Historical records matching George Pitt, 1st Baron Rivers
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About George Pitt, 1st Baron Rivers
George Pitt, 1st Baron Rivers (1 May 1721 – 7 May 1803) was a British diplomat and politician.
He born in Geneva, the eldest son of George Pitt of Stratfieldsaye, Hampshire and his wife Mary Louise Bernier from Strasbourg. General Sir William Augustus Pitt was his younger brother. He was educated at Winchester and Magdalen College, Oxford, from which he graduated with MA in 1739 and DCL in 1745. He then travelled on the continent from 1740 to 1742. In 1746, he married Penelope, daughter of Sir Henry Atkins, 4th Baronet of Clapham, Surrey. They had four children: George Pitt, 2nd Baron Rivers (1751–1828) Hon. Penelope Pitt, married Edward Ligonier, 1st Earl Ligonier in 1766; divorced in 1771 and married Capt. Smith in 1784 Hon. Louisa Pitt (1754–1791), married English peerage Peter Beckford (1740–1811) on 22 March, 1773 Hon. Marcia Lucy Pitt (1756–1822), married James Fox-Lane in 1789 Their marriage was unhappy and they separated in 1771, living mostly in France and Italy until her death in 1795.
In 1742, he was elected as a Member of Parliament at a by-election for Shaftesbury and sat as a Tory. At the General Election in 1747, he was returned both for Shaftesbury and for Dorset and to sit for the County, which he represented continuously until 1774, becoming an independent, supporting the government from the accession of George III. [edit]Diplomacy
From 1761 to 1768, he served as Envoy-extraordinary and Minister-plenitpotentiary to the Kingdom of Sardinia at Turin. In 1770 he was appointed Ambassador to Spain, but was superseded the following year.
George Pitt of Stratfield Saye was Dorset’s largest landowner. MP for Shaftesbury and Dorset between 1747 and 1774, he became Baron Rivers in 1776 and Lord Lieutenant for Dorset in 1793. Pitt became first Colonel of the Dorset militia on its formation in 1757, an office he held for 40 years.
In 1776, he was raised to the peerage as Lord Rivers. In 1780, he was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire, but was replaced in 1782, when he became a Lord of the Bedchamber. He was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Dorset in 1793. In 1802, be obtained a new patent as Lord Rivers with special remainder in default of male issue to the husband of his daughter Louisa, William Beckford. Beckford took the surname Pitt-Rivers in 1828, on succeeding to the title and estates of his brother-in-law George Pitt, 2nd Baron Rivers.
Rivers Inlet, a fjord on the Central Coast of British Columbia, was named by Captain George Vancouver for George Pitt.
George Pitt, 1st Baron Rivers was born in 1721.1 He was the son of George Pitt and Mary Louisa Bernier.2 He married Penelope Atkins, daughter of Sir Henry Atkins, 4th Bt. and Penelope Stonhouse, on 5 January 1745/46 at Clapham, Surrey, England.3,4 He died on 7 May 1803.
He held the office of Member of Parliament (M.P.) for Shaftesbury between 1742 and 1747. He held the office of Member of Parliament (M.P.) for Dorset between 1754 and 1774. He held the office of Ambassador Plenipotentiary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Spain from 1770 to 1771.2 He was created 1st Baron Rivers, of Stratfield-Say, co. Southampton [Great Britain] on 20 May 1776.5 He held the office of Lord-Lieutenant of Hampshire between 1780 and 1782.2 He held the office of Lord-Lieutenant of Dorset between 1793 and 1803.2 He was created 1st Baron Rivers of Sudeley Castle, co. Gloucester [U.K.] on 16 March 1802.6 He lived at Sudeley Castle, Winchcombe, Gloucestershire, EnglandG.
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George Pitt, 1st Baron Rivers's Timeline
| 1721 |
May 1, 1721
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Geneva, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland
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| 1749 |
February 23, 1749
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| 1751 |
September 19, 1751
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Angers, Pays de la Loire, France
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| 1753 |
December 25, 1753
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Cambridgeshire, England, United Kingdom
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| 1756 |
1756
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Reading, UK
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| 1770 |
1770
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Reading, UK
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| 1803 |
May 7, 1803
Age 82
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Stratfield Saye, Hampshire, England (United Kingdom)
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