George Frederick Samuel Robinson, 1st Marquess of Ripon, , styled Viscount Goderich from 1833 to 1859 and known as The Earl of Ripon in 1859 and as The Earl de Grey and Ripon from 1859 to 1871, was a British politician who served in every Liberal cabinet from 1861 until the year before his death, which took place forty-eight years later in 1909.
Ripon served on Sir Henry Ellis' British special mission to the Brussels Conference on the affairs of Italy during 1848–1849. Although his father had been a Tory, Ripon was first a Whig and later a Liberal. He entered the House of Commons as member for Hull in 1852. Both he and his party colleague, James Clay, were unseated in 1853 by petition over claims of widespread corruption in their election, of which they were exonerated of any knowledge. He was returned for Huddersfield later in 1853 and the West Riding of Yorkshire in 1857. In 1859 he succeeded his father as second Earl of Ripon, taking his seat in the House of Lords, and later that year succeeded his uncle in the more senior title of Earl de Grey, becoming known as the Earl de Grey and Ripon. He was Under-Secretary of State for War under Lord Palmerston between 1859 and 1861 and 1861 and 1863 and briefly Under-Secretary of State for India in 1861. In 1863 he was made a Privy Counsellor and Secretary of State for War under Palmerston, with a seat in the cabinet. He retained this office when Lord Russell became prime minister on Palmerston's death in 1865, and then served under Russell as Secretary of State for India between February and June 1866. In Gladstone's first administration he was Lord President of the Council. During this period he acted as chairman of the joint commission for drawing up the Treaty of Washington with the United States over the Alabama Claims. For this, in 1871 he was created Marquess of Ripon, in the County of York. He had already been made a Knight of the Garter in 1869. In 1878 he served as President of the first day of the Co-operative Congress.
When Gladstone returned to power in 1880 he appointed Ripon Viceroy of India, an office he held until 1884. During his time in India, Ripon introduced legislation, that would have granted native Indians more legal rights, including the right of Indian judges to judge Europeans in court. Though progressive in its intent, the legislation was scuppered by Europeans living in India who did not want to be tried by a native judge. In this Ripon was supported by Florence Nightingale, who also backed his efforts to obtain a Bengal land tenancy bill that would improve the situation of the peasants. He repealed the controversial Vernacular Press Act of 1878 passed by Lytton, in 1882. He was also instrumental in supporting Dietrich Brandis to reorganize the Madras Forest Department and expand systematic forestconservancy in India. In 1883, Lord Ripon joined a shooting party organised by the Maharaja of Darbhanga which had a total bag of 1683, including 4 tigers, 47 buffaloes, 280 pigs and 467 deer. The remainder being ″small game″. There was some criticism at ″... such wholesale destruction, particularly as it happens to be the breeding season.″ He is still revered in Chennai, India as "Lord Ripon engal appan" meaning: Lord Ripon, our father. The Corporation of Chennai's Ripon Building was named for him, as well as the town of Riponpet in the Shivamogga district in the state of Karnataka. In Calcutta, the Ripon Street was named for him. The Ghanta Ghar Multan or Clock Tower of Multan in Pakistan was named Ripon Building and hall of same building was named Ripon Hall.. in Mumbai founded in 1884 by the Parsis for their community members, was named after him.
Political career, 1884–1908
Lord Ripon also became a supporter of Home Rule for Ireland. In Gladstone's 1886 government he was First Lord of the Admiralty, and in the government of 1892 to 1895 he was Secretary of State for the Colonies. When the Liberals again returned to power in 1905 under Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, he took office, aged 78, as Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Lords. In 1908, he declined to remain as Lords leader when H. H. Asquith became Prime Minister in April, and he resigned as Lord Privy Seal in October. As noted by Neil Smith, Ripon's liberalism had roots in the mid-nineteenth century, but his political views “shifted with the times.” According to Smith “he was greatly interested in labour questions, deeply sympathetic to labour aspirations and believed the state might interfere with wages and that the state had a duty to deal with unemployment.”
Lord Ripon married his cousin Henrietta Anne Theodosia Vyner, daughter of Henry Vyner and his wife Lady Mary Gertrude Robinson, daughter of Thomas Robinson, 2nd Earl de Grey, on 8 April 1851. They had one son and one daughter. Lady Ripon died in February 1907, aged 73. Lord Ripon survived her by two years and died of heart failure at Studley Royal Park in July 1909, aged 81. He was buried at St Mary's, Studley Royal and was succeeded by his only son, Frederick. His estate was assessed for probate with a value of £127,292. 15s. 8d..
