John Leveson-Gower, 1st Earl Gower
John Leveson-Gower, 1st Earl Gower, PC (10 August 1694 – 25 December 1754) was an English Tory politician and peer who twice served as Lord Privy Seal from 1742 to 1743 and 1744 to 1754. Leveson-Gower also served in the Parliament of Great Britain, where he sat in the House of Lords as a leading member of the Tories, prior to switching his political affiliation and serving in various Whig-led government ministries until his death in 1754.
The Right Honourable The Earl Gower PC | |
|---|---|
| Lord Privy Seal | |
| In office 1742–1743 | |
| Monarch | George II |
| Preceded by | John Hervey, 2nd Baron Hervey |
| Succeeded by | George Cholmondeley, 3rd Earl of Cholmondeley |
| Lord Privy Seal | |
| In office 1744–1754 | |
| Monarch | George II |
| Preceded by | George Cholmondeley, 3rd Earl of Cholmondeley |
| Succeeded by | Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of Marlborough |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 10 August 1694 London, Kingdom of England |
| Died | 25 December 1754 (aged 60) London, England |
| Spouse(s) | Lady Evelyn Pierrepont (m. 1712) Penelope Stonhouse (m. 1733) Lady Mary Tufton (m. 1736) |
| Children | 14, including Granville, Gertrude, Richard and John |
| Parent(s) | John Leveson-Gower, 1st Baron Gower Lady Catherine Manners |
Born in London into the prominent Leveson-Gower family, Leveson-Gower was educated at Westminster School and the University of Oxford. After his father died in 1709, he assumed his peerage as Baron Gower and before taking his seat in the House of Lords. Leveson-Gower proceeded to acquire a political power base consisting of four parliamentary boroughs under his de facto control: Newcastle-under-Lyme, Stafford, Lichfield, and Cheadle.
In 1742, Leveson-Gower started serving in the Carteret ministry as Lord Privy Seal. Though he resigned the next year, in 1744 Leveson-Gower again served in the same position as part of the Whig-led Broad Bottom ministry. He soon became a devoted supporter of Henry Pelham and his brother the Duke of Newcastle. During the Jacobite rising of 1745, he remained loyal to the Hanoverians, which led George II to grant him the title of Earl Gower.
During the 1747 British general election, seven parliamentary constituencies which were under Leveson-Gower's control were contested by rival Tory candidates. Despite spending large sums of money from his vast financial estate, he only managed to retain two constituencies, Stafford and Lichfield. Leveson-Gower subsequently twice rejected calls to resign in 1751 and 1754, before dying in office on 25 December 1754 at his London townhouse.