|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries: |
Research categories | Follow us on Twitter |
Research categories
View all topics in the newsView all reference sources at Encyclopedia.com |
|||
Leeds, Francis Godolphin Osborne, 5th duke of
Leeds, Francis Godolphin Osborne, 5th duke of (1751–99). Leeds was known as Lord Carmarthen till 1790, but sat in the Lords as Baron Osborne from 1776. A supporter of Lord North, he shifted to opposition and was punished, in 1780, with dismissal from his lord-lieutenancy (Yorkshire, East Riding). Although reinstated in 1782, he was never a Rockinghamite and supported Shelburne after Charles Fox's resignation. Shortage of available talent led to his appointment as foreign secretary under William Pitt in December 1783. An active, but never illustrious, foreign secretary, Leeds resigned in April 1791, when Pitt refused to back his aggressive policy towards Russia. Thereafter he had little political influence, but suffered occasional delusions of grandeur, as in the summer of 1792, when convinced that he could unite Pitt and Fox by acting as a neutral 1st lord of the Treasury. An embarrassing interview with George III disabused him. This episode confirms contemporary characterizations of him as a vain man, puffed up by an immediate circle of sycophants.
David Wilkinson |
|
|
Cite this article
JOHN CANNON. "Leeds, Francis Godolphin Osborne, 5th duke of." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN CANNON. "Leeds, Francis Godolphin Osborne, 5th duke of." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-LedsFrncsGdlphnsbrn5thdkf.html JOHN CANNON. "Leeds, Francis Godolphin Osborne, 5th duke of." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-LedsFrncsGdlphnsbrn5thdkf.html |
|
Leeds, Francis Godolphin Osborne, 5th duke of
Leeds, Francis Godolphin Osborne, 5th duke of (1751–99). Leeds was known as Lord Carmarthen till 1790, but sat in the Lords as Baron Osborne from 1776. A supporter of Lord North, he shifted to opposition and was punished, in 1780, with dismissal from his lord‐lieutenancy (Yorkshire, East Riding). Reinstated in 1782, he supported Shelburne after Charles Fox's resignation. Shortage of available talent led to his appointment as foreign secretary under William Pitt in December 1783. An active, but never illustrious, foreign secretary, Leeds resigned in April 1791, when Pitt refused to back his aggressive policy towards Russia.
|
|
|
Cite this article
JOHN CANNON. "Leeds, Francis Godolphin Osborne, 5th duke of." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN CANNON. "Leeds, Francis Godolphin Osborne, 5th duke of." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-LedsFrncsGdlphnsbrn5thdkf.html JOHN CANNON. "Leeds, Francis Godolphin Osborne, 5th duke of." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-LedsFrncsGdlphnsbrn5thdkf.html |
|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries:
HighBeam™ Research, Inc. © Copyright 2012. All rights reserved.
The Encyclopedia.com advertising network includes:
