Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool, 1827

Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl Liverpool, Lord Hawkesbury (1770–1828), statesman, was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1812 to 1827. The son of a close adviser of George III’s, Jenkinson was 20 years old when first elected to the House of Commons. He assumed the title Lord Hawkesbury in 1796 and in 1803 was elevated to the House of Lords. In 1809 he inherited the title Earl of Liverpool. Before becoming prime minister, he served as foreign secretary, home secretary and secretary of state for war and the colonies, during which period, in 1810, the Sydney area of Liverpool was named for him. (The Hawkesbury River had been named after his father, Baron Hawkesbury, by Governor Phillip in 1789). During his prime ministership, in 1819, soldiers fired on demonstrators in the English city of Manchester, killing eleven and wounding many more. After this ‘Peterloo massacre’, Liverpool announced hardline measures. In 1820, the so-called Cato Street conspirators planned the murder of the prime minister and his entire cabinet; but they were foiled. Five were hanged and then decapitated; five were transported.

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015