Ripon, George Frederick Robinson, 1st Marquis

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Ripon, George Frederick Robinson, 1st Marquis (1827–1909). Son of the 1st earl of Ripon (Goderich), he was returned to the House of Commons as a Liberal in 1852, succeeding to the title in 1859. He was a loyal Gladstonite, serving as under-secretary and then secretary of state for war and for India. In 1880, upon Gladstone's re-election, he was appointed viceroy of India to reverse the belligerent Afghan policies of his predecessor, Lord Lytton. His time in India proved highly controversial among the Anglo-Indian community. He advanced the causes of Indian education and local self-government, but also introduced the notorious Ilbert Bill which attempted to enforce non-racial principles of justice. He retired from India with the defeat of Gladstone's government in 1885 but remained politically active into old age. He was colonial secretary in 1892 and lord privy seal 1905–8.

David Anthony Washbrook