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James Rivett-Carnac

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James Rivett Carnac by Francis Leggatt Chantrey (1839)

Sir James Rivett-Carnac, 1st Baronet (11 November 1784 – 28 January 1846) was an Indian-born British statesman and politician who served as Governor of the Bombay Presidency in British India from 1838 to 1841.

Career

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Born in Bombay in 1784,[1] Carnac began nearly three decades of service with the East India Company in India in 1801[2] and was a director of the Company for various periods between 1827 and 1838.[3][4][5] He succeeded Robert Grant as Governor of the Bombay Presidency in 1838, serving for three years in that role.[6]

He was a Member of Parliament (MP) for Sandwich from 1837 to 1839 and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in May 1838.[7]

Personal life

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Born James Rivett, his surname was legally changed to Rivett-Carnac by royal licence in 1801 when his father James, a member of the Bombay Government Council and chairman of the East India Company, was made testamentary by his brother-in-law, General John Carnac, the husband of Elizabeth Rivett (1751–1780).[8]

In 1815 he married Anna-Maria Richardes, the eldest daughter of William Richardes of Penglais,[9] and had three sons: John (1818–1893), William (1822–1874) and Charles (1824–1902). His descendants include the sailor Charles Rivett-Carnac and the Canadian police commissioner Charles Rivett-Carnac, as well as the colonial administrator Sir Richard Temple and his son Sir Richard Carnac Temple and the fashion designer Lulu Guinness.

In 1836 Rivett-Carnac was made a baronet.[10] He died on 28 January 1846 at what was Rookcliff House, Milford-on-Sea.[7]

His younger brother, Admiral John Rivett-Carnac (1796–1869), was an early explorer of Western Australia.

References

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  1. ^ Terence R. Blackburn, Justice for the Raja of Sattara? (APH Publishing, 2007) p. 139
  2. ^ The Wellesley Papers: The Life and Correspondence of Richard Colley Wellesley, Marquess Wellesley, 1760-1842 vol 2 (H. Jenkins, 1914) p. 316
  3. ^ C.H. & D. Philips, 'Alphabetical List of Directors of the East India Company from 1758 to 1858', in Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society October 1941
  4. ^ Charles Campbell Prinsep, Record of Services of the Honourable East India Company's Civil Servants in the Madras Presidency, from 1741 to 1858 (1885) p. xxii
  5. ^ Wintle, Claire (2013). Colonial Collecting and Display: Encounters with Material Culture from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Berghahn Books. p. 77. ISBN 978-0-85745-942-8.
  6. ^ Kulkarni, Sumitra (1995). The Satara Raj, 1818-1848: A Study in History, Administration, and Culture. Mittal Publications. p. 27. ISBN 978-8-17099-581-4.
  7. ^ a b "Library and Archive Catalogue". Royal Society. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  8. ^ "Obituary: Sir Miles Rivett-Carnac, Bt". The Daily Telegraph. 6 October 2009. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  9. ^ Member of the, Middle Temple. The Assembled Commons or Parliamentary Biographer. p. 49.
  10. ^ "No. 19359". The London Gazette. 23 February 1836. p. 358.
[edit]
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Sandwich
1837–1839
With: Sir Edward Troubridge, Bt
Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Governor of Bombay
1838–1841
Succeeded by
Baronetage of the United Kingdom
New creation Baronet
(of Derby)
1836–1846
Succeeded by