Samuel Charles Whitbread | |
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| Born | (1796-02-16)16 February 1796 London, England |
| Died | 27 May 1879(1879-05-27) (aged 83) |
| Alma mater | St John's College, Cambridge |
| Occupation(s) | Businessman, politician, and amateurmeteorologist andastronomer |
| Children | 3 daughters, 2 sons, includingSamuel Whitbread (1830–1915) |
| Parents |
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Samuel Charles Whitbread (16 February 1796 – 27 May 1879) was a BritishMember of Parliament, member of theWhitbread brewing family and founding president of theRoyal Meteorological Society.[1][2]
Whitbread was the son ofSamuel Whitbread and Lady Elizabeth Grey. Grey was the daughter of GeneralCharles Grey, 1st Earl Grey and sister of Prime MinisterCharles Grey. He was educated atEton College andSt John's College, Cambridge where he studied mathematics, moral philosophy and classics.[2]
On 6 July 1815, Whitbread's father took his own life, whereupon his two sons, William Henry (then aged 20) and Samual Charles (19), inherited the family business and estates.[2]
As aWhig MP, he represented the constituency ofMiddlesex (1820–1830) and wasHigh Sheriff of Bedfordshire in 1831. He made three major contributions to debates including to the Reform of Parliament debate, where he opposed the existence of rotten boroughs and the selling of seats in the House of Commons.[2]
His interests were astronomy and meteorology. He founded, along withJohn Lee andJames Glaisher, and served as president of theRoyal Meteorological Society from 1850 to 1853.[3] He remained a member of Council continuously until 18 June 1873, and served long stretches as vice-president.[2] Following the death ofRobert FitzRoy, Whitbread was involved in the search for a new Director of theMet Office.[2] In June 1854 he was elected aFellow of the Royal Society[4]
He joined theRoyal Astronomical Society on 12 January 1849, and served as its treasurer from 1857 to 1878, when ill health forced him to relinquish the position. According to Dreyer and Turner (1923) he was most excellent in this position, leveraging his experience from running the family business: "He was an absolute terror to defaulters in arrear with their contributions, and used to visit them personally and ask them to explain their conduct before he recommended the Council to expel them".[5] He was a fellow of the RAS and regularly published inMonthly Notices.
In the early 1840, Whitbread built an observatory on his grounds, and with the help of his gardeners, made carefully astronomical and meteorological observations. In January 1873 he presented a set of observations to theMeteorological Office, founded 20 years before, entitled 'Fluctuations of barometer, Cardington Observatory, January 1, 1846, to December 31, 1870'. Today they are held in the National Meteorological Archive and include besides barometer readings made at 9.00am and 3.00pm each day, temperature, strength of the winds, and remarks on both meteorological and astronomical phenomena.
On 9 December 1815, months after his father's death, the principal gamekeeper Charles Dines at the family seatSouthill Park was murdered by a poacher. Whitbread retained an interest in the welfare of Dines' family over many years.[6] Three generations of distinguished meteorologists were descended from Dines includingWilliam Henry Dines andJohn Somers Dines.[7]
Whitbread lived at the family seatSouthill Park and in London. After his elder brotherWilliam Henry Whitbread died without heirs in 1867, Samuel Charles inherited the family firm and estates. He married the Hon. Julia Trevor (died 1858), daughter ofHenry Trevor, 21st Baron Dacre, on 24 June 1824. After she passed in 1858, he married Lady Mary Stephenson Keppel, daughter of the fourthEarl of Albemarle.[8] He died on 27 May 1879.
His eldest son wasSamuel Whitbread. Their daughter Juliana marriedThomas Coke, 2nd Earl of Leicester.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forMiddlesex 1820–1830 With:George Byng | Succeeded by |
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| Preceded by John Dawson | High Sheriff of Bedfordshire 1831–1832 | Succeeded by |
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