Frederick John Robinson, 1st Earl of Ripon PC (
November 1, 1782 –
January 28, 1859), Frederick John Robinson until 1827,
The Viscount Goderich 1827–1833, and
The Earl of Ripon 1833 onwards, was a
British statesman and
Prime Minister (when he was known as Lord Goderich).
He was born to
Thomas Robinson, 2nd Baron Grantham and his wife,
Mary. After studying at
Harrow and
St John's College, Cambridge, Robinson entered Parliament in 1806. He was made
Privy Counsellor in 1812, and served in various minor positions in the government of
Lord Liverpool, including joint-
Paymaster of the Forces, from which position he sponsored the
Corn Laws of 1815, before entering the Cabinet in 1818 as
President of the Board of Trade. In 1823 Robinson succeeded Nicholas Vansittart as
Chancellor of the Exchequer. While he held this position he was called "Prosperity Robinson" by the sarcastic journalist
William Cobbett. William Cobbett also gave him the name "Goody Goderich" during an economic crisis in 1825.
In 1827 he was raised to the peerage as
Viscount Goderich, of
Nocton in the
County of Lincoln, and served as
Secretary of State for War and the Colonies and
Leader of the House of Lords in George Canning's short-lived government. On Canning's death Goderich succeeded him as leader of a tenuous coalition of moderate Tories - also known as the
Canningites and Whigs, but it only lasted a few months and did not even meet Parliament. Goderich had been an able minister but when it came to leading he was unsure and the government couldn't be run effectively as a number of Tory MPs stepped in to become the unofficial Prime Minister in an effort to help Goderich run the country. It is reported that when Goderich resigned to
George IV he burst into tears and George IV had to lend Goderich a handkerchief as he didn't have one. Goderich was succeeded by the
Duke of Wellington.
In 1830 Goderich moved over to the Whigs and joined Lord Grey's cabinet, again as Colonial Secretary. In 1833 he was created
Earl of Ripon, and became
Lord Privy Seal. But the next year he broke with the Whigs over Irish disestablishment.
He later served in
Peel's second administration as
President of the Board of Trade (1841–1843) and then as
President of the Board of Control (1843–1846).
His son,
George Robinson, 1st Marquess of Ripon, was a noted Liberal statesman and Cabinet Minister.
The Earl of Ripon served as President of the
Royal Society of Literature from 1834 to 1845.
