Sir George Trevelyan | |
|---|---|
 Sir George Trevelyan, Bt | |
| Chief Secretary for Ireland | |
| In office 9 May 1882 – 23 October 1884 | |
| Monarch | Victoria |
| Prime Minister | William Ewart Gladstone |
| Preceded by | Lord Frederick Cavendish |
| Succeeded by | Henry Campbell-Bannerman |
| Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster | |
| In office 29 October 1884 – 9 June 1885 | |
| Monarch | Victoria |
| Prime Minister | William Ewart Gladstone |
| Preceded by | John George Dodson |
| Succeeded by | Henry Chaplin |
| Secretary for Scotland | |
| In office 8 February 1886 – March 1886 | |
| Monarch | Queen Victoria |
| Prime Minister | William Ewart Gladstone |
| Preceded by | The Duke of Richmond |
| Succeeded by | The Earl of Dalhousie |
| In office 18 August 1892 – 21 June 1895 | |
| Monarch | Queen Victoria |
| Prime Minister | William Ewart Gladstone The Earl of Rosebery |
| Preceded by | The Marquess of Lothian |
| Succeeded by | The Lord Balfour of Burleigh |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 20 July 1838 (1838-07-20) Rothley Temple, Leicestershire |
| Died | 17 August 1928 (1928-08-18) (aged 90) |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Spouse | Caroline Philips |
| Alma mater | Trinity College, Cambridge |
Sir George Otto Trevelyan, 2nd Baronet,OM, PC, FBA (20 July 1838 – 17 August 1928) was a British statesman and author. In a ministerial career stretching almost 30 years, he was most notably twiceSecretary for Scotland underWilliam Ewart Gladstone and theEarl of Rosebery. He broke with Gladstone over the1886 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 wrote his novelThe Competition Wallah in around 1864, andThe Life and Letters ofLord Macaulay, his maternal uncle, in 1876.
Trevelyan was born inRothley Temple,Leicestershire, the only son ofSir Charles Trevelyan, 1st Baronet, and Hannah, daughter ofZachary Macaulay and sister of the historianLord Macaulay. He was educated atHarrow[2] andTrinity College, Cambridge, where he was President of theCambridge Union Society, and earned second place in the first class of theClassical Tripos in 1861.[2][3] That same year he wrote hisHorace at the University of Athens, a topical drama in verse, parts of which are said to have offendedWilliam Whewell and lost Trevelyan a fellowship.[2] He was aCambridge Apostle.
In 1862 Trevelyan went out as a civil servant to India, where he spent several years.[2] In 1865 he was electedLiberalMember of Parliament (MP) forTynemouth and North Shields.[2][4] At the general election of 1868 he was returned for theHawick Burghs, which he continued to represent until 1886.[2][5] When the firstGladstone ministry was formed in December 1868, Trevelyan was appointedCivil 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 theHouse of Lords. He was also in favour of the direct veto and other temperance legislation.[2]
In 1880 Trevelyan was appointedParliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty under Gladstone. He held this office until May 1882, when, after the assassination ofLord Frederick Cavendish, he becameChief Secretary for Ireland[2] and sworn of thePrivy Council.[2][6] From November 1884 to June 1885 he wasChancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster[2][7] with a seat in the cabinet. In February 1886 he becameSecretary for Scotland and vice-president of the Scottish Education Department[2][8] in Gladstone's third administration, but resigned in March overIrish Home Rule. The same year he succeeded his father in the baronetcy.[2]
At the general election of 1886 Trevelyan lost his seat forHawick.[2][5] As a representative of theLiberal 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.[2] In August 1887 he re-entered the House of Commons as member forGlasgow Bridgeton.[2][9] From 1892 to 1895 he was again Secretary for Scotland[2][10] and vice-president of the Scottish Education Department.[11] He resigned his seat in parliament in early 1897 and retired into private life.[2] He was elected to theAmerican Philosophical Society in 1899.[12] In 1911 he was appointed a member of theOrder of Merit.[13]
During his stay in India, Trevelyan contributed "Letters of a Competition Wallah" toMacmillan's Magazine (republished 1864).Cawnpore, an account ofthe massacre there during theIndian Rebellion of 1857, was published in 1865. In 1867 he wroteThe Ladies in Parliament, a humorous political brochure in verse. In 1876 he publishedThe Life and Letters of Lord Macaulay[14] (a second, enlarged edition appeared in 1908), and in 1880 he publishedThe Early History ofCharles James Fox. In 1899 he published the first volume of aHistory of the American Revolution, which was completed (three volumes) in 1905. In the latter year, asInterludes in Prose and Verse, he republished his early classical "jeux d'esprit" and Indian pieces.[2] He published two volumes of his workGeorge III and Charles Fox in 1912 and 1914.[13]
Trevelyan married Caroline, daughter ofRobert Needham Philips,[2] MP forBury, in 1869. Their eldest son,Sir Charles Trevelyan, 3rd Baronet, also became a Liberal, and subsequentlyLabour, politician. Their second sonR. C. Trevelyan was a poet and translator. The historianG. M. Trevelyan was their third son. Trevelyan died in August 1928, aged 90.[2] He left unsettled property valued at £556,993 (gross) and £397,492 (net).[15]
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Trevelyan, Sir George Otto".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 27 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 255.
Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1922)."Trevelyan, Sir George Otto".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 32 (12th ed.). London & New York: The Encyclopædia Britannica Company. p. 779.| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forTynemouth and North Shields 1865–1868 | Succeeded by |
| New constituency | Member of Parliament forHawick Burghs 1868–1886 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forGlasgow Bridgeton 1887–1897 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Civil Lord of the Admiralty 1868–1870 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty 1880–1882 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chief Secretary for Ireland 1882–1884 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 1884–1885 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Secretary for Scotland 1886 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Secretary for Scotland 1892–1895 | Succeeded by |
| Baronetage of the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by | Baronet (of Wallington) 1886–1928 | Succeeded by |
| Secretaries of state for Scotland 1707–1746 | .svg) | |
|---|---|---|
| Secretaries for Scotland 1885–1926 | ||
| Secretaries of state for Scotland (pre-devolution) 1926–1999 | ||
| Secretaries of state for Scotland (post-devolution) 1999–present | ||
