Somerset Lowry-Corry, 4th Earl Belmore
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The Right Honourable The Earl Belmore GCMG PC (Ire) |
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| Governor of New South Wales | |
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In office 8 January 1868 – 21 February 1872 |
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| Monarch | Victoria |
| Preceded by | Sir John Young, Bt |
| Succeeded by | Hercules Robinson |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
9 April 1835 London |
| Died | April 6, 1913 (aged 77) Castle Coole, Enniskillen |
| Nationality | British |
| Spouse(s) | Anne Elizabeth Honoria Gladstone |
| Education | Eton College |
| Alma mater | Trinity College, Cambridge |
Somerset Richard Lowry-Corry, 4th Earl Belmore GCMG PC (Ire) (9 April 1835 – 6 April 1913), styled as Viscount Corry from 1841 to 1845, was an Irish nobleman and Conservative politician.
Born at Bruton Street in London, he was the eldest son of Armar Lowry-Corry, 3rd Earl Belmore and his wife Emily Louise Shepherd, youngest daughter of William Shepherd. Belmore succeeded his father in the earldom on 24 December 1845, at the age of only 10. He was educated at Eton and at Trinity College, Cambridge, from where he graduated with a Master of Arts in 1856.
Belmore was elected as a Representative Peer for Ireland and sat in the House of Lords from January 1857 until his death. He served under the Earl of Derby as Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department from July 1866 to August 1867, and was then appointed Governor of New South Wales, on 22 August. He was sworn of the Privy Council of Ireland on 17 September.
Belmore became Governor and Commander-in-Chief of New South Wales on 8 January 1868 at a time when the position was not yet just a figurehead for the colonial government and he was still an imperial officer responsible to the British government. On 12 March 1868 he was attending a picnic with the visiting Prince Alfred at the Sydney beachside suburb of Clontarf when Henry James O'Farrell shot Alfred in the back and claimed to have intended to shoot Belmore as well. Although Belmore did not see the incident, he arranged for Alfred's transfer to hospital for treatment and passed on to the colonial government the Prince's request for clemency for O'Farrell, which was ignored. He worked effectively to calm the sectarian passions unleashed by the incident.
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