Frederick Ponsonby, 3rd Earl of Bessborough
| The Earl of Bessborough | |
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Lord Bessborough by Samuel William Reynolds.
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| Spouse(s) | Lady Henrietta Frances Spencer |
| Father | The 2nd Earl of Bessborough |
| Mother | Lady Caroline Cavendish |
| Born | 24 January 1758 |
| Died | 3 February 1844 (aged 86) |
Frederick Ponsonby, 3rd Earl of Bessborough MA DCL (24 January 1758 – 3 February 1844), was an Anglo-Irish peer.
Ponsonby was the eldest son of Viscount Duncannon (who succeeded as The 2nd Earl of Bessborough in July 1758) and Lady Caroline Cavendish, daughter of The 3rd Duke of Devonshire. He succeeded to his father's titles in 1793. He was educated at Christ Church, Oxford, and obtained the degrees of Master of Arts and Doctor of Civil Law.
He sat in the House of Commons as member for Knaresborough from 1780 until his succession to the peerage and was a Lord of the Admiralty in 1782–83
Bessborough usually made a favourable first impression: quiet, but with "the most mild and amiable manner". On the other hand, he was a notoriously bad husband, alternating between neglecting Henrietta and insulting her in public. While there were faults on both sides- she was addicted to gambling and had numerous affairs- society in general judged him to be the greater offender.
On 27 November 1780, he had married Lady Henrietta Spencer, second daughter of John Spencer, 1st Earl Spencer. The marriage was notoriously unhappy and Bessborough began divorce proceedings in 1790 but under intense pressure from his relatives dropped them. They had four children:
Lady Bessborough died in 1821 of a chill caught while travelling abroad. Her husband outlived her by more than 20 years, dying at Canford House, Dorset in 1844.
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