Sir George Trevelyan, 2nd Baronet
Encyclopedia
Sir George Otto Trevelyan, 2nd Baronet OM
, PC (20 July 1838 – 17 August 1928) was a British
statesman and author. In a ministerial career stretching almost 30 years, he was most notably twice Secretary of State for Scotland
under William Ewart Gladstone
and the Earl of Rosebery
. He broke with Gladstone over the 1886 Irish Home Rule Bill, but after modifications were made to the bill he re-joined the Liberal Party shortly afterwards. Also a writer and historian, Trevelyan published The Life and Letters of Lord Macaulay
, his maternal uncle, in 1876.
, Leicestershire
, the only son of Sir Charles Trevelyan, 1st Baronet
, and Hannah, daughter of Zachary Macaulay
and sister of the historian Lord Macaulay
. He was educated at Harrow
and Trinity College, Cambridge
where he was President of the Cambridge Union Society
, and earned second place in the first class of the Classical Tripos
in 1861. That same year he wrote his Horace at the University of Athens, a topical drama in verse, parts of which are said to have offended William Whewell
and lost Trevelyan a fellowship.
Member of Parliament
for Tynemouth and North Shields
. At the general election of 1868 he was returned for the Hawick Burghs, which he continued to represent until 1886. When the first Gladstone ministry was formed in December 1868, Trevelyan was appointed Civil Lord of the Admiralty, but resigned in July 1870 on a point of conscience connected with the government Education Bill. He advocated a sweeping reform of the army, including the abolition of the purchase of commissions, and both in and out of parliament he was the foremost supporter for many years of the extension of the county franchise. In the session of 1874 he brought forward his Household Franchise (Counties) Bill, which was lost on the second reading – it was not till ten years later that the agricultural labourer was enfranchised. Among other causes which he warmly supported were women's suffrage, a thorough reform of metropolitan local government, and the drastic reform or abolition of the House of Lords
. He was also in favour of the direct veto and other temperance legislation.
In 1880 Trevelyan was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty under Gladstone. He held this office until May 1882, when, after the assassination of Lord Frederick Cavendish
, he became Chief Secretary for Ireland
and sworn of the Privy Council. From November 1884 to June 1885 he was Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
with a seat in the cabinet. In February 1886 he became Secretary for Scotland
and Vice-President of the Scottish Education Department in Gladstone's third administration, but resigned in March over Irish Home Rule. The same year he succeeded his father in the baronetcy.
At the general election of 1886 Trevelyan lost his seat for Hawick
. As a representative of the Liberal Unionist Party
he took part in the Round Table Conference, and, being satisfied with the changes made by Gladstone in his Home Rule scheme, he formally rejoined the Liberal Party. In August 1887 he re-entered the House of Commons as member for Glasgow Bridgeton
. From 1892 to 1895 he was again Secretary for Scotland and Vice-President of the Scottish Education Department. He resigned his seat in parliament in early 1897 and retired into private life. In 1911 he was appointed a member of the Order of Merit
.
, was published in 1865. In 1867 he wrote The Ladies in Parliament, a humorous political brochure in verse. In 1876 he published The Life and Letters of Lord Macaulay, and in 1880 he published The Early History of Charles James Fox. In 1899 he published the first volume of a History of the American Revolution, which was completed (three volumes) in 1905. In the latter year, as Interludes in Prose and Verse, he republished his early classical jeux d'esprit and Indian pieces.
, MP for Bury
, in 1869. Their eldest son, Sir Charles Trevelyan, 3rd Baronet
, also became a Liberal politician. Their second son R. C. Trevelyan
was a poet and translator. Their third son, G. M. Trevelyan
was a historian. Trevelyan died in August 1928, aged 90.
Order of Merit
The Order of Merit is a British dynastic order recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture...
, PC (20 July 1838 – 17 August 1928) was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
statesman and author. In a ministerial career stretching almost 30 years, he was most notably twice Secretary of State for Scotland
Secretary of State for Scotland
The Secretary of State for Scotland is the principal minister of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Scotland. He heads the Scotland Office , a government department based in London and Edinburgh. The post was created soon after the Union of the Crowns, but was...
under William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
and the Earl of Rosebery
Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery
Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, KG, PC was a British Liberal statesman and Prime Minister. Between the death of his father, in 1851, and the death of his grandfather, the 4th Earl, in 1868, he was known by the courtesy title of Lord Dalmeny.Rosebery was a Liberal Imperialist who...
. He broke with Gladstone over the 1886 Irish Home Rule Bill, but after modifications were made to the bill he re-joined the Liberal Party shortly afterwards. Also a writer and historian, Trevelyan published The Life and Letters of Lord Macaulay
Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay
Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay PC was a British poet, historian and Whig politician. He wrote extensively as an essayist and reviewer, and on British history...
, his maternal uncle, in 1876.
Background and education
Trevelyan was born in Rothley TempleRothley Temple
Rothley Temple is a chapel in Rothley, Leicestershire associated with the Knights Templar.Records show that the Templars were already in Rothley when King John gave them five librates of land in 1203. Further donations were acquired between 1218 and 1219, though it would seem that a preceptory was...
, Leicestershire
Leicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
, the only son of Sir Charles Trevelyan, 1st Baronet
Sir Charles Trevelyan, 1st Baronet
Sir Charles Edward Trevelyan, 1st Baronet, KCB was a British civil servant and colonial administrator. As a young man, he worked with the colonial government in Calcutta, India; in the late 1850s and 1860s he served there in senior-level appointments...
, and Hannah, daughter of Zachary Macaulay
Zachary Macaulay
Zachary Macaulay was a slavery abolitionist and campaigner.-Early life:Macaulay was born in Inveraray, Scotland, the son of the Rev. John Macaulay Zachary Macaulay (2 May 1768 – 13 May 1838) was a slavery abolitionist and campaigner.-Early life:Macaulay was born in Inveraray, Scotland, the son of...
and sister of the historian Lord Macaulay
Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay
Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay PC was a British poet, historian and Whig politician. He wrote extensively as an essayist and reviewer, and on British history...
. 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 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...
where he was President of the Cambridge Union Society
Cambridge Union Society
The Cambridge Union Society, commonly referred to as simply "the Cambridge Union" or "the Union," is a debating society in Cambridge, England and is the largest society at the University of Cambridge. Since its founding in 1815, the Union has developed a worldwide reputation as a noted symbol of...
, and earned second place in the first class of the Classical Tripos
Classical Tripos
The Classical Tripos is the taught course in classics at the University of Cambridge, equivalent to Literae Humaniores at Oxford. It is traditionally a three year degree, but for those who have not studied Latin and Greek at school a four year course has been introduced...
in 1861. That same year he wrote his Horace at the University of Athens, a topical drama in verse, parts of which are said to have offended William Whewell
William Whewell
William Whewell was an English polymath, scientist, Anglican priest, philosopher, theologian, and historian of science. He was Master of Trinity College, Cambridge.-Life and career:Whewell was born in Lancaster...
and lost Trevelyan a fellowship.
Political career
In 1862 Trevelyan went out as a civil servant to India, where he spent several years. In 1865 he was elected LiberalLiberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
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 Tynemouth and North Shields
Tynemouth and North Shields (UK Parliament constituency)
Tynemouth and North Shields was a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom between 1832 and 1885...
. At the general election of 1868 he was returned for the Hawick Burghs, which he continued to represent until 1886. When the first Gladstone ministry was formed in December 1868, Trevelyan was appointed Civil Lord of the Admiralty, but resigned in July 1870 on a point of conscience connected with the government Education Bill. He advocated a sweeping reform of the army, including the abolition of the purchase of commissions, and both in and out of parliament he was the foremost supporter for many years of the extension of the county franchise. In the session of 1874 he brought forward his Household Franchise (Counties) Bill, which was lost on the second reading – it was not till ten years later that the agricultural labourer was enfranchised. Among other causes which he warmly supported were women's suffrage, a thorough reform of metropolitan local government, and the drastic reform or abolition of 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....
. He was also in favour of the direct veto and other temperance legislation.
In 1880 Trevelyan was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty under Gladstone. He held this office until May 1882, when, after the assassination of Lord Frederick Cavendish
Lord Frederick Cavendish
Lord Frederick Charles Cavendish was an English Liberal politician and protégé of the Prime Minister, William Ewart Gladstone...
, he became Chief Secretary for Ireland
Chief Secretary for Ireland
The Chief Secretary for Ireland was a key political office in the British administration in Ireland. Nominally subordinate to the Lord Lieutenant, from the late 18th century until the end of British rule he was effectively the government minister with responsibility for governing Ireland; usually...
and sworn of the Privy Council. From November 1884 to June 1885 he was Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is, in modern times, a ministerial office in the government of the United Kingdom that includes as part of its duties, the administration of the estates and rents of the Duchy of Lancaster...
with a seat in the cabinet. In February 1886 he became Secretary for Scotland
Secretary of State for Scotland
The Secretary of State for Scotland is the principal minister of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Scotland. He heads the Scotland Office , a government department based in London and Edinburgh. The post was created soon after the Union of the Crowns, but was...
and Vice-President of the Scottish Education Department in Gladstone's third administration, but resigned in March over Irish Home Rule. The same year he succeeded his father in the baronetcy.
At the general election of 1886 Trevelyan lost his seat for Hawick
Hawick Burghs (UK Parliament constituency)
Hawick Burghs was a district of burghs constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1868 until 1918. It consisted of the Roxburghshire burgh of Hawick and the Selkirkshire burghs of Galashiels and Selkirk....
. As a representative of the Liberal Unionist Party
Liberal Unionist Party
The Liberal Unionist Party was a British political party that was formed in 1886 by a faction that broke away from the Liberal Party. Led by Lord Hartington and Joseph Chamberlain, the party formed a political alliance with the Conservative Party in opposition to Irish Home Rule...
he took part in the Round Table Conference, and, being satisfied with the changes made by Gladstone in his Home Rule scheme, he formally rejoined the Liberal Party. In August 1887 he re-entered the House of Commons as member for Glasgow Bridgeton
Glasgow Bridgeton (UK Parliament constituency)
Glasgow Bridgeton was a parliamentary constituency in the city of Glasgow. From 1885 to 1974, it returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first-past-the-post voting system....
. From 1892 to 1895 he was again Secretary for Scotland and Vice-President of the Scottish Education Department. He resigned his seat in parliament in early 1897 and retired into private life. In 1911 he was appointed a member of the Order of Merit
Order of Merit
The Order of Merit is a British dynastic order recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture...
.
Writings
During his stay in India, Trevelyan contributed "Letters of a Competition Wallah" to Macmillan's Magazine (republished 1864). Cawnpore, an account of the massacre there during the Indian Rebellion of 1857Indian Rebellion of 1857
The Indian Rebellion of 1857 began as a mutiny of sepoys of the British East India Company's army on 10 May 1857, in the town of Meerut, and soon escalated into other mutinies and civilian rebellions largely in the upper Gangetic plain and central India, with the major hostilities confined to...
, was published in 1865. In 1867 he wrote The Ladies in Parliament, a humorous political brochure in verse. In 1876 he published The Life and Letters of Lord Macaulay, and in 1880 he published The Early History of Charles James Fox. In 1899 he published the first volume of a History of the American Revolution, which was completed (three volumes) in 1905. In the latter year, as Interludes in Prose and Verse, he republished his early classical jeux d'esprit and Indian pieces.
Family
Trevelyan married Caroline, daughter of Robert Needham PhilipsRobert Needham Philips
Robert Needham Philips DL was an English merchant and manufacturer in the Lancashire textiles business, a Liberal Party politician, and the grandfather of the Whig historian G. M...
, MP for Bury
Bury (UK Parliament constituency)
Bury was a borough constituency centred on the town of Bury in Lancashire. It returned one Member of Parliament ) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
, in 1869. Their eldest son, Sir Charles Trevelyan, 3rd Baronet
Sir Charles Trevelyan, 3rd Baronet
Sir Charles Philips Trevelyan, 3rd Baronet PC , the Lord Lieutenant of Northumberland, was a British Liberal, and later Labour, politician and landowner...
, also became a Liberal politician. Their second son R. C. Trevelyan
R. C. Trevelyan
Robert Calverly Trevelyan was an English poet and translator, of a traditionalist sort, and a follower of the lapidary style of Logan Pearsall Smith.-Life:...
was a poet and translator. Their third son, G. M. Trevelyan
G. M. Trevelyan
George Macaulay Trevelyan, OM, CBE, FRS, FBA , was a British historian. Trevelyan was the third son of Sir George Otto Trevelyan, 2nd Baronet, and great-nephew of Thomas Babington Macaulay, whose staunch liberal Whig principles he espoused in accessible works of literate narrative avoiding a...
was a historian. Trevelyan died in August 1928, aged 90.