George Tierney | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Treasurer of the Navy | |
| In office 1803–1804 | |
| Monarch | George III |
| Prime Minister | Henry Addington |
| Preceded by | Charles Bragge |
| Succeeded by | George Canning |
| President of the Board of Control | |
| In office 1806–1807 | |
| Monarch | George III |
| Prime Minister | The Lord Grenville |
| Preceded by | Thomas Grenville |
| Succeeded by | Hon. Robert Dundas |
| Master of the Mint | |
| In office 1827–1828 | |
| Monarch | George IV |
| Prime Minister | George Canning The Viscount Goderich |
| Preceded by | Hon. William Wellesley-Pole |
| Succeeded by | John Charles Herries |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1761-03-20)20 March 1761 |
| Died | 25 January 1830(1830-01-25) (aged 68) Savile Row, London |
| Nationality | British/Irish |
| Party | Whig |
| Alma mater | Peterhouse, Cambridge |
George TierneyPC (20 March 1761 – 25 January 1830) was anIrishWhig politician. For much of his career he was in opposition to the governments ofWilliam Pitt andLord Liverpool. From 1818 to 1821 he wasLeader of the Opposition in theHouse of Commons.
Born inGibraltar, Tierney was the son of Thomas Tierney, a wealthy Irish merchant of London, who was living inGibraltar asprize agent. He was sent toEton andPeterhouse, Cambridge, where he took the degree of Law in 1784.[1] He was called to the bar fromLincoln's Inn in the same year,[1] but abandoned law and plunged into politics.[2] On 10 July 1789 he married Anna Maria Miller of Stapleton inGloucestershire; she died in 1844.[3]
Tierney contestedColchester in 1788, when both candidates received the same number of votes, but Tierney was declared elected. He was, however, defeated in the1790 general election.[2]
He returned to Parliament in 1796 forSouthwark and sat for that seat until 1806, and then represented in turnAthlone (1806–1807),Bandon (1807–1812),Appleby (1812–1818), andKnaresborough (1818–1830).[2] During his early years in Parliament he was known for hisradical views and was a supporter ofCharles James Fox. TheFrench Revolution of 1789 was a polarising force in British Whig politics with some supporting the revolution, and others such asEdmund Burke strongly opposed to it. Because of his radical views, Tierney was often portrayed incaricatures in the costume of a French revolutionary.
WhenCharles James Fox seceded from theHouse of Commons, Tierney emerged as one of the most prominent opponents ofWilliam Pitt's foreign policy. In May 1798, Pitt accused him of want of patriotism. Aduel ensued atPutney Heath on Sunday, 27 May 1798; but neither combatant was injured.[2]
In 1803, Tierney, partly because peace had been ratified with France atAmiens, and partly because Pitt was out of office, joined the ministry ofHenry Addington asTreasurer of the Navy, and was created aPrivy Councillor; but this alienated many of his supporters among the middle classes, and offended most of the influential Whigs. On the death of Fox in 1806 he joinedWilliam Grenville'sMinistry of All the Talents asPresident of the Board of Control, with a seat in the cabinet, and thus brought himself once more into line with the Whigs.[2] He left office the following year when Grenville's government fell and was replaced by the Tories, who were to dominate office for the next generation. Tierney was in opposition for the following twenty years.
About a year after the death ofGeorge Ponsonby in 1817, Tierney reluctantly became the recognised leader of the opposition in the House of Commons. At first he was successful, with Whig gains being made at the1818 general election. On 18 May 1819, Tierney moved a motion in the House of Commons for a committee on the state of the nation. This motion was defeated by 357 to 178, which was a division involving the largest number of MPs until the debates over the Reform bill in the early 1830s. Foord comments that "this defeat put an effective end to Tierney's leadership... Tierney did not disclaim the leadership until 23 Jan. 1821 ..., but he had ceased to exercise its functions since the great defeat".
InGeorge Canning's ministry, he wasMaster of the Mint, and whenLord Goderich succeeded to the lead Tierney was admitted to the cabinet; but he was already suffering from ill-health and died suddenly atSavile Row, London.[4][2]
Attribution:
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Tierney, George".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 26 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 964.
| Parliament of Great Britain | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded byH | Member of Parliament forColchester 1788–1790 With:Sir Robert Smyth, Bt | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forSouthwark 1796–1800 With:Henry Thornton | Succeeded by Parliament of the United Kingdom |
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by Parliament of Great Britain | Member of Parliament forSouthwark 1801–1806 With:Henry Thornton | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forAthlone 1806–1807 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forBandon 1807–1812 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forAppleby 1812–1818 With:James Lowther | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forKnaresborough 1818–1830 With:Sir James Mackintosh | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Treasurer of the Navy 1803–1804 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | President of the Board of Control 1806–1807 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Master of the Mint 1827–1828 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons 1818–1821 | Vacant Title next held by Viscount Althorp from 1830 |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Leader of the Whig Party in the House of Commons 1818–1821 | Vacant Title next held by Viscount Althorp from 1830 |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |