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Author: Herbert, Henry John George

Biography:

HERBERT, Henry John George (1800-49: ODNB)

He was born in London on 8 June 1800, eldest son of Henry George Herbert, the second earl of Carnarvon (1772-1833), and his wife Elizabeth Kitty Acland (1772-1813). Charles and William Herbert (qq.v.) were his uncles. He was educated at Eton and went on to Christ Church, Oxford (matric 1817), but left without proceeding to a degree, choosing instead to travel. He visited north Africa and spent several years in Spain and Portugal. As Lord Porchester—his title before he succeeded his father to become the third earl Carnarvon in 1833—he published a number of works based on his experiences, first his poem The Moor, with an 84-page preface that provides historical background and observations on current affairs, then a tragedy that was performed at Drury Lane, and finally in 1830 two prose works on Portugal. On his return to England he married Henrietta Anne Howard (1804-76) in 1830, took a seat in parliament in 1831, and spoke against the Reform Bill of 1832. After succeeding to the earldom he continued his opposition to liberal measures from the House of Lords. He and his wife had five children, the eldest of whom, Henry, published his father’s final book of travels, Reminiscences of Athens and the Morea, in 1869. Renovations to the family seat of Highclere, Hampshire, occupied his last years. He died at the home of his brother-in-law, Pusey House, Berkshire, on 10 Dec. 1849 and was buried in a chapel on the grounds of Highclere. (ODNB 2 May 2022; Alumni Oxonienses)

 

Other Names:

  • H. J. G. Herbert
  • Lord Porchester
 

Books written (3):

London: Charles Knight, 1825
2nd edn. London: Charles Knight, 1827