the town of Harrow, in north-west London.. The school is of worldwide renown. There is some evidence that there has been a school on the site since 1243 but the Harrow School we know today was...
and graduated from Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
in 1800, entered the diplomatic service, and in the following year succeeded to the title of Viscount Strangford in the Peerage of Ireland
Peerage of Ireland
The Peerage of Ireland is the term used for those titles of nobility created by the English and later British monarchs of Ireland in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland. The creation of such titles came to an end in the 19th century. The ranks of the Irish peerage are Duke, Marquess, Earl,...
. In 1817, he married Ellen, daughter of Sir Thomas Burke, Bt. They had five children.
After the death of his wife in 1826 Smythe had three children by Katherine Benham, the eldest of whom was the artist Lionel Percy Smythe
Lionel Percy Smythe
Lionel Percy Smythe, RA RWS RI ROI was an English artist, and etcher.-Life and work:Lionel Percy Smythe was the son of Percy Clinton Sydney Smythe, 6th Viscount Strangford and Katherine Benham. He was born in London on 4 September 1839 and spent his early years in France, where his younger sister...
.
On his death he was succeeded by his eldest son George Smythe, 7th Viscount Strangford
George Smythe, 7th Viscount Strangford
George Smythe, 7th Viscount Strangford , styled The Honourable George Smythe until 1855, was a British Conservative politician, best known for his association with Benjamin Disraeli and the Young England movement...
, who was an active figure in the Young England
Young England
Young England was a Victorian era political group. The group was born on the playing fields of Cambridge and Eton. For the most part, its unofficial membership was confined to a splinter group of Tory aristocrats who had attended public school together, among them George Smythe, Lord John...
movement of the early 1840s.
Career
He was ambassador to Portugal (1806), Sweden (1817), Ottoman Turkey (1820), and Russia (1825), and translated the RimasRimas
Rimas is an Arabic feminine given name derived from the name of a type of diamond. It was the most popular name for girls born in Jordan in 2009....
of Luís de Camões
Luís de Camões
Luís Vaz de Camões is considered Portugal's and the Portuguese language's greatest poet. His mastery of verse has been compared to that of Shakespeare, Vondel, Homer, Virgil and Dante. He wrote a considerable amount of lyrical poetry and drama but is best remembered for his epic work Os Lusíadas...
, and in 1825 was created Baron Penshurst, of Penshurst in the County of Kent, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
Peerage of the United Kingdom
The Peerage of the United Kingdom comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Act of Union in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great Britain...
, enabling him to sit in the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
.
In 1807, as Britain's envoy to Portugal, Lord Strangford coordinated the Portuguese royal family's flight
Transfer of the Portuguese Court to Brazil
The Transfer of the Portuguese Court to Brazil was an episode in the history of Portugal and the history of Brazil in which the Portuguese royal family and its court escaped from Lisbon on November 29, 1807 to Brazil, just days before Napoleonic forces captured the city on December 1...
from Portugal to Brazil.
He was made Grand Cross in the Order of the Bath (GCB) in 1815 and Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Guelphic Order (GCH) in 1825.
In February 1825 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society
As ambassador to the Sublime Porte, he had opportunities to assemble fragments of Greek sculpture. Among his collection of antiquities
Antiquities
Antiquities, nearly always used in the plural in this sense, is a term for objects from Antiquity, especially the civilizations of the Mediterranean: the Classical antiquity of Greece and Rome, Ancient Egypt and the other Ancient Near Eastern cultures...
was the "Strangford Shield", a 3rd century CE Roman marble that reproduces the shield of Athena Parthenos
Athena Parthenos
Athena Parthenos was the title of a massive chryselephantine sculpture of the Greek goddess Athena made by Phidias and housed in the Parthenon in Athens. Its epithet was an essential character of the goddess herself...
, Phidias
Phidias
Phidias or the great Pheidias , was a Greek sculptor, painter and architect, who lived in the 5th century BC, and is commonly regarded as one of the greatest of all sculptors of Classical Greece: Phidias' Statue of Zeus at Olympia was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World...
' sculpture formerly in the Parthenon
Parthenon
The Parthenon is a temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, dedicated to the Greek goddess Athena, whom the people of Athens considered their virgin patron. Its construction began in 447 BC when the Athenian Empire was at the height of its power. It was completed in 438 BC, although...
. The "Strangford Shield" is conserved in the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
.