George Grenville
British Whig statesman and Prime Minister who imposed the Stamp Act on the American colonies.
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He served as Prime Minister from 16 April 1763 to 10 July 1765.[1] George Grenville, the second son of Richard Grenville and Hester (Countess Temple), was born on 14 October 1712 at Westminster in London.[2][1] Grenville passed away in London on 13 November 1770 due to a blood disorder.[2]
Life and work
In 1744 Grenville entered Pelham's government but was dismissed by the Duke of Newcastle's administration in 1755.[1] He was brought back into government in 1756 as Treasurer to the Navy.[1] In 1761, Grenville was appointed as Leader of the House of Commons.[1] Grenville's government issued a general warrant for the arrest of the authors and publishers of the North Briton, Number XLV.[1]
In March 1765 the Stamp Act was passed, to be implemented in America on 1 November 1765.[1] Grenville was persuaded to resign in July 1765, making way for a ministry headed by the Duke of Cumberland.[1] Grenville attended Eton from 1725 to 1728 and then studied at Christ Church, Oxford, starting in 1730.[1] During his initial period in Parliament, Grenville was part of a faction led by his uncle, whose members were referred to as "Cobham's Cubs"; this group included Pitt the Elder.[2][1]
Grenville and his wife had nine children: four sons and five daughters.[1] On 16 April 1763, Bute unexpectedly asked Grenville to take over as head of the government.[2][1]
What the cited sources add
The same source notes that Grenville postponed his wedding in the hope of receiving a large legacy.[2] Dr. Bloy reports that Bute demoted Grenville to First Lord of the Admiralty because Grenville opposed the peace preliminaries with France.[2] The Smith Rebellion 1765 account says Grenville demanded much more in compensation from France and Spain than Prime Minister Lord Bute.[3] Dr. Bloy's account mentions that Grenville introduced the Regency Bill because of the king's illness.[2]
References
- Marjie Bloy Ph.D., Senior Research Fellow<br />National University of Singapore. facts only, no text reused. victorianweb.org
- "George Grenville (1712–1770)", Dr. Bloy, A Web of English History. facts only, no text reused. historyhome.co.uk
- George Grenville, Smith Rebellion 1765, Retrieved: 28 October 2010<br />Sources:<br /> *History of the United States from the Discovery of the American Continen. facts only, no text reused. smithrebellion1765.com
- Wikipedia, "George Grenville" (CC BY-SA 4.0): the article whose references led to the sources above en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article George Grenville (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: George Grenville (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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