Thomas Pakenham, 2nd Earl of Longford
Anglo-Irish peer
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Biography
Thomas Pakenham, 2nd Earl of Longford KP (14 May 1774 – 28 May 1835), known as The Lord Longford between 1792 and 1794, was an Anglo-Irish peer.
Background
Pakenham was the eldest son of Edward Pakenham, 2nd Baron Longford, by Catherine Rowley, daughter of Hercules Rowley. His sister, the Honourable Catherine Pakenham, was the wife of the Duke of Wellington. One of his younger brothers was the Honourable Sir Edward Pakenham was a British Army officer who served under Wellington in the Peninsular War. A younger brother was Sir Hercules Robert Pakenham CB, KCB, a lieutenant-general of the British Army and was brevet colonel and aide-de-camp to the William IV of the United Kingdom.
Pakenham succeeded his father in the barony in 1792 and two years later also succeeded his grandmother, Elizabeth Pakenham, 1st Countess of Longford, as second Earl of Longford.
Public life
Longford was one of the original 28 Irish representative peers elected to the 1st Union Parliament on 2 August 1800. He was a member of the House of Lords until his death. He was appointed a Knight of the Order of St Patrick on 17 December 1813. In 1821 he was created Baron Silchester, of Silchester in the County of Southampton, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, which gave him and his descendants an automatic seat in the House of Lords.
Family
Lord Longford married Lady Georgiana Emma Charlotte Lygon, daughter of William Lygon, 1st Earl Beauchamp, in 1817. They had several children. Their third son the Honourable Thomas Alexander Pakenham was a Rear-Admiral in the Royal Navy and the father of Admiral Sir William Pakenham. Their seventh and youngest son the Honourable Sir Francis Pakenham was a diplomat and notably served as Ambassador to Sweden. Longford died in May 1835, aged 61, and was succeeded in the earldom by his eldest son, Edward. Longford's second son William, who eventually succeeded in the earldom, was a General in the British Army. The Countess of Longford survived her husband by over 40 years and died in February 1880.