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George Canning (1770 - 1827) was a British politician who served as both Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister. He was born in London to Irish parents, George Canning (1736-1771) and Mary Ann Costello (1747?-1827) and was to describe himself as 'an Irishman born in London' (Temperley, H. W. V., Life of Canning, 1905, p. 16). His childhood was unconventional; following the death of his father, George Canning Senior, he toured the provincial theatres with his mother before an uncle took him under his wing in 1778 and funded his education at Hyde Abbey, Winchester, and then at Eton College in 1782. In 1787 Canning went up to Christ Church, Oxford, where he enjoyed a brilliant academic career and was made a fellow of his college. In 1787 Canning entered Lincoln's Inn and read seriously for the bar in the years that followed. However, in 1792 his career took a political turn and he took a seat in the Commons. This decision was to lead to the achievement of major political office, first as Foreign Secretary (1807 - 1809 and 1822 - 1837) and then as Prime Minister in 1827. During these years he promoted a liberal tory government opposed to parliamentary reform and obtained public endorsement of a reaction against the French Revolution. In 1799 he met and subsequently married Joan Scott (1776/7? - 1837). His time as leader of the Commons was tragically short: only four months; he became prime minister in in April, contracted an illness and died in August. The public and press responded compassionately to his death; he was recognised as an untitled man of inglorious beginnings, who, through effort and ability, had achieved great political success. He was survived by his wife, who was made a Viscountess in her own right in 1828, two of his three sons, William Pitt Canning (1802 - 1828) and Charles John Canning (1812 - 1862), and his daughter, Harriet Canning (1804-1876) who would later marry Ulick John de Burgh, 1st Marquess of Clanricarde in 1828.
Charles John Canning, Earl Canning (1812 - 1862) was Governor-General and first Viceroy of India. He was the third of four children of George Canning (1770 - 1827) and Joan, Viscountess Canning (1776/7? - 1837). He was educated at Eton and Oxford and in 1835 married Charlotte Stuart. A year later in 1836 he became a member of parliament and in 1855 he was nominated by Lord Palmerston to serve as Governor General of India, which he assumed in 1856 after a three-month voyage to Calcutta. Soon after, in 1857, a garrison at Meerut massacred its officers. They then marched on Delhi, murdering any European inhabitants they encountered, reinstating the Mughal King and sparking mutiny. Canning had no previous experience of military and colonial administration but was duty-bound to suppress the rebellion. He immediately grasped the very real danger posed by the revolt and acted accordingly, with good judgment and statesmanship, and a remarkable amount of leniency towards the native peoples. His first biographer, H.S. Cunningham pictures him as 'unmoved and immovable', ruling 'with firmness, confidence, magnanimity, with calm inflexible justice.' His liberal policies were instrumental in ending the Mutiny and reconciling the Indians to British rule; he was subsequently known as 'Clemency' Canning. In 1858, following the end of the revolt, Canning was given an earldom and was made the first Viceroy of India. He died grief-stricken in 1862, following the death of his wife Charlotte.
Charlotte Elizabeth Canning, Countess Canning (1817 - 1861) was a courtier and Vicereine of India. In her early life she was praised for her artistic ability, her devout faith and her beauty. She married Charles John Canning (1812 - 1862) in 1835, at the age of 18. She became a lady of the bedchamber to Queen Victoria in 1842. Her amicable nature together with her capacity to faithfully capture scenes in pencil and in watercolour, made her an indispensible travel companion for the Queen. In 1855, her husband, Lord Canning became Governor General of India. They took up residency in Calcutta, where Lady Canning presided over British Colonial society. In the time after the 1857 revolt, Countess Canning travelled extensively - from Madras to Tibet - painting and sketching wherever she went, but in 1816 she contracted malaria and died. She was buried the following day in the Viceroy's garden at Barrackpore 'looking upon that reach of the grand river which she was so fond of drawing,-shaded from the glare of the sun by high trees, and amongst the bright shrubs and flowers in which she had so much pleasure' (The letters of Queen Victoria, ed. A. C. Benson, Lord Esher [R. B. Brett], and G. E. Buckle, (1907-32), 1st-2nd ser.).
Waterloo Medal,1815
Details
Waterloo Medal,1815
edge officially impressed THE MASTER OF THE MINT TO RT. HON. GEO. CANNING. edge knocks, otherwise good very fine
edge officially impressed THE MASTER OF THE MINT TO RT. HON. GEO. CANNING. edge knocks, otherwise good very fine
Provenance
George Canning (1770-1827), and by descent to his daughter
The Hon. Harriet Canning (1804-1876), who married Ulick John de Burgh, 1st Marquess of Clanricarde (1802-1874), and by descent to
Hubert George de Burgh-Canning, 2nd Marquess of Clanricarde (1832-1916), by whom bequeathed to his great-nephew,
Henry Lascelles, 6th Earl of Harewood (1882-1947), and by descent at Harewood House, Yorkshire.
The Hon. Harriet Canning (1804-1876), who married Ulick John de Burgh, 1st Marquess of Clanricarde (1802-1874), and by descent to
Hubert George de Burgh-Canning, 2nd Marquess of Clanricarde (1832-1916), by whom bequeathed to his great-nephew,
Henry Lascelles, 6th Earl of Harewood (1882-1947), and by descent at Harewood House, Yorkshire.