The Right Honourable
The Lord de Blaquiere
KCB PC FRS
Lord de Blaquiere.
Chief Secretary for Ireland
In office
1772–1776
MonarchGeorge III
Preceded byGeorge Macartney
Succeeded bySir Richard Heron, Bt
Personal details
Born15 May 1732 (1732-05-15)
Died27 August 1812 (1812-08-28) (aged 80)
Bray, County Wicklow
NationalityBritish
SpouseEleanor Dobson (c. 1756–1833)

John Blaquiere, 1st Baron de Blaquiere, KCB, PC (15 May 1732 – 27 August 1812), known as Sir John Blaquiere, Bt. from 1784 to 1800, was a British soldier, diplomat and politician of French descent. He served as Chief Secretary for Ireland between 1772 and 1776

Background

Blaquiere was the fifth son of Jean de Blaquiere, a French merchant who had emigrated to England in 1685, and his wife Marie Elizabeth de Varennes.[1]

Career

Blaquiere at first served in the British Army, in the 18th Dragoons (later renumbered the 17th Dragoons), where he achieved the rank of lieutenant-colonel. In 1771 Blaquiere was appointed Secretary of Legation at the British Embassy in Paris, a post he held until 1772. The latter year Lord Harcourt, the British Ambassador in Paris, was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, and Blaquiere joined him as Chief Secretary for Ireland.[1] He was admitted to the Privy Council of Ireland the same year[1][2] and made a Knight Companion of the Order of the Bath two years later.[1] He was awarded an honorary LLD from Trinity College Dublin in 1773.[3]

Blaquiere was to remain Chief Secretary until 6 December 1776.[4] He had been elected to the Irish House of Commons for Old Leighlin in 1773, a seat he held until 1783. After representing Enniskillen for a few months in 1783, he sat than for Carlingford from 1783 to 1790, for Charleville from 1790 to 1798 and for Newtownards from 1798 to the Act of Union in 1801.[1][5] Blaquiere was created a Baronet, of Ardkill in the County of Londonderry, on 16 July 1784,[6] and raised to the Peerage of Ireland as Baron de Blaquiere, of Ardkill in the County of Londonderry, on 30 July 1800,[7] for his support for the Act of Union.[1] Lord de Blaquiere also sat as a Member of the British House of Commons for Rye from 1801 to 1802[1][8] and for Downton from 1802 to 1806.[1][9]

He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1803.[10]

Family

Lord de Blaquiere married Eleanor, daughter of Robert Dobson, in 1775. They had four sons, including Peter de Blaquière, and three daughters. Lord de Blaquiere died at Bray, County Wicklow, in August 1812, aged 80. He was succeeded in his titles by his eldest son, John. Lady de Blaquiere died at Regent's Park, Marylebone, London, in December 1833.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 thepeerage.com John Blaquiere, 1st Baron de Blaquiere of Ardkill
  2. ↑ leighrayment.com Privy Counsellors – Ireland[usurped]
  3. ↑ "Alumni Dublinenses: a register of the students, graduates, professors and provosts of Trinity College in the University of Dublin (1593–1860). George Dames Burtchaell / Thomas Ulick Sadleir p. 73: Dublin, Alex Thom and Co, 1935
  4. ↑ Johnston-Liik, Edith Mary (2002). History of the Irish Parliament 1692–1800, Volume III, Members of the Irish House of Commons. Ulster Historical Foundation. ISBN 1-903688-71-X. P203
  5. ↑ "leighrayment.com Irish House of Commons 1692–1800". Archived from the original on 1 June 2009. Retrieved 30 September 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  6. ↑ "No. 12560". The London Gazette. 17 July 1784. p. 3.
  7. ↑ "No. 15281". The London Gazette. 5 August 1800. p. 889.
  8. ↑ "leighrayment.com House of Commons: Rochester to Ryedale". Archived from the original on 19 December 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  9. ↑ "leighrayment.com House of Commons: Dover to Dulwich and West Norwood". Archived from the original on 30 September 2018. Retrieved 30 September 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  10. ↑ "Library and Archive Catalogue". Royal Society. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
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