Frederick Spencer, 4th Earl Spencer
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Vice-Admiral Frederick Spencer, 4th Earl Spencer KG CB PC (April 14, 1798 – December 27, 1857) was a British peer, the son of George Spencer, 2nd Earl Spencer and the younger brother and successor of John Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl Spencer.
Spencer was born in 1798, at the Admiralty Building, London and was baptised in St Martin-in-the-Fields. He was educated at Eton College from 1808 to 1811, then joined the Royal Navy as a midshipman. He eventually rose to the rank of Captain in 1822 and was awarded several honours from various European countries for fighting in the Napoleonic Wars in the Mediterranean between 1811 and 1815. These were: Knight of the Order of St Louis of France (1828), the Order of St Anne of Russia (1828) and the Order of the Redeemer of Greece (1828).
He then retired from naval life and became Whig MP for Worcestershire (1831–1832) and Midhurst (1832–1834 & 1837–1841). He was later an equerry in the household of the Duchess of Kent (Queen Victoria's mother) from 1840 to 1845.
On 23 February 1830, he married his cousin, Georgiana Poyntz (1799–1851) and they had three children:
- Lady Georgina Frances Spencer (1832–1852), died unmarried.
- John Poyntz Spencer, 5th Earl Spencer (1835–1910)
- Lady Sarah Isabella Spencer (1838–1919), died unmarried.
On August 9, 1854, he married secondly, Adelaide Seymour(1825–1877), a great-granddaughter of Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford and they had two children:
- Lady Victoria Alexandrina Spencer (1855–1906), married William Mansfield, 1st Viscount Sandhurst and had issue.
- Charles Robert Spencer, 6th Earl Spencer (1857–1922)
Thanks to the efforts of Spencer's father, George John, Althorp had one of the finest collections of printed books in Europe. George John was also noteworthy for co-founding and serving as the first president of the Roxburghe Club, widely-regarded as the world's first book club.[citation needed]
[edit] References
- J. K. Laughton, ‘Spencer, Sir Robert Cavendish (1791–1830)’, rev. Andrew Lambert, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 28 April 2009
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Thomas Foley and Henry Beauchamp Lygon |
Member of Parliament for Worcestershire 1831–1832 Served alongside: Thomas Foley |
Constituency abolished |
| Preceded by George Robert Smith and Martin Tucker Smith |
Member of Parliament for Midhurst 1832–1835 |
Succeeded by William Stephen Poyntz |
| Preceded by William Stephen Poyntz |
Member of Parliament for Midhurst 1837–1841 |
Succeeded by Sir Horace Beauchamp Seymour |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by The Earl De La Warr |
Lord Chamberlain 1846–1848 |
Succeeded by The Marquess of Breadalbane |
| Preceded by The Duke of Norfolk |
Lord Steward 1854–1857 |
Succeeded by The Earl of St Germans |
| Peerage of Great Britain | ||
| Preceded by John Spencer |
Earl Spencer 1845–1857 |
Succeeded by John Spencer |
