John Shaw Lefevre

Sir John George Shaw Lefevre KCB (24 January 1797 20 August 1879) was a British barrister, Whig politician and civil servant.

"La Reyne le veult"
Shaw Lefevre as caricatured by Ape (Carlo Pellegrini) in Vanity Fair, July 1871

Life

Shaw Lefevre was the son of Charles Shaw Lefevre by his wife Helen, daughter of John Lefevre. Charles Shaw-Lefevre, 1st Viscount Eversley, was his elder brother. He was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he was Senior Wrangler in 1818, and was called to the Bar, Inner Temple.[1] He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1820. [2]

He was returned to Parliament for Petersfield in December 1832, but was unseated on petition in March 1833. He served under Lord Grey as Under-Secretary of State for War and the Colonies in 1834. The latter year Shaw Lefevre was appointed a Poor Law Commissioner after the passing of the Poor Law Amendment Act, which he remained until 1841. Between 1856 and 1875 he served as Clerk of the Parliaments. He also helped found the University of London and served as its Vice-Chancellor for many years. He was made a KCB in 1857 for his public services.

Shaw Lefevre married Rachel Emily, daughter of Ichabod Wright, in 1824. They had one surviving son, George, who became a prominent politician and was ennobled as Baron Eversley, and five daughters. One daughter, Madeleine Shaw-Lefevre, was the first Principal of Somerville Hall; another daughter, Rachel, married Arthur Hamilton-Gordon, son of the Prime Minister the 4th Earl of Aberdeen.

Shaw Lefevre died in August 1879, aged 82. His wife lived for six more years before dying in February 1885.

The Lefevre Peninsula in South Australia, was named by Governor John Hindmarsh on 3 June 1837 after Shaw Lefevre, who was one of South Australia's Colonisation Commissioners.[3]

References

  1. "Shaw-Lefevre, John George (SHW811JG)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  2. "Library and Archive catalogue". Royal Society. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  3. PlaceNames Online - South Australian State Gazetteer Archived 17 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine Site is a searchable database. Accessed 13 March 2012.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Sir William Jolliffe, Bt
Hylton Jolliffe
Member of Parliament for Petersfield
18321833
Succeeded by
Sir William Jolliffe, Bt
Political offices
Preceded by
Viscount Howick
Under-Secretary of State
for War and the Colonies

1834
Succeeded by
Sir George Grey, Bt
Academic offices
Preceded by
Sir John Lubbock
Vice-Chancellor of University of London
1842–1862
Succeeded by
George Grote
Government offices
Preceded by
George Henry Rose
Clerk of the Parliaments
18551875
Succeeded by
William Rose
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