Lord Sydney
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The Right Honourable The Viscount Sydney PC |
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Portrait attributed to the American painter Gilbert Stuart, c. 1785
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| Home Secretary | |
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In office 10 July 1782 – 2 April 1783 |
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| Monarch | George III |
| Prime Minister | The Earl of Shelburne |
| Preceded by | The Earl of Shelburne |
| Succeeded by | Lord North |
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In office 23 December 1783 – 5 June 1789 |
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| Monarch | George III |
| Prime Minister | William Pitt the Younger |
| Preceded by | The Earl Temple |
| Succeeded by | The Lord Grenville |
| President of the Committee on Trade and Foreign Plantations | |
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In office 5 March 1784 – 23 August 1786 |
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| Monarch | George III |
| Prime Minister | William Pitt the Younger |
| Preceded by | The Lord Grantham (First Lord of Trade) |
| Succeeded by | The Earl of Liverpool (President of the Board of Trade) |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
24 February 1733 Raynham, Norfolk |
| Died | 30 June 1800 (aged 67) Sidcup, Kent |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Whig |
| Spouse(s) | Elizabeth Powys (1736–1826) |
| Alma mater | Clare College, Cambridge |
Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney PC (24 February 1733 – 30 June 1800), was a British politician who held several important Cabinet posts in the second half of the 18th century. The cities of Sydney in Nova Scotia, Canada, and Sydney in New South Wales, Australia were named in his honour, in 1785 and 1788 respectively.
Townshend was born at Raynham, Norfolk, the son of the Hon. Thomas Townshend, who was the second son of Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend, also known as "Turnip" Townshend for his agricultural innovations. Thomas Townshend the younger's mother was Albinia, daughter of John Selwyn. He was educated at Clare College, Cambridge.
Townshend was elected to the House of Commons in 1754 as Whig member for Whitchurch in Hampshire, and held that seat till his elevation to the peerage in 1783. He initially aligned himself with his great-uncle the Duke of Newcastle, but later joined William Pitt the Elder in opposition to George Grenville.
He held the offices of Clerk of the Household to the Prince of Wales (1756-60) and Clerk of the Green Cloth from 1761 to 1762. In 1765 he was also made a Lord of the Treasury in the first Rockingham ministry and continued in that office in the Pitt (then Lord Chatham) administration until December 1767, when he became a member of the Privy Council and joint-Paymaster of the Forces. During the ministry of Lord Chatham and the Duke of Grafton he supported the position his cousin Charles Townshend was in with regard to the American revenue program. Townshend was forced out of office in June 1768 by Grafton who wanted Rigby as Paymaster of the Forces to gain favour with the Duke of Bedford.
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