George Ward Hunt

The Right Honourable
George Ward Hunt
The Right Honourable George Ward Hunt
Chancellor of the Exchequer
	In office; 29 February 1868 – 1 December 1868
Monarch	Victoria
Prime Minister	Benjamin Disraeli
Preceded by	Benjamin Disraeli
Succeeded by	Robert Lowe
Personal details
Born	30 July 1825; Winkfield,Berkshire
Died	29 July 1877(aged 51); Bad Homburg,Germany
Nationality	British
Political party	Conservative
Spouse	Alice Eden (d. 1894)
Alma mater	Christ Church, Oxford

George Ward Hunt(30 July 1825 – 29 July 1877) was a British statesman of theConservative Partywho wasChancellor of the ExchequerandFirst Lord of the Admiraltyin the first and second ministries ofBenjamin Disraeli.

Early life[edit]

Hunt was born at Buckhurst Park atWinkfieldinBerkshire,the eldest son of the Rev. George Hunt of Winkfield, and his wife Emma Gardiner, daughter of Samuel Gardiner of Coombe Lodge, Oxfordshire. His father was rector ofBarninghamand thenBoughton.He was educated atEton College.^[1]^[2]^[3]He matriculated atChrist Church, Oxfordin 1844.^[4]As an undergraduate, he went on vacation reading parties withArthur Hugh Clough:in 1845 atGrasmere,in 1846 atCastleton of Braemarand in 1847 atDrumnadrochitonLoch Ness.In Clough's poemThe Bothie of Toper-na-fuosich,he is identified with the outsize character Hobbes. Hobbes dances in a kilt, and Hunt painted a self-portrait of himself wearing one.^[2]^[5]

Hunt graduated B.A. in 1848, and M.A. in 1851;^[4]on 21 November of that year he wascalled to the barat theInner Temple.^[1]

Political career[edit]

Hunt entered theHouse of Commonsin 1857 asMember of ParliamentforNorthamptonshire North,at the end of the year, having made several unsuccessful attempts previously. He was aSecretary to the Treasuryfrom 1866 to 1868, in the ministry of the14th Earl of Derby.Regarded as "sensible but dull", according to Derby's biographer Hawkins, he was then appointed to the Exchequer when Disraeli took office.^[6]

There is a Westminster tradition that, on leavingDowning Streetfor the House of Commons on Budget Day, the Chancellor of the Exchequer shows the assembled crowd the ministerialred boxcontaining theBudget speech,by holding it aloft.^[7]When Hunt presented his one and only Budget speech, he kept the House of Commons waiting, and it is supposed that he had left the speech behind.^[1]When he spoke, the Budget presentation was the shortest recorded.^[8]

Hunt was appointed to theAdmiraltyfor Disraeli's second ministry, serving from 1874 until his death fromgoutin 1877. Although he was considered competent at finance, his turn at the Admiralty was, for a long time, not much admired. That attitude has, however, been revised.^[9]Canada'sWard Hunt Islandwas named for him. It is offEllesmere Island,and of interest for the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf observed in 1876 byPelham Aldrich.^[10]

Hunt died atBad Homburg,Germany, in July 1877, on the eve of his 52nd birthday. His wife died in 1894.

Family[edit]

Hunt married Alice, daughter of the Right ReverendRobert Eden,Bishop of Moray, Ross and Caithness,in 1857. They had five sons and five daughters,^[1]including Sir Allen Thomas Hunt, an Admiral in theRoyal Navy.

Hunt's residence wasWadenhoeHouse inNorthamptonshire.

Notes[edit]

^^a ^b ^c ^dMatthew, H. C. G. "Hunt, George Ward".Oxford Dictionary of National Biography(online ed.). Oxford University Press.doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/14192.(Subscription orUK public library membershiprequired.)
^^a ^b"Northamptonshire Past & Present 1976"(PDF).northamptonshirerecordsociety.org.uk.p. 349.
^"Hunt, George (1810–1820) (CCEd Person ID 78237)".The Clergy of the Church of England Database 1540–1835.Retrieved9 January2021.
^^a ^bFoster, Joseph(1888–1892)."Hunt, George Ward".Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715–1886.Oxford: Parker and Co – viaWikisource.
^Kenny, Anthony (2005).Arthur Hugh Clough: A Poet's Life.A&C Black. pp. 103 and 114.ISBN 978-0-8264-8269-3.
^Hawkins, Angus (2008).The Forgotten Prime Minister: The 14th Earl of Derby: Volume II: Achievement, 1851-1869.OUP Oxford. p. 367.ISBN 978-0-19-920441-0.
^"The Budget and Parliament".parliament.uk.
^Wilding, Norman W.; Laundy, Philip (1968).An Encyclopaedia of Parliament.F. A. Praeger. p. 62.
^Eric J. Grove,The Royal Navy since 1815,p. 57-59.
^Williams, Richard S.; Ferrigno, Jane G. (2002).Glaciers of North America.U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 149.ISBN 978-0-607-98290-9.

References[edit]

Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs

External links[edit]

Hansard1803–2005:contributions in Parliament by George Ward Hunt

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Augustus Stafford Lord Burghley	Member of ParliamentforNorthamptonshire North 1857–1877 With:Lord Burghley1857–1867 Sackville Stopford-Sackville1867–1877	Succeeded by Sackville Stopford-Sackville Lord Burghley
Political offices
Preceded by Hugh Childers	Financial Secretary to the Treasury 1866–1868	Succeeded by George Sclater-Booth
Preceded by Benjamin Disraeli	Chancellor of the Exchequer 1868	Succeeded by Robert Lowe
Preceded by George Goschen	First Lord of the Admiralty 1874–1877	Succeeded by W. H. Smith

[ODNB-1] Matthew, H. C. G. "Hunt, George Ward".Oxford Dictionary of National Biography(online ed.). Oxford University Press.doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/14192.(Subscription orUK public library membershiprequired.)

[Schoenberg-2] "Northamptonshire Past & Present 1976"(PDF).northamptonshirerecordsociety.org.uk.p. 349.

[3] "Hunt, George (1810–1820) (CCEd Person ID 78237)".The Clergy of the Church of England Database 1540–1835.Retrieved9 January2021.

[alox-4] Foster, Joseph(1888–1892)."Hunt, George Ward".Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715–1886.Oxford: Parker and Co – viaWikisource.

[5] Kenny, Anthony (2005).Arthur Hugh Clough: A Poet's Life.A&C Black. pp. 103 and 114.ISBN 978-0-8264-8269-3.

[6] Hawkins, Angus (2008).The Forgotten Prime Minister: The 14th Earl of Derby: Volume II: Achievement, 1851-1869.OUP Oxford. p. 367.ISBN 978-0-19-920441-0.

[7] "The Budget and Parliament".parliament.uk.

[8] Wilding, Norman W.; Laundy, Philip (1968).An Encyclopaedia of Parliament.F. A. Praeger. p. 62.

[9] Eric J. Grove,The Royal Navy since 1815,p. 57-59.

[10] Williams, Richard S.; Ferrigno, Jane G. (2002).Glaciers of North America.U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 149.ISBN 978-0-607-98290-9.

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Italic:Interim Chancellor of the Exchequer, asLord Chief Justice

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