Rupert Guinness, 2nd Earl of Iveagh
Encyclopedia
Rupert Edward Cecil Lee Guinness, 2nd Earl of Iveagh KG
CB
CMG
VD
ADC FRS, (29 March 1874 – 14 September 1967), was an Anglo-Irish
businessman, politician, oarsman and philanthropist. Born in London, he was the eldest son of Edward Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh
. He served as the twentieth Chancellor of the University of Dublin
from 1927 to 1963, succeeding his father who was Chancellor between 1908 and 1927.
and Trinity College, Cambridge
. In 1900 he served in the Boer War
with the Irish Hospital Corps. He was the Unionist
MP
1908-1910 for the East End
constituency of Haggerston
and 1912-1927 for Southend
. He served as a Captain in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve and was commanding officer of HMS President
(London Division RNVR) from 1903 until 1920. In 1927 he succeeded his father as Earl of Iveagh and chairman of the family brewing business in Dublin and for thirty-five years directed its consolidation at home and its expansion abroad with the establishment of breweries in London and in Nigeria and Malaya.
A keen agriculturist, he cleverly transformed the barren sandy-soiled shooting estate at Elveden
in Suffolk into a productive farm by ploughing in brewers' grains
over decades, thereby creating humus.
Rupert had by this time established his reputation as an able politician and enthusiastic supporter of science. Lord Iveagh had earlier persuaded his father to endow the Lister Institute for Preventive Medicine and served on the governing board; he became interested in the Wright-Fleming Institute of microbiology. Rupert also helped form the Tuberculin Tested Milk Producers Association researching into the eradication of tuberculosis
-infected cattle, and was instrumental in establishing the National Institute for Research into Dairying, at Shinfield
, Berkshire.
In 1927 several of the most able students came from the Chadacre Agricultural Institute, to assist in the transformation of the Elveden Estate and help him with his revolutionary ideas. The brightest was a 21-year-old Victor Harrison, who arrived in 1933. Chadacre finally closed in 1989, but the Trust continues to this day, chaired by the present Lord Iveagh. Its income is used to support agricultural research work.
Lord Iveagh realised the land had to be made more profitable and manure would be needed and therefore, in 1932 he started to buy in dairy cattle, keeping only those that passed the TB Test. In 1927 there were 120 cows, by 1962 there were 715 plus 816 young stock. Lord and Lady Iveagh took a keen interest in their Dairy Herds and prepared a 'family tree', which was regularly up dated, for every animal in their possession.
He donated generous sums to Dublin hospitals and in 1939 presented to the Government his Dublin residence, Iveagh House
(80 St Stephen's Green), now the Department of Foreign Affairs, and gave the gardens to UCD.
The new ground yielded more crops than anticipated, but later the whole project was dealt a severe blow. The War Office
announced its intention of using a large area of the estate as a tank training ground and despite the need for food production, many of the new crops were ruined, and fences torn down, allowing the ingress of rabbits, which were more destructive than the tanks. After a great deal of damage had been done, it was agreed to fence off small areas of the land for cultivation. The value of the ploughing-up experiment had been largely lost and an enormous amount of much needed food had gone to waste. Undeterred, Lord Iveagh obtained permission from the War Office to cultivate portions of the requisitioned lands that were hardly used and by the end of the war had regained much of the lost ground - which was successfully cropped. Leys had also been increased by another 1000 acres (4 km²). Some of the extra area had been obtained from old pasture land but most of it was gained from previously untouched heath.
His only son, Arthur Onslow Edward Guinness, Viscount Elveden, was killed in action in Belgium
in 1945, being an unlucky victim of a V-2 rocket strike.
had coveted parts of Elveden Estate for extending Thetford Forest
, but Lord Iveagh's success with farming brought a settlement in his favour in 1952.
It was during Rupert's management that the Guinness World Records
started. The brewery was always on the look-out for good promotional ideas to bring the Guinness name to the public’s attention. One of these ideas came about when Sir Hugh Beaver
, then the managing director, went on a shooting party in 1951. He became involved in an argument about which was the fastest game bird in Europe, the golden plover or the grouse, and he realized that a book, published by Guinness, that supplied answers to this sort of question might prove popular. He was right!
Sir Hugh’s idea became reality when the McWhirter twins, Norris
and Ross
, who had been running a fact-finding agency in London, were commissioned to compile what became the Guinness Book of Records. The first edition was published in 1955 and went to the top of the British bestseller lists by Christmas that same year.
Since then Guinness World Records has become a household name and the book has sold more than 80 million copies in 77 different countries and 38 different languages. It has also prompted successful television shows around the world, and the launch of the guinnessworldrecords.com website in the year 2000.
Rupert became a Knight of the Garter KG
in 1955.
He retired from Guinness in 1962 in favour of his grandson, Lord Elveden and was elected FRS in March 1964 at ninety for his services to science and agriculture. Lord Iveagh died in his sleep at his house in Woking
, Surrey, September 14, 1967.
, (daughter of the 4th Earl of Onslow
) who succeeded him as Member of Parliament
for Southend-on-Sea.
at Henley Royal Regatta
in 1893. At Cambridge, he joined Third Trinity Boat Club but, according to Vanity Fair
s pen picture of him, "had the bad luck to develop a weakness of heart, which kept him from his place in the Cambridge eight."
While an undergraduate, he joined Thames Rowing Club
to have a London base to train with Bill East, the 1891 English professional sculling champion. He also joined Leander Club
.
Helped by coaching from East, he became a successful sculler, winning the Diamond Challenge Sculls
at Henley in 1895 and 1896, and the Wingfield Sculls, for the amateur sculling championship of the Thames and Great Britain, in 1896. The sculling boat in which he did so now hangs in the River & Rowing Museum in Henley-on-Thames
.
He was President of Thames RC from 1911 until his death and was also the first President of the Remenham Club
, from 1914 until 1938.
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...
CB
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...
CMG
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
VD
Volunteer Decoration
The Volunteer Officers' Decoration was created by Royal Warrant under command of Queen Victoria on 25 July 1892 to reward 'efficient and capable' officers of the Volunteer Force who had served for twenty years...
ADC FRS, (29 March 1874 – 14 September 1967), 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...
businessman, politician, oarsman and philanthropist. Born in London, he was the eldest son of Edward Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh
Edward Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh
Edward Cecil Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh, KP, GCVO, FRS was an Irish philanthropist and businessman.-Public life:...
. He served as the twentieth Chancellor of the University of Dublin
University of Dublin
The University of Dublin , corporately designated the Chancellor, Doctors and Masters of the University of Dublin , located in Dublin, Ireland, was effectively founded when in 1592 Queen Elizabeth I issued a charter for Trinity College, Dublin, as "the mother of a university" – this date making it...
from 1927 to 1963, succeeding his father who was Chancellor between 1908 and 1927.
Biography
Rupert Guinness was educated at Eton CollegeEton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
and Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
. In 1900 he served in the Boer War
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
with the Irish Hospital Corps. He was the Unionist
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
1908-1910 for the East End
East End of London
The East End of London, also known simply as the East End, is the area of London, England, United Kingdom, east of the medieval walled City of London and north of the River Thames. Although not defined by universally accepted formal boundaries, the River Lea can be considered another boundary...
constituency of Haggerston
Haggerston (UK Parliament constituency)
Haggerston, formally known as the "Haggerston Division of Shoreditch", was a borough constituency centred on the Haggerston district of the Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch in London...
and 1912-1927 for Southend
Southend (UK Parliament constituency)
Southend was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Southend-on-Sea in Essex. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
. He served as a Captain in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve and was commanding officer of HMS President
HMS President (shore establishment)
HMS President is a stone frigate, or shore establishment of the Royal Naval Reserve; on the northern bank of the River Thames near Tower Bridge in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.-Present day:...
(London Division RNVR) from 1903 until 1920. In 1927 he succeeded his father as Earl of Iveagh and chairman of the family brewing business in Dublin and for thirty-five years directed its consolidation at home and its expansion abroad with the establishment of breweries in London and in Nigeria and Malaya.
A keen agriculturist, he cleverly transformed the barren sandy-soiled shooting estate at Elveden
Elveden
Elveden is a village and civil parish in the Forest Heath district of Suffolk in eastern England. In 2005 it had a population of 270.The village is located on the A11 between Cambridge and Norwich and experiences a high volume of traffic...
in Suffolk into a productive farm by ploughing in brewers' grains
Brewer's spent grain
Brewer's spent grain is a byproduct of beer brewing consisting of the residue of malt and grain which remains in the mash-kettle after the mashing and lautering process. It consists primarily of grain husks, pericarp, and fragments of endosperm...
over decades, thereby creating humus.
Rupert had by this time established his reputation as an able politician and enthusiastic supporter of science. Lord Iveagh had earlier persuaded his father to endow the Lister Institute for Preventive Medicine and served on the governing board; he became interested in the Wright-Fleming Institute of microbiology. Rupert also helped form the Tuberculin Tested Milk Producers Association researching into the eradication of tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
-infected cattle, and was instrumental in establishing the National Institute for Research into Dairying, at Shinfield
Shinfield
Shinfield is a village and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire, just south of Reading. It contains and is administered by the unitary authority of Wokingham District.-Geography:...
, Berkshire.
In 1927 several of the most able students came from the Chadacre Agricultural Institute, to assist in the transformation of the Elveden Estate and help him with his revolutionary ideas. The brightest was a 21-year-old Victor Harrison, who arrived in 1933. Chadacre finally closed in 1989, but the Trust continues to this day, chaired by the present Lord Iveagh. Its income is used to support agricultural research work.
Lord Iveagh realised the land had to be made more profitable and manure would be needed and therefore, in 1932 he started to buy in dairy cattle, keeping only those that passed the TB Test. In 1927 there were 120 cows, by 1962 there were 715 plus 816 young stock. Lord and Lady Iveagh took a keen interest in their Dairy Herds and prepared a 'family tree', which was regularly up dated, for every animal in their possession.
He donated generous sums to Dublin hospitals and in 1939 presented to the Government his Dublin residence, Iveagh House
Iveagh House
Iveagh House is the headquarters of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Dublin. It is also sometimes used colloquially as a metonym referring to the department itself....
(80 St Stephen's Green), now the Department of Foreign Affairs, and gave the gardens to UCD.
World War II
At the outbreak of war the Ministry of Agriculture instigated a ploughing-up campaign as part of the 'War Effort'. Lord Iveagh agreed to increase the arable area as requested. 600 acres (2.4 km²) were ploughed, 200 acre (0.809372 km²) of which were Lucerne leys, and the rest old lands that had been used for game and had gone out of cultivation. This proved discouraging, crops failing to cover the expense of growing them. The following year Lord Iveagh was asked to plough another 1000 acres (4 km²) and agreed to make the attempt even though the previous efforts had proved unsuccessful. All had to be fenced against rabbits and the wire was difficult to obtain.The new ground yielded more crops than anticipated, but later the whole project was dealt a severe blow. The War Office
War Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence...
announced its intention of using a large area of the estate as a tank training ground and despite the need for food production, many of the new crops were ruined, and fences torn down, allowing the ingress of rabbits, which were more destructive than the tanks. After a great deal of damage had been done, it was agreed to fence off small areas of the land for cultivation. The value of the ploughing-up experiment had been largely lost and an enormous amount of much needed food had gone to waste. Undeterred, Lord Iveagh obtained permission from the War Office to cultivate portions of the requisitioned lands that were hardly used and by the end of the war had regained much of the lost ground - which was successfully cropped. Leys had also been increased by another 1000 acres (4 km²). Some of the extra area had been obtained from old pasture land but most of it was gained from previously untouched heath.
His only son, Arthur Onslow Edward Guinness, Viscount Elveden, was killed in action in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
in 1945, being an unlucky victim of a V-2 rocket strike.
Post-war
For several years the Forestry CommissionForestry Commission
The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for forestry in Great Britain. Its mission is to protect and expand Britain's forests and woodlands and increase their value to society and the environment....
had coveted parts of Elveden Estate for extending Thetford Forest
Thetford Forest
Thetford Forest is the largest lowland pine forest in Britain, Thetford Forest Park is located in a region straddling the north of Suffolk and the south of Norfolk in England...
, but Lord Iveagh's success with farming brought a settlement in his favour in 1952.
It was during Rupert's management that the Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
started. The brewery was always on the look-out for good promotional ideas to bring the Guinness name to the public’s attention. One of these ideas came about when Sir Hugh Beaver
Hugh Beaver
Sir Hugh Eyre Campbell Beaver, KBE, was a British engineer, industrialist, and founder of the Guinness Book of Records.-Biography:...
, then the managing director, went on a shooting party in 1951. He became involved in an argument about which was the fastest game bird in Europe, the golden plover or the grouse, and he realized that a book, published by Guinness, that supplied answers to this sort of question might prove popular. He was right!
Sir Hugh’s idea became reality when the McWhirter twins, Norris
Norris McWhirter
Norris Dewar McWhirter, CBE was a writer, political activist, co-founder of the Freedom Association, and a television presenter. He and his twin brother, Ross, were known internationally for the Guinness Book of Records, a book they wrote and annually updated together between 1955 and 1975...
and Ross
Ross McWhirter
Alan Ross Mayfield McWhirter , known as Ross McWhirter, was, with his twin brother, Norris McWhirter, co-founder of the Guinness Book of Records and a contributor to Record Breakers...
, who had been running a fact-finding agency in London, were commissioned to compile what became the Guinness Book of Records. The first edition was published in 1955 and went to the top of the British bestseller lists by Christmas that same year.
Since then Guinness World Records has become a household name and the book has sold more than 80 million copies in 77 different countries and 38 different languages. It has also prompted successful television shows around the world, and the launch of the guinnessworldrecords.com website in the year 2000.
Rupert became a Knight of the Garter KG
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...
in 1955.
He retired from Guinness in 1962 in favour of his grandson, Lord Elveden and was elected FRS in March 1964 at ninety for his services to science and agriculture. Lord Iveagh died in his sleep at his house in Woking
Woking
Woking is a large town and civil parish that shares its name with the surrounding local government district, located in the west of Surrey, UK. It is part of the Greater London Urban Area and the London commuter belt, with frequent trains and a journey time of 24 minutes to Waterloo station....
, Surrey, September 14, 1967.
Family
He was married to Gwendolen OnslowGwendolen Guinness, Countess of Iveagh
Gwendolen Florence Mary Guinness, Countess of Iveagh , was a Conservative politician in the United Kingdom, and, by marriage, a member of the Anglo-Irish Guinness brewing dynasty....
, (daughter of the 4th Earl of Onslow
William Onslow, 4th Earl of Onslow
William Hillier Onslow, 4th Earl of Onslow GCMG, PC was a British Conservative politician. He held several governmental positions between 1880 and 1905 and was also Governor of New Zealand between 1889 and 1892....
) who succeeded him as Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Southend-on-Sea.
- Their son Arthur (1912-45) married Lady Elizabeth Hare, a daughter of the 4th Earl of ListowelEarl of ListowelEarl of Listowel is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1822 for William Hare, 1st Viscount Ennismore and Listowel, who had earlier represented Cork City and Athy in the Irish House of Commons. He had already been created Baron Ennismore, in the County of Kerry, in 1800, and...
, in 1936. Arthur was killed in action in 1945. They had two children, BenjaminBenjamin Guinness, 3rd Earl of IveaghArthur Francis Benjamin Guinness, 3rd Earl of Iveagh , known as Benjamin, was the son of Arthur Onslow Edward Guinness, Viscount Elveden, and Elizabeth Cecilia Hare. He inherited the title from his grandfather Rupert in 1967....
, who became the third earl, and Henrietta.
- The couple's eldest daughter, Lady Honor, married the Conservative politician and diarist Sir Henry 'Chips' ChannonHenry ChannonSir Henry "Chips" Channon was an American-born British Conservative politician, author and diarist. Channon moved to England in 1920 and became strongly anti-American, feeling that American cultural and economic views threatened traditional European and British civilisation. He wrote extensively...
in 1933. Henry Channon succeeded Gwendolen Guinness as MP for Southend in 1935.
- In 1938 Lady Patricia married the then Alan Lennox-Boyd MPAlan Lennox-Boyd, 1st Viscount Boyd of MertonAlan Tindal Lennox-Boyd, 1st Viscount Boyd of Merton, CH, PC, DL was a British Conservative politician.-Background, education and military service:...
.
- Another daughter, Lady BrigidLady Brigid GuinnessLady Brigid Guinness was the youngest daughter of Rupert Guinness, 2nd Earl of Iveagh and wife of Prince Frederick of Prussia, grandson of Wilhelm II, German Emperor.-Early life:...
, married the ci-devant Prince Frederick of PrussiaPrince Frederick of PrussiaPrince Friedrich Georg Wilhelm Christoph of Prussia , a.k.a. in England as "Mr. Friedrich von Preussen", was the son of Crown Prince Wilhelm of Germany and Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.-Family:...
in 1945.
Rowing
Rupert Guinness began rowing at Eton; he won the School Sculls 1892 and was part of the Eton eight which won the Ladies' Challenge PlateLadies' Challenge Plate
The Ladies' Challenge Plate is one of the events at Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. Crews of men's eight-oared boats below the standard of the Grand Challenge Cup can enter, although international standard heavyweight crews are not permitted to row in the...
at Henley Royal Regatta
Henley Royal Regatta
Henley Royal Regatta is a rowing event held every year on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. The Royal Regatta is sometimes referred to as Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage...
in 1893. At Cambridge, he joined Third Trinity Boat Club but, according to Vanity Fair
Vanity Fair (British magazine)
The second Vanity Fair was a British weekly magazine published from 1868 to 1914.-History:Subtitled "A Weekly Show of Political, Social and Literary Wares", it was founded by Thomas Gibson Bowles, who aimed to expose the contemporary vanities of Victorian society. The first issue appeared in London...
s pen picture of him, "had the bad luck to develop a weakness of heart, which kept him from his place in the Cambridge eight."
While an undergraduate, he joined Thames Rowing Club
Thames Rowing Club
Thames Rowing Club is a rowing club situated on the River Thames in Putney, London, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1860.-Club colours:Red, white and black in stripes, the white stripe lying between the red and black and being of half their width....
to have a London base to train with Bill East, the 1891 English professional sculling champion. He also joined Leander Club
Leander Club
Leander Club, founded in 1818, is one of the oldest rowing clubs in the world. It is based in Remenham in the English county of Berkshire, adjoining Henley-on-Thames...
.
Helped by coaching from East, he became a successful sculler, winning the Diamond Challenge Sculls
Diamond Challenge Sculls
The Diamond Challenge Sculls is a rowing event for men's single sculls at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England...
at Henley in 1895 and 1896, and the Wingfield Sculls, for the amateur sculling championship of the Thames and Great Britain, in 1896. The sculling boat in which he did so now hangs in the River & Rowing Museum in Henley-on-Thames
Henley-on-Thames
Henley-on-Thames is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in South Oxfordshire, England, about 10 miles downstream and north-east from Reading, 10 miles upstream and west from Maidenhead...
.
He was President of Thames RC from 1911 until his death and was also the first President of the Remenham Club
Remenham Club
The Remenham Club is a private members club near the village of Remenham on the Berkshire bank of the River Thames near Henley-on-Thames, on the reach of the river that plays host to the annual Henley Royal Regatta....
, from 1914 until 1938.