Richard Brinsley Sheridan (politician) explained

Honorific Prefix:	The Right Honourable
Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Honorific Suffix:	DL
Office:	Member of Parliament for Dorchester
Term Start:	1852
Term End:	1868
Predecessor:	George Dawson-Damer Henry Sturt
Successor:	Charles Napier Sturt
Office1:	Member of Parliament for Shaftesbury
Term Start1:	1845
Term End1:	1852
Predecessor1:	Lord Howard of Effingham
Successor1:	Henry Berkeley Portman
Birth Date:	26 May 1806
Birth Place:	London, England
Party:	Whig
Parents:	Thomas Sheridan Caroline Henrietta Callander
Children:	9

Richard Brinsley Sheridan (bapt. 26 May 1806^[1] – 2 May 1888) was an English Whig politician.

Early life

He was born in London, the eldest son of Thomas Sheridan, colonial treasurer in the Cape of Good Hope, and the novelist Caroline Henrietta Callander of Craig forth and the grandson of his namesake, the playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan.^[2] His maternal grandfather was Sir James Campbell. After his father died in 1817, his mother moved to London with her seven children.^[3]

Career

He served as High Sheriff of Dorset in 1838. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Shaftesbury from 1845 to 1852 and for Dorchester from 1852 until he retired in 1868 and also Deputy Lieutenant for Dorset. He was a Liberal in favour of extending the right to vote.^[4]

Personal life

He eloped with and subsequently married Marcia Maria Grant, the daughter of Gen. Sir John Colquhoun Grant^[5] on 18May 1835.^[6] Together, they were the parents of three daughters and six sons:^[7]

• Edith Marcia Caroline Sheridan (1836–1876), who married Francis John Thynne, son of Lord John Thynne.^[8]
• Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1838–1868), who died unmarried.^[2]
• Francis John Rogers Sheridan (1842–1877), who died unmarried.^[2]
• Helena Charlotte Sheridan (1845–1893), who died unmarried.^[2]
• Algernon Thomas Brinsley Sheridan (1845–1931), who married Mary Lothrop Motley, daughter of John Lothrop Motley.^[2]
• Charles William Frederick Sheridan (1847–1896), who died unmarried.^[2]
• Thomas Constantine Henry Kier Sheridan (1851–1931), who died unmarried.^[2]
• James Colquhoun Grant Sheridan (1857–1865), who died young.^[2]
• Florence Sarah Wilhelmine Sheridan (d. 1909), who married Augustus Bampfylde, 2nd Baron Poltimore.^[2]

Sheridan died on 2 May 1888.^[2]

Notes and References

1. London, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812
2. Book: Highfill . Philip H. . Burnim . Kalman A. . Langhans . Edward A. . A Biographical Dictionary of Actors, Actresses, Musicians, Dancers, Managers & Other Stage Personnel in London, 1660-1800 . 1991 . SIU Press . 978-0-8093-1525-3 . 317 . 10 February 2022 . en.
3. MacConghail, Maire, 'Sheridan family', The Blackwell Companion to Modern Irish Culture, p. 534.
4. Stenton, Michael (1976) Who's Who of British Members of Parliament Volume 1, p. 349
5. Book: Dalton, Charles . 1904 . The Waterloo roll call. With biographical notes and anecdotes . London . Eyre and Spottiswoode . 23–24.
6. Marriages . The Asiatic Journal and Monthly Miscellany . 1835 . 199 . 10 February 2022 . Wm. H. Allen & Company . en.
7. Burke's Landed Gentry (1886), seventh edition
8. Book: Chester . Joseph Lemuel . The Marriage, Baptismal, and Burial Registers of the Collegiate Church Or Abbey of St. Peter, Westminster . 1876 . 59 . Mitchell and Hughes . 10 February 2022 . en.