John Ponsonby, 1st Viscount Ponsonby

John Ponsonby, 1st Viscount Ponsonby, GCB (c.1772 – 22 February 1855) was a British diplomat. He was the eldest son of the 1st Baron Ponsonby.

When a young man in Paris his surpassing good looks allegedly saved him from lynching by a crowd during the French Revolution 1791; He served as a member of the Irish House of Commons for Tallaght (1793–97) and for Dungarvan (1797–1800). He was member of the United Kingdom Parliament for Galway (1801–1802). He succeeded his father as 2nd Baron Ponsonby in 1806.

Lord Ponsonby's diplomatic postings included serving as British envoy extraordinary to Buenos Aires (1826–1828), to Rio de Janeiro (1828–1829), to Brussels (1830–1831) and to Naples (1832). He subsequently served as British ambassador to Constantinople (1832–1841) and to Vienna (1846–1850).

On 20 April 1839, he was created Viscount Ponsonby, of Imokilly in the County of Cork.

Biography

Ponsonby, eldest son of William Brabazon Ponsonby, first baron Ponsonby, and brother of Sir William Ponsonby , was born about 1770. He was possibly the John Brabazon Ponsonby who was successively member for Tallagh, co. Waterford, in the Irish parliament of 1797, for Dungarvan, 1798–1800, and for Galway town, in the first parliament of the United Kingdom, 1801–2. On the death of his father on 5 Nov. 1806 he succeeded him as second Baron Ponsonby, and for some time held an appointment in the Ionian Islands. On 28 Feb. 1826 he went to Buenos Aires as envoy-extraordinary and minister-plenipotentiary, and removed to Rio de Janeiro in the same capacity on 12 Feb. 1828. An exceptionally handsome man, he was sent, it was reported, to South America by George Canning to please George IV, who was envious of the attention paid him by Lady Conyngham. He was entrusted with a special mission to Belgium on 1 Dec. 1830, in connection with the candidature of Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg to the throne, and remained in Brussels until Leopold was elected king of the Belgians on 4 June 1831. His dealings with this matter were adversely criticised in ‘The Guet-à-Pens Diplomacy, or Lord Ponsonby at Brussels, …’ London, 1831. But Lord Grey eulogised him in the House of Lords on 25 June 1831. Ponsonby was envoy at Naples from 8 June to 9 Nov. 1832, ambassador at Constantinople from 27 Nov. 1832 to 1841, and ambassador at Vienna from 10 Aug. 1846 to 31 May 1850.

Through Lord Grey, who had married his sister Mary Elizabeth, he had great influence, but his conduct as an ambassador sometimes occasioned embarrassment to the ministry. He was, however, a keen diplomatist of the old school, a shrewd observer, and a man of large views and strong will (LOFTUS, Diplomatic Reminiscences, 1892, i. 129–30). He was gazetted G.C.B. on 3 March 1834, and created Viscount Ponsonby of Imokilly, co. Cork, on 20 April 1839. He published ‘Private Letters on the Eastern Question, written at the date thereon,’ Brighton, 1854, and died at Brighton on 21 Feb. 1855. The viscounty thereupon lapsed, but the barony devolved on his nephew William, son of Sir William Ponsonby. The viscount married, on 13 Jan. 1803, Elizabeth Frances Villiers, fifth daughter of George Villiers, 4th Earl of Jersey. She died at 62 Chester Square, London, on 14 April 1866, having had no issue.

References

*Mosley, Charles (editor). (1999). Burke's Peerage & Baronetage, 106th edition
*DNB