F. J. Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich

The Right Honourable The Earl of Ripon PC
Lord Ripon by Sir Thomas Lawrence.
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
In office 31 August 1827 – 21 January 1828
Monarch	George IV
Preceded by	George Canning
Succeeded by	The Duke of Wellington
Chancellor of the Exchequer
In office 31 January 1823 – 20 April 1827
Monarch	George IV
Prime Minister	The Earl of Liverpool
Preceded by	Nicholas Vansittart
Succeeded by	George Canning
President of the Board of Trade
In office 24 January 1818 – 21 February 1823
Monarch	George III George IV
Prime Minister	The Earl of Liverpool
Preceded by	The Earl of Clancarty
Succeeded by	William Huskisson
In office 3 September 1841 – 15 May 1843
Monarch	Victoria
Prime Minister	Sir Robert Peel
Preceded by	Henry Labouchere
Succeeded by	William Ewart Gladstone
Personal details
Born	1 November 1782(1782-11-01) London
Died	28 January 1859(1859-01-28) (aged 76) Putney Heath, London
Political party	Tory Whig Conservative
Alma mater	St John's College, Cambridge

Frederick John Robinson, 1st Earl of Ripon PC (1 November 1782 – 28 January 1859), styled The Honourable F. J. Robinson until 1827 and known as The Viscount Goderich between 1827 and 1833, the name by which he is best known to history, was a British statesman. He was briefly Prime Minister of the United Kingdom between August 1827 and January 1828.

Background and education

Robinson was born in London, the second son of Thomas Robinson, 2nd Baron Grantham, and his wife, Lady Mary, daughter of Philip Yorke, 2nd Earl of Hardwicke. Fellow politician Thomas de Grey, 2nd Earl de Grey was his elder brother. He was educated at Harrow and St John's College, Cambridge.

Political career

Robinson entered Parliament for the Irish borough of Carlow in 1806, a seat he exchanged for that of Ripon the following year. He was made a Privy Counsellor in 1812 and served under Lord Liverpool as Vice-President of the Board of Trade between 1812 and 1818 and as joint-Paymaster of the Forces between 1813 and 1817, from which position he sponsored the Corn Laws of 1815. He entered the Cabinet in 1818 as President of the Board of Trade and Treasurer of the Navy. In 1823 he succeeded Nicholas Vansittart as Chancellor of the Exchequer. While he held this position he was called "Prosperity Robinson" by the sarcastic journalist William Cobbett. Cobbett also gave him the name "Goody Goderich" during an economic crisis in 1825.

In 1827 Robinson was raised to the peerage as Viscount Goderich, of Nocton in the County of Lincoln, a revival of the Goderich title held by his maternal ancestors. He served as Secretary of State for War and the Colonies and Leader of the House of Lords in George Canning's short-lived government. On Canning's death Goderich succeeded him as leader of a tenuous coalition of moderate Tories - also known as the Canningites - and Whigs, but it only lasted a few months and did not even meet Parliament. Goderich had been an able minister but when it came to leading he was unsure and the government couldn't be run effectively as a number of Tory MPs stepped in to become the unofficial Prime Minister in an effort to help Goderich run the country. It is reported that when Goderich resigned to King George IV he burst into tears and the King had to lend Goderich a handkerchief as he didn't have one. Goderich was succeeded by the Duke of Wellington.

In 1830 Goderich moved over to the Whigs and joined Lord Grey's cabinet, again as Colonial Secretary. In 1833 he was created Earl of Ripon, in the County of York, and became Lord Privy Seal under Grey. However, the next year he broke with the Whigs over Irish church reform. He later served in Sir Robert Peel's second administration as President of the Board of Trade from 1841 to 1843 and then as President of the Board of Control from 1843 to 1846.

Apart from his political career Lord Ripon also served as President of the Royal Geographical Society from 1830 to 1833, and President of the Royal Society of Literature from 1834 to 1845.

Family

Lord Ripon married Lady Sarah Albinia Louisa, daughter of Robert Hobart, 4th Earl of Buckinghamshire, in 1814. He died in Putney Heath, London, in January 1859, aged 76, and was succeeded by his only son, George, Viscount Goderich. He became a noted Liberal statesman and cabinet minister and was created Marquess of Ripon in 1871. The Countess of Ripon died in April 1867, aged 74.

Lord Goderich's Government, September 1827 – January 1828

Lord and Lady Ripon are buried in the memorial chapel at All Saints' Church, Nocton.

• Lord Goderich - First Lord of the Treasury and Leader of the House of Lords
• The Lord Lyndhurst - Lord Chancellor
• The Duke of Portland - Lord President of the Council
• The Earl of Carlisle - Lord Privy Seal
• The Marquess of Lansdowne - Secretary of State for the Home Department
• The Earl of Dudley - Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
• William Huskisson - Secretary of State for War and the Colonies and Leader of the House of Commons
• J. C. Herries - Chancellor of the Exchequer
• The Marquess of Anglesey - Master-General of the Ordnance
• Charles Grant - President of the Board of Trade and Treasurer of the Navy
• Charles Watkin Williams-Wynn - President of the Board of Control
• William Sturges Bourne - First Commissioner of Woods and Forests
• The Lord Bexley - Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
• The Viscount Palmerston - Secretary at War

References

• Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages
• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Frederick Robinson
• More about Frederick Robinson, Viscount Goderich on the 10 Downing Street website.

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Michael Symes	Member of Parliament for Carlow 1806 – 1807	Succeeded by Andrew Strahan
Preceded by Sir James Graham, Bt Charles Allanson-Winn	Member of Parliament for Ripon 1807 – 1827 With: George Gipps 1807–1826 Lancelot Shadwell 1826–1827	Succeeded by Lancelot Shadwell Louis Hayes Petit
Political offices
Preceded by George Rose	Vice-President of the Board of Trade 1812 – 1818	Succeeded by Thomas Wallace
Preceded by Lord Charles Somerset	Paymaster of the Forces 1813 – 1817 with Charles Long	Succeeded by Charles Long
Preceded by The Earl of Clancarty	President of the Board of Trade 1818 – 1823	Succeeded by William Huskisson
Preceded by George Rose	Treasurer of the Navy 1818 – 1823
Preceded by Nicholas Vansittart	Chancellor of the Exchequer 1823 – 1827	Succeeded by George Canning
Preceded by The Earl Bathurst	Secretary of State for War and the Colonies 1827	Succeeded by William Huskisson
Preceded by George Canning	Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 31 August 1827 – 21 January 1828	Succeeded by The Duke of Wellington
Preceded by The Earl of Liverpool	Leader of the House of Lords 1827 – 1828
Preceded by Sir George Murray	Secretary of State for War and the Colonies 1830 – 1833	Succeeded by Lord Stanley
Preceded by The Lord Durham	Lord Privy Seal 1833 – 1834	Succeeded by The Earl of Carlisle
Preceded by Henry Labouchere	President of the Board of Trade 1841 – 1843	Succeeded by William Ewart Gladstone
Preceded by Lord FitzGerald and Vesey	President of the Board of Control 1843 – 1846	Succeeded by Sir John Cam Hobhouse
Peerage of the United Kingdom
New creation	Earl of Ripon 1833 – 1859	Succeeded by George Robinson
	Viscount Goderich 1827 – 1859