DE BEAUVOIR, Sir John Edmond (1794-1869), of 6 Connaught Place, London, Mdx. and 11 Holles Street, Dublin.

An independently minded radical, de Beauvoir contested the borough of Windsor at every general election from 1832 to 1841, seeking to ‘emancipate’ it from the influence of the Court and of government nominees. His sole success, at the 1835 election, proved short-lived, as he was unseated on petition three months later.

De Beauvoir was the eldest son of John Browne, who had been awarded an Irish baronetcy in 1797, contested Mayo in 1806 and had a reputation for eccentricity.1Morning Post, 7 Oct. 1835; Gent. Mag. (1835), ii. 427. His schooldays at Westminster School, where he was known as ‘Paddy’ Browne, were remembered for brawls with the future earl of Mar and Kellie, witnessed by Princess Charlotte, and, as a result of throwing a stone at a bird, for destroying the Elizabethan coat of arms over the school doorway.2L.E. Tanner, Westminster School, its buildings and their associations (1923), 28; G.F.R. Barker and A.H. Stenning, The record of Old Westminsters (1928), i. 256; Bell’s Life in London and Sporting Chronicle, 17 Aug. 1834; Earl of Albemarle, Fifty years of my life (1876), i. 299. (In 1827 he provided a replacement at his own expense.3Tanner, Westminster School, 29; The Standard, 20 Sept. 1827.) After a perfunctory army career, in 1825 he married Mary Macdougall, some 40 years older than himself, the widow of an admiral with an income of £10,000 a year for her lifetime.4Complete baronetage (1900-9), v. 440; Barker and Stenning, Record of Old Westminsters, i. 256; Morning Post, 9 Feb. 1825; The Satirist, 25 Aug. 1833. Described as ‘an old lady with more years than charms and more money than wit’, her wealth was alluded to by Disraeli.5The Satirist, 25 Aug. 1833; B. Disraeli, Letters 1815-34, ed. J.A.W. Gunn (1982), 33. In 1826 he adopted the surname de Beauvoir, claiming that his wife was the sole next of kin to Rev. Peter de Beauvoir, who had died a wealthy man.6Complete baronetage (1900-9), v. 440; London Gazette, 17 Oct. 1826. In 1827 he successfully petitioned – on the grounds that he was the heir to an Irish baronetcy – for a knighthood, which was conferred at Dublin Castle by the lord lieutenant.7Barker and Stenning, Record of Old Westminsters, i. 256; W.A. Shaw, The knights of England (1906), ii. 326; B. Burke, Reminiscences, ancestral anecdotal and historic (1882), 269. His wife died in 1831 and the annuity with her.8Morning Post, 24 Feb. 1831; The Satirist, 8 Sept. 1833. In 1833 de Beauvoir was said to be disconsolate after his attempts to marry a young lady of fortune were rebuffed.9The Satirist, 25 Aug. 1833. Reports in 1834 that he had been married at the ambassador’s chapel in Paris to Susannah Eliza Latham proved to be false.10Morning Post, 14 Apr., 6 May 1834; The Satirist, 20 Apr. 1834; The Examiner, 20 Apr. 1834; Court Magazine, 1 May 1834.

In December 1832 de Beauvoir came forward at a very late stage as a candidate for Windsor, an unusual constituency because of royal influence. Described by Norman Gash as ‘a politician of radical principles’ who ‘smacked of the outlandish and the parvenu’, he secured support from the borough’s reformers, but finished in third place, 25 votes behind the Court candidate, Brooke Pechell.11N. Gash, Politics in the age of Peel (1953), 286, 288, 376; The Times, 6 Jan. 1835; N. Gash, ‘The influence of the Crown at Windsor and Brighton in the elections of 1832, 1835 and 1837’, EHR, 54 (1939), 653-63. His offer to present a portrait of Queen Elizabeth to the borough council was rebuffed.12The Fifth Hall Book of the Borough of New Windsor 1828-1852, ed. R. South (1974), xxvi. 29, 30. He lodged a petition but, although there was evidence of corruption and intimidation emanating from the Court, it lapsed in March 1833, when he failed to pursue it.13CJ, lxxxviii. 44, 136; The Times, 4 Mar. 1833; Gash, ‘Influence of the Crown’, 654. A deputation from Windsor presented him with a gold snuff box ‘for his spirited efforts to emancipate the Borough’ and he made a donation of £40 to the local poor.14Morning Post, 11 Feb. 1833.

In February 1833 de Beauvoir addressed a public meeting of ratepayers in Marylebone, with an attendance of several thousands, on the house and window taxes. Stating that ‘he belonged to no party’ and ‘detested all leaders of parties’, he explained that he would ‘not consent to anything derogatory to the aristocracy’, but thought they should ‘bear more of the public burdens’.15Morning Chronicle, 5 Feb. 1833; Morning Post, 5 Feb. 1833; The Standard, 5 Feb. 1833. The Satirist reported that he made ‘a luminous speech which kept his hearers in roars of laughter’, but was uncertain whether this reception was ‘complimentary or sarcastic’.16The Satirist, 10 Feb. 1833. De Beauvoir spoke in a similar vein at another meeting at Marylebone that June, when he denied that he was electioneering, since he would never stand for election there. He urged the government to repeal those taxes which were ‘the very bane’ of the people’s existence and protested that ‘the tradesman is taxed in a greater ratio than the purse-proud aristocrat who revelled in all the luxuries of life’.17Freeman’s Journal, 14 June 1833.

De Beauvoir came forward again for Windsor in November 1834, taking Clewer House for the period of the campaign.18Morning Chronicle, 1 Dec., 18 Dec. 1834; R. South, The book of Windsor (1977), 83. Despite a rumour that he was offered £7,000 by Sir Hussey Vivian, a former Member for Windsor and associate of Wellington, not to proceed to a poll, he persisted,19Bradford Observer, 24 Dec. 1834. citing his support for further parliamentary reform, triennial parliaments and the ballot. He also proposed that petty taxation should be repealed and replaced by a graduated property tax, and that Dissenters should be placed on an equal footing with Anglicans.20Parliamentary test book for 1835 (1835), 16. He was returned in second place, eight votes ahead of the Tory Sir John Elley. His reforming credentials were celebrated in a ballad composed for the election: ‘Success to Sir John de Beauvoir, he’s a man that is loyal and true, he’ll strangle that monster – corruption, and live to bury him too’.21J. Grego, A history of parliamentary elections and electioneering in the old days (1886), 378-9. However, the Morning Post, describing him as ‘originally a Tory’, claimed that he owed his return ‘to the most infamous means’.22Morning Post, 23 Jan. 1835.

De Beauvoir is not known to have spoken in debate during what turned out to be a fleeting parliamentary career. He faced pressure not to vote for Abercromby as speaker, with a threat that ‘the whole weight of the Carlton Club would be used to unseat him’ if he did so.23Gash, ‘Influence of the Crown’, 656. According to the division lists in Hansard he was absent from the division, 19 Feb., though he stated publicly that he had voted for Abercromby and one newspaper included his name in the list.24Ibid.; Bell’s Life in London and Sporting Chronicle, 22 Feb. 1835. He voted against Peel’s ministry on the address, 26 Feb., for Chandos’ motion on the repeal of the malt tax, 10 Mar., and for Tooke’s motion on London University, 26 Mar. He voted with the Whigs on Irish tithes, 20 Mar., and Russell’s motion on the Irish church, 2 Apr. Petitions were lodged against his return, 25 Feb. and 6 Mar. 1835, on the grounds that he was guilty of bribery and corruption, that his voters did not qualify for the register and that his property qualification was invalid.25CJ, xc. 15-6, 56-7; The Times, 26 Mar. 1835; Morning Chronicle, 26 Mar. 1835. On 6 Apr. the committee removed 15 names from, and added 2 names to, the poll and Elley was declared elected in his place,26CJ, xc. 198-9. with de Beauvoir returning to his ‘original and appropriate obscurity’.27The Age, 12 Apr. 1835. In June he was indicted for perjury in relation to his property qualification, but was acquitted.28Morning Post, 2 June, 1 July 1835; The Times, 1 July 1835; John Bull, 6 July 1835. He succeeded to his father’s baronetcy that September but, despite rumours to the contrary, did not revert to the surname Browne.29Gent. Mag. (1835), ii. 427; Morning Post, 7 Oct., 9 Nov. 1835.

At the 1837 general election de Beauvoir arrived late on the scene at Windsor, and initially thought it useless to stand, but was reluctantly persuaded by his supporters to come forward, ‘a sign more of tenacity than judgement’.30The Age, 2 July 1837; John Bull, 2 July 1837; Gash, Politics in the age of Peel, 377-8; idem., ‘Influence of the Crown’, 657. At the nomination, standing ‘on his former principles’, he and the Tory Thomas Bulkeley won the show of hands, but did not repeat this at the poll, where de Beauvoir finished a poor third.31Morning Post, 25 July 1837. Some newspapers now referred to him as a Tory,32Morning Chronicle, 26 July 1837; Preston Chronicle, 29 July 1837. although the expression ‘Tory-Radical’ was more widely used.33Morning Chronicle, 26 July 1837; The Examiner, 30 July 1837; Domestic prospects of the country under the new Parliament, 2nd ed. revised (1837), 15. In June 1839 he announced his intention to stand again and in December was described as ‘an ultra-Liberal candidate’.34The Age, 2 June 1839; The Standard, 5 Dec. 1839. Rumours that year that he would come forward in future for East Norfolk were denied.35Morning Post, 17 Oct. 1839; The Age, 20 Oct. 1839.

De Beauvoir offered at Windsor yet again at the 1841 election, when he was described as ‘an ultra-Liberal’ who was ‘most popular with his party’36The Examiner, 6 June 1841. and as ‘a very ill-used moderate Whig, outrageously opposed to Government nominees’.37Morning Post, 12 June 1841; John Bull, 12 June 1841. The Windsor Express, however, designated him ‘a nondescript in politics’ and dismissed his election address as ‘amusing’.38Morning Chronicle, 14 June 1841. In it he stated that although he was opposed to the repeal of the corn laws because this would ruin the agriculturists and reduce labourers’ wages, he would vote for abolition if he thought it would add one grain of salt to the poor man’s scanty meal, or if a majority of his constituents wished him to do so. Echoing his speech in Marylebone in 1833 he also advocated taxes on ‘manufacturing and overgorged capitalists… those unfeeling millionaires’.39The Standard, 12 June 1841. There was a perception that he was allied to Neville, the Tory candidate, and, mocked as a ‘silly baronet’, he was refused admission to an anti-corn law meeting.40Morning Chronicle, 24 June 1841. At the nomination he was described as ‘a man unbiased by any party’ and ‘the unflinching enemy of government nominees’. Although he and Neville won the show of hands, de Beauvoir withdrew during the poll and transferred his supporters to Neville.41Morning Post, 29 June 1841; The Standard, 29 June 1841; Gash, Politics in the age of Peel, 378. Unsurprisingly he finished a distant fourth. Reports of the results usually listed him as a Tory, probably reflecting his stance on the corn laws.42Morning Chronicle, 30 June 1841; The Examiner, 3 July 1841; John Bull, 3 July 1841; Liverpool Mercury, 23 July 1841. In September 1841 he was thrown out of a horse-drawn cart in Bedfordshire and broke both legs, but made a full recovery.43Morning Post, 29 Sep. 1841; The Times, 30 Sep. 1841; Bell’s Life in London and Sporting Chronicle, 3 Oct. 1841.

De Beauvoir came forward for the vacancy created by the death of one of Windsor’s sitting members in October 1845, when his address was described as ‘a curiosity’ which had ‘a fine smacking of his native Hibernian style’.44The Times, 13 Oct. 1845; Morning Post, 11 Oct. 1845. He adhered to the same political principles as in 1832, asserting that ‘although political parties have since changed, they have assimilated to my principles, not I to theirs’. He again emphasised his independence, saying that he would not ‘consent to devote nights and days to unremunerated labour, the loss of health and an honourless office’ unless he was ‘unshackled and at liberty to give my vote in favour of such measures as I shall consider to be most conducive to the public good’.45The Times, 14 Oct. 1845. However, he subsequently withdrew, and declared his neutrality between the two other candidates.46The Times, 17, 18 Oct. 1845; Morning Post, 17 Oct. 1845; The Standard, 17 Oct. 1845. The English Gentleman described him as a Liberal who never had much chance of success,47English Gentleman, 11 Oct., 18 Oct. 1845. while The Satirist, failing to give him any credit for consistency, regarded him as ‘an independent candidate’, ‘a cognomen which would conveniently dovetail with any political principles he might at any time find it advisable to advocate’.48The Satirist, 19 Oct. 1845. He never fought another election, although his name was mentioned in March 1846 as a possible candidate for the by-election caused by Neville’s appointment as a lord of the treasury.49The Times, 16 Mar. 1846.

Alongside his political activities de Beauvoir took a keen interest in animal welfare. He was a supporter of the Zoological Society of London from its foundation,50The Times, 22 May 1827. and a member of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, chairing its annual meeting in 1833.51Morning Chronicle, 28 June 1833; The Standard, 24 May 1838; Morning Post, 13 May 1841. He particularly lamented the involvement of the nobility in dog fighting, and considered that their minds were ‘greatly demoralized by the scenes of brutality and profligacy exhibited there’.52R. Boddice, A history of attitudes and behaviours toward animals in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Britain (2008), 246. In 1836 he was one of the founders of a society against animal cruelty in Paris.53Court Magazine, 1 Oct. 1836. A published poet,54Court Magazine, 1 Sep. 1838. he composed the words and music of several ballads in the 1850s and 1860s, one of which, Like love for thee, was described by the Musical world as ‘a pretty, sentimental and entirely harmless drawing-room ballad’.55Musical world, 14 Feb. 1857, 100. He was an original member in 1843 of the British and Foreign Institute and was elected to the Royal Victoria Yacht Club in 1846.56Prospectus and plan of the British and Foreign Institute (1843), 3; Bell’s Life in London and Sporting Chronicle, 4 Oct. 1846.

De Beauvoir built up extensive railway interests during the railway boom of the 1840s, and by 1846 had already subscribed £32,000 to various railway companies.57PP 1846 (473), xxxviii. 82; The Times, 13 Aug. 1846. He served on the provisional committee of the Great Western and Falmouth junction railway and the management committees of the Gloucester and Chippenham junction railway and the Warwick and Worcester railway.58The Times, 21 Oct., 1 Nov. 1845, 22 Dec. 1862, 28 Jan. 1863; Berrow’s Worcester Journal, 23 Nov. 1848; Birmingham Daily Post, 29 Jan. 1863. He was a director of the Warwick and Birmingham canal railway, the Northampton, Daventry, Leamington and Warwick railway and the London and Birmingham extension railway and chairman of the provisional committee for the Great Western, Southern and Eastern Counties junction railway.59The Times, 21 Jan. 1846; The Standard, 18 Feb. 1847; PP 1846 (504), xliii. 165; H. Spencer, Herbert Spencer, an autobiography (1904), i. 285, 291. He was a shareholder in the Waterford, Wexford, Wicklow and Dublin railway.60PP 1850 (297), liii. 391; 1851 (71) (118), li. 343; 1851 (291), li. 415. In 1846 he filed a bill in chancery against Richard Benyon de Beauvoir (1770-1854), claiming the recovery of money and property to the value of £1,000,000 on the grounds that his wife had been the nearest kin to the late Peter de Beauvoir and that Richard Benyon was not a blood relative.61John Bull, 14 Mar. 1846; Daily News, 22 Apr. 1846; The Standard, 22 Jan. 1866; Law journal reports 35 (1866), 279. Richard Benyon de Beauvoir had sat (as Richard Benyon) for Pontefract, 1801-6, and Wallingford, 1806-12. In 1848 it was noted that he stood to gain an annual income of £30,000, but the case failed.62The Satirist, 19 Aug., 9 Sep. 1848.

In 1867 de Beauvoir married Letitia Mann, the granddaughter of Admiral Macdougall and step-granddaughter of his first wife.63Complete baronetage (1900-9), v. 440; Barker and Stenning, The record of Old Westminsters, i. 256; The Times, 10 May 1869. He died at Connaught Place on 29 April 1869,64Pall Mall Gazette, 6 May 1869; Morning Post, 6 May, 31 Dec. 1869; The Times, 10 May 1869. leaving effects valued at under £300.65National Probate Calendar, 24 July 1869. He was survived by his widow, who died in 1895. The baronetcy passed to his youngest brother Charles Manley Browne, on whose death in 1890 it became extinct.66Complete baronetage (1900-9), v. 440; Morning Post, 10 Sep. 1890.