HOWE, RICHARD, 1ST EARL HOWE, brother of George Augustus Howe, 3rd Viscount Howe (I) (qv); b. 8 Mar 1725/6; adm. Nov 1732; left 1733; went to Eton Coll.; entered Royal Navy on board HMS Pearl 16 Jul 1739; sailed in HMS Severn as far as Cape Horn with Anson 1740; present at attack on La Guaira 18 Feb 1742/3; Lieut., 8 Aug 1745; severely wounded in action with French frigates off west coast of Scotland 1 May 1746; Post Capt., 10 Apr 1746; his capture of the French ship Alcide off the mouth of the St. Lawrence river on 8 Jun 1755 was the beginning of the Seven Years’ War with France; commanded attack on Cherbourg 5 May 1759; distinguished himself at battle of Quiberon Bay 20 Nov 1759; Rear Adm., 18 Nov 1770; Vice-Adm., 7 Dec 1775; Commander-in-Chief, North American Station Feb 1776; co-operated with his brother Sir William Howe against the American colonists, but resigned command 1778 and remained out of employment until fall of North ministry in early 1782; Commander-in-Chief, Channel Fleet 2 Apr 1782; Adm., 8 Apr 1782; relieved Gibraltar against French and Spanish fleets Oct 1784 (check); Vice-Admiral of England May 1792 – Mar 1796; won brilliant victory of 1 Jun 1794 in command Channel Fleet, capturing seven French ships; Admiral of the Fleet and General of the Marines 12 Mar 1796; presided over court martial of Vice-Adm. Cornwallis Apr 1796; pacified mutineers at Portsmouth May 1797; MP Dartmouth 23 May 1757 – 20 Apr 1782; succeeded brother as 4th Viscount Howe (I) 6 Jul 1758; a Lord of the Admiralty Apr 1763 – Aug 1765; Privy Councillor 26 Jul 1765; Treasurer of the Navy 9 Aug 1765 – Mar 1770; created Viscount Howe (GB) 2 [check] Apr 1782; First Lord of Admiralty Jan – Apr 1783, Dec 1783 – Jul 1788; attacked in parliament and in print for his reductions and reforms; created Earl Howe 19 Aug 1788; received freedom of City of London 6 May 1796; KG 2 Jun 1797; the signalling code was perfected and refined by him; DL Nottinghamshire 1762, Derbyshire 1763; m. 10 Mar 1758 Mary, dau. of Chiverton Hartop, Welby, Leics.; d. 5 Aug 1799. Monument by Flaxman in St. Paul’s cathedral. DNB.

HOBHOUSE, JOHN CAM, 1ST BARON BROUGHTON, eldest son of Sir Benjamin Hobhouse, Bart. , MP, and his first wife Charlotte, dau. of Samuel Cam, Chantry House, near Bradford, Wilts. ; b. 27 Jun 1786; adm. 27 Jan 1802 (Clapham); in school list May 1803; left 1803; Trinity Coll. Cambridge, adm. pens. 18 Oct 1803, matr. Easter 1806; Hulsean Prize 1808; BA 1808; MA 1811; founded the Cambridge Whig Club; when at Cambridge became an intimate friend of Lord Byron, with whom he travelled in Greece and the Mediterranean in 1809-10; adm. Middle Temple 4 Feb 1806; a partner in firm Whitbread & Co. , brewers; contested Westminster as Radical candidate at 1819 by-election; imprisoned in Newgate Prison for breach of privilege 14 Dec 1819 – 19 Jan 1820; MP (Radical, subsequently Whig) Westminster 1820-33, Nottingham 1834-47, Harwich 1848-51; active member of Greek Committee in London 1823; succeeded father as 2nd baronet 15 Aug 1831; Secretary at War 1 Feb 1832 – Apr 1833; Privy Councillor 23 Feb 1832; Chief Secretary for Ireland 28 Mar – 17 May 1833; Chief Commissioner of Woods and Forests 19 Jul – 31 Dec 1834; President, Board of Control 29 Apr 1835 – Sep 1841, Jul 1846 – Feb 1852; created Baron Broughton 26 Feb 1851; GCB 23 Feb 1852; as Byron’s executor, advised the destruction of Byron’s Memoirs 1824, and as Byron’s best man drew up a reply to Lady Byron’s Remarks 1830; FRS 19 May 1814; member, Society of Dilettanti 1839; one of founders of Geographical Society 1830; is said to have invented the phrase “His Majesty’s Opposition”; his Commonplace Book when at the School, containing the themes set, extracts from books, and occasional translations, is in the British Library, Additional MSS; author, Recollections of a Long Life, 1865, and other works; m. 26 Feb 1828 Lady Julia Hay, youngest dau. of George Hay, 7th Marquis of Tweeddale (S); d. 3 Jun 1869. DNB.

HESILRIGGE, SIR ARTHUR, BART., eldest son of Sir Thomas Hesilrigge, Bart., and Frances, dau. of Sir William Gorges, Kt, Alderton, Northants; b.; at school under Osbaldeston (Wood, Athenae Oxonienses, iii, 578); Magdalene Coll. Cambridge, fellow commoner, matr. Easter 1617; adm. Gray’s Inn 29 Jan 1622/3; succ. father as 2nd baronet 11 Jan 1629; MP Leicestershire 1640-53 [check], Leicester 1654-60; a staunch Puritan and opponent of Laud; introduced bill of attainder against Strafford; promoted the “Root and branch” bill, and proposed the Militia bill; one of the five members impeached by the King 3 Jan 1641/2; raised a troop of horse for Parliament; fought at battle of Edgehill 1642, wounded at battles of Lansdowne and Roundway Down 1643; did good service at battle of Cheriton; a leader of the Independents in House of Commons after the passing of the self-denying ordinance 1645; Governor of Newcastle upon Tyne 30 Dec 1647; recaptured Tynemouth 11 Aug 1648; refused to act as one of the King’s judges 1649; accompanied Cromwell to Scotland and supported him with reserves after battle of Dunbar; member of Council of State during Commonwealth, but opposed to Cromwell’s government after dissolution of Long Parliament; refused to pay taxes not levied by Parliament, or to become a member of the Upper House 1657; opposed succession of Richard Cromwell, and intrigued with the Army against him; at his instigation Lambert was cashiered and the Rump Parliament restored; one of the five Commissioners for the Government of the Army 11 Feb 1659/60; accused of intriguing against Monk; arrested at the Restoration, and excepted by the Bill of Indemnity for pains and penalties not extending to life; m. 1st, 24 May 1624 Frances, dau. of Thomas Elmes, Lilford, Northants; m. 2nd, 26 Jun 1634 Dorothy, dau. of Fulke Greville, Thorpe Latimer, Lincs., and sister of Robert Greville, 2nd Baron Brooke, General in Parliamentary army; d. a prisoner in the Tower of London 7 Jan 1660/1. DNB.

HERVEY, JOHN, 2nd BARON HERVEY OF ICKWORTH, eldest son of John Hervey, 1st Earl of Bristol, and his second wife Elizabeth, only dau. of Sir Thomas Felton, Bart. MP; b. 15 Oct 1696; adm. 28 Jan 1711/2; left Jul 1713; Clare Hall, Cambridge, adm. 20 Nov 1713, matr. 1714; MA 1715; styled Lord Hervey from 1723; MP Bury St. Edmunds 2 Apr 1725 – 11 Jun 1733; travelling in Italy for health in 1728-9; Vice-Chamberlain of the Household 7 May 1730 – Apr 1740; Privy Councillor 8 May 1730; having initially been a follower in politics of Frederick, Prince of Wales, he subsequently became a supporter of Sir Robert Walpole and a trusted confidant of Queen Caroline; fought a duel with William Pulteney (qv) in the “Upper St. James’s Park” 25 Jan 1730/1; created Baron Hervey of Ickworth 11 Jun 1733; Lord Privy Seal 1 May 1740 – Jul 1742; one of the Lord Justices of the Realm May 1741; author, Memoirs of the Reign of George II, first published from his manuscript in 1848, and of other political pamphlets; the expenses of his “schooling” at Westminster, and of that of his three brothers, are recorded in the Diary of John Hervey, 1st Earl of Bristol, 1894; m. 21 Apr 1720 Mary, Maid of Honour to Caroline, Princess of Wales, dau. of Brig. -Gen. Nicholas Lepell, Groom of the Bedchamber to George, Prince of Denmark; d. 5 Aug 1743. DNB.

HARLEY, EDWARD, 2ND EARL OF OXFORD, only son of Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford PC KG, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Lord High Treasurer, and his first wife Elizabeth, dau. of Thomas Foley MP, Witley Court, Worcs.; nephew of Edward Harley (at school under Busby, qv); b. 2 Jun 1689; at school under Knipe; Christ Church, Oxford, matr. 30 Oct 1707; MA 2 Jan 1711/2; DCL 4 Jun 1730; MP New Radnor 16 Jul 1711-5, Cambridgeshire 1722 – 21 May 1724; succ. father as 2nd Earl of Oxford 21 May 1724; FRS 23 Nov 1727; High Steward of Cambridge from 1728; friend of Pope, Swift and Matthew Prior (qv), and patron of George Vertue and Oldys; added very considerably to his father’s collection of books and manuscripts; also collected pictures, prints and coins; his Wimpole, Cambridgeshire, estate was sold in 1740 to Lord Hardwicke to pay off his debts; his miscellaneous curiosities, coins, medals and portraits were sold by auction in March 1741/2; the books, pamphlets and prints were purchased the same year by the bookseller Thomas Osborne; the manuscripts were sold to the nation in 1753 and are now the Harleian MSS in the British Library; Busby Trustee 18 Feb 1725/6; the letters to him from his Oxford tutor William Stratford (qv), which make frequent allusions to the School, are calendared HMC Portland MSS, vol. vii; m. 31 Oct 1713 Lady Henrietta Cavendish Holles, only dau. of John Holles, 4th Earl of Clare (afterwards 1st Duke of Newcastle); d. 16 Jun 1741. Buried Duke of Newcastle’s vault, Westminster Abbey. DNB.

HARCOURT-VERNON, GRANVILLE EDWARD, eldest son of Granville Harcourt-Vernon (qv), and his first wife; b. 23 Nov 1816; adm. 16 Sep 1829 (Stikeman's); KS 1830; Capt. of the School 1834; elected head to Christ Church, Oxford 1835, matr. 4 Jun 1835, Westminster Student; BA 1839; MA 1842; Private Secretary to Edward Granville Eliot, 3rd Earl of St Germans (qv), when Chief Secretary for Ireland, and to Earl of Lincoln MP, when Chief Commissioner of Woods and Forests and Chief Secretary for Ireland; MP (Peelite) Newark 1852-7; m. 23 Nov 1854 Lady Selina Catherine Meade, only dau. of Richard Meade, 3rd Earl of Clanwilliam PC GCH, Ambassador at Berlin; d. 1 Feb 1861.

HANMER, SIR THOMAS, BART., only surviving son of William Hanmer, Bettisfield, Flints., and Peregrina, dau. of Sir Henry North, Bart.; b. 24 Sep 1677; at school under Busby (Sir H. E. Bunbury, Bart, ed., The Correspondence of Sir Thomas Hanmer, Bart., 1838, 5); Christ Church, Oxford, matr. 17 Oct 1693; LLD Cambridge 16 Apr 1705; succ. uncle as 4th baronet 1701; MP Thetford 19 Mar 1700/1-2, Flintshire 1702-5, Thetford 1705-8, Suffolk 1708-27; Chairman of the Committee which drew up the “Representation” 1712; travelling in Italy 1713; Speaker, House of Commons 16 Feb 1713/4 – 5 Jan 1714/5; editor of an edition of Shakespeare’s plays, 6 vols, 1743-4; m. 1st, Oct 1698 Isabella, Duchess of Grafton, widow of Henry Fitzroy, 1st Duke of Grafton KG, and dau. of Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington (qv); m. 2nd, 1725 Elizabeth, only dau. of Thomas Folkes, Barton, Suffolk; d. 7 May 1746. DNB.

GROSVENOR, RICHARD DE AQUILA, 1ST BARON STALBRIDGE, fourth son of Richard Grosvenor, 2nd Marquis of Westminster (qv); b. 28 Jun 1837; adm. 24 Jan 1849 (G); an intimate school friend of Francis Markham (qv); Trinity Coll. Cambridge, adm. pens. 21 Feb 1855, fellow commoner 15 Oct 1855, matr. Mich. 1855; MA 1858; MP (Liberal) Flintshire May 1861 – 22 Mar 1886; Vice-Chamberlain of the Household Mar 1872 - Feb 1874; Privy Councillor 19 Mar 1872; Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury and Chief Liberal Whip, House of Commons 1880-5; created Baron Stalbridge 22 Mar 1886; took Liberal Unionist whip, House of Lords; Chairman, London and North Western Railway Co. 1891-1911, having been a director since 1870; a Governor of the School 1875-1880 and from 1889; Busby Trustee from 1 Jun 1875; President, Elizabethan Club 1885-91, Vice-President from 1891; an intimate friend of Francis Markham (qv), who frequently mentions him in his Recollections; m. 1st, 5 Nov 1874 Hon. Beatrix Charlotte Elizabeth Vesey, third dau. of Thomas Vesey, 3rd Viscount De Vesci (I); m. 2nd, 3 Apr 1879 Eleanor Frances Beatrice, dau. of Robert Hamilton Stubber, Moyne, Queen’s Co.; d. 18 May 1912. DNB Supp.

GORDON-LENNOX, CHARLES, 5th DUKE OF RICHMOND AND GORDON, eldest son of Charles Lennox, 4th Duke of Richmond and Lennox KG PC, Lord Lieut. Ireland and Governor-General of Canada, Gen. in the Army, and Lady Charlotte Gordon, eldest dau. of Alexander Gordon, 4th Duke of Gordon KT; grandson of Lord George Henry Lennox (qv); b. 3 Aug 1791; styled Earl of March 1806-19; adm. (Glover); left 1809; Trinity Coll. Dublin, adm. nob. 28 Oct 1809; BA 1813; Ensign, 8th Garrison Battalion 8 Jun 1809; Lieut., 13th Light Dragoons 21 Jun 1810; Capt., 92nd Foot 9 Jul 1812; 52nd Foot 8 Apr 1813; Brevet Maj., 15 Jun 1815; Brevet Lieut. -Col., 25 Jul 1816; half-pay 25 Jul 1816; ADC and Assistant Military Secretary to Duke of Wellington in Peninsular War 1810-4; wounded at Orthes; ADC to Prince of Orange at battle of Waterloo; MP Chichester 1812 – 28 Aug 1819; succ. father as 5th Duke of Richmond and Lennox 28 Aug 1819; as MP and peer a supporter of Tory governments to 1828, but opposed Catholic Emancipation and went into opposition after the passage of the Catholic Emancipation Bill in 1829; KG 13 May 1829; offered and accepted Cabinet office in the incoming Whig government Nov 1830; Postmaster-General Nov 1830 – May 1834; Privy Councillor 22 Nov 1830; resigned office over Whig government’s Irish Church policy May 1834, moving to cross-benches in House of Lords; inherited Scottish estates of his cousin 5th Duke of Gordon 1836, assuming additional surname of Gordon before Lennox, 9 Aug 1836; became a vocal advocate of agricultural protection in the 1840s, strongly opposing Sir Robert Peel’s repeal of the corn laws; Col., Sussex Militia, from 4 Dec 1819; Extra ADC to William IV 9 May 1832; Lord Lieut. of Sussex from 19 Jun 1835; Chancellor, Marischall College, Aberdeen, from 1836; FRS 2 Apr 1840; President, Royal Agricultural Society, from 1845; DL Banffshire 1846; Steward, Jockey Club 1831; horses of his won the Oaks 1827, 1845, and the One Thousand Guineas 1845; Provincial Grand Master of Freemasons, Sussex, from 1823; several details of his school life, including his fight with an overgrown bully, will be found in a Memoir of him published in 1862; Busby Trustee from 19 May 1827; m. 10 Apr 1817 Lady Caroline Paget, eldest dau. of Henry William Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey (qv); d. 21 Oct 1860. DNB.