Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 07.djvu/764

* FITZGERALD. 690 of Kildare, when he was summoned to London in 1534 to answer charges of maladministration as lord deputy. A rumor that his father had been executed in the Tower, and that the death n[ his uncles and himself had been determined upon, made him renounce his allegiance and declare war on the Government. His first suc- cesses were tarnished by the murder of Arch- bishop Allen, and sentence of excommunication was passed upon him. He besieged Dublin Cas- tle, but had to retire, and Sir William Skeffington crushed the rebellion by capturing Maynooth, the stronghold of the Geraldines, in March. 1535. Fitzgerald's father had been attainted and died in the Tower from the effects of an old bullet wound, but not before he had heard of and ex- pressed gratification at his son's rebellion. Lord Thomas, after leading a wandering life for some months with a price set upon his head, sur- rendered to Lord Leonard Grey, and was sent to England. He was committed to the Tower, with his five uncles, and although three of them had taken no part in the rebellion, the six Geraldines were drawn, hanged, and quartered at Tyburn, February 3. 1537. Restitution of the family estates was made by Edward VI., and Queen Elizabeth repealed the bill of attainder. FITZGIB'BON, John, Earl of Clare (1749- 1802). An Irish statesman. He was born near Donnybrook, and was educated at Trinity Col- lege, Dublin, and Christ Church, Oxford". He entered the bar in his native land in 1772; eleven years afterwards was Attorney-General, then member of Parliament for Dublin Uni- versity, then Lord Chancellor (1789), and a I i' of Ureal Britain (1799). He is chiefly re- membered for being the strongest personality among those who labored for the union of Ire- land with England, and this fact, joined to his persistence in exerting his weighty influence against the Roman Catholics, has caused his name to be execrated by the most of his country- men. On the other hand, he had friends of his own party and religion who balanced his severity with his sincerity, his insolence and bad tem- pi-]' with his bravery and ability, his vanity and ambition with his undoubted private virtues. FITZHER'BERT, Alleyne, Baron Saint Hel- ens (1753-1839). An English diplomat, son of William Fitzherbert and of Mary Meynell, both friends of Dr. Johnson. He was educated at Derby and Eton, and at Saint John's, Cambridge, where he got his degree in 1774. In 1777 he was made Minister to Brussels, and live years later he was sent to Paris to effect a treaty with Prance, Spain, and the United Provinces. He probably took a large part, as well. j„ the ne- gotiations which led up to the peace with Amer- ica. In 1783 he was sent to Russia an. I accom- panied the Empress Catharine on her trip through Hie Crimea in 17s;. At the end of this year he became firsi secretary to the new Lord Lieuten ant of Ireland, the Marquis of Buckingham. He In 1.1 this posl until the spring of 1 7S9, when he to The Hague as Envoy Extraordinai Two years later lie was -en! to Madrid In settle the question of the Southern whale Bshery; ami 1 i reappointed to The- Hague, now as Ambassador. In ISill he went mi his las! mis Bion, in attend the coronation al Moscow, and concluded a treaty with Russia ami an agreement FITZHUGH. with Denmark and with Sweden. He received the title of Saint Helens in 1791, was pensioned in 1803, and lived his last years in London. He was not married. His oldest brother, Sir Wil- liam (1748-91). was also a favorite of George III., but resigned his post as gentleman usher after a quarrel with the Marquis of Salisbury. FITZHERBERT, Sir Anthony (1470-1538). An English jurist, born in Derbyshire. He was educated at Oxford and Gray's Inn, was sergeanl- at law to Henry VIII. (1516), became a judge, was knighted, and in 1524 was one of the'peace commissioners to Ireland. Fitzherbert signed Wolsey's impeachment (1529), defended the second royal marriage, and was one of the judges in the More and Fisher trials. He reached his literary high-water mark with his first book. /,„ Oraunde Abridgement (1514), but has left also a number of legal works characterized by clear- ness of reasoning and a comprehensive grasp of his subject. FITZHERBERT, Maria Anne (Smythe) (1756-1837). The unacknowledged wife of George IV. of England. She was horn on tin- estate of her father at Brambridge. Hamp- shire, and in 1775 married Edward Weed, who died in the same year. In 1778 she married Thomas Fitzherbert, who died in 1781. She first met Prince George of Wales, who was six years her junior, in 1785. The Prince fell in love with her on sight, but she refused to accept his attentions, and spent some months on the Continent to escape them. In December, however, she returned to England, and was married to him on the 21st of the month. The marriage waa never either publicly avowed or disavowed by George, but it was known to both that under the Marriage Act of 1772 any marriage con- tracted by a memher of the royal family under twenty- five years of age, without the King's con- sent, wa.s invalid. The alliance was further com- plicated by the fact that Mrs. Fitzherbert was a Roman Catholic, and by the Act of Settlement. if the heir apparent married a member of that Church, he forfeited his right of succession. There was a general understanding that a mar- riage had taken place, however, and she was received by the best society and by members of the royal family, and was t rented by Prince George as his wife. She was a woman of high character, and afler his marriage to Caroline she •■•■■■' ''1 for a time to live with him, hut after some months the connection was resumed, anil continued until 1803, when it was finally ter minated at her desire. Consul! Langdale, Life of 1/r.s. Fitzherbert (London, 1856). FITZHUGH', George (1802-81). An Ameri- can sociological ami political writer. He was burn in Prince William County, 'a. Self-edu- ealcil, he practiced law and began In write in defense of slaves, both ,,, newspapers and in />■ Bow's Review. His remarkable philosophy of slavery, which was probably more extreme than thai of any other Southerner, controverting all i in- principles of tin- Founders, including Jeffer- son, an, I expressed in a powerful way, was pre- senleil in Sociology far the s,„iih. or the Failure °f /v " Society i 1854), and Cannibals or Slaves Without Vasters (1856). He died at Huntsville, Tex.