George Canning 1827 Tory
文章来源: 文章作者: 发布时间:2007-03-17 00:33 字体: [ ]  进入论坛
(单词翻译:双击或拖选)

George CanningBorn: 11 April 1770 in Marylebone, London

First entered Parliament: 28 June 1793

Age he became PM: 57 years, one day

Maiden1 speech: 31 January 1794 speaking on a debate on a treaty with the King of Sardinia, granting him a subsidy2 to help him fight against the French

Total time as PM: 119 days

Died: 8 August 1827 at Chiswick House, Middlesex

Facts and figures

Nicknames: "The Cicero of the British Senate" and "The Zany of Debate"

Education: Eton and Christ Church College, Oxford3

Family: He was married to Joan Scott and had four children

Interests: Theatre, writing poetry, practical jokes and parlour games

  • Government Art Collection Portrait

Biography

Short term in charge

George Canning died suddenly in office just 119 days after taking up the post.

Popular, witty4 and intelligent, Canning gained an early political following as an excellent public speaker. He was one of the first politicians to campaign heavily in the country, making many speeches outside Parliament.

He was an enthusiastic follower5 of Pitt the Younger, resigning from his post as Paymaster General in 1801 when Pitt resigned as prime minister.

Canning was known for his opposition6 to parliamentary reform and his advocacy of Catholic emancipation7.

Duke of PortlandIn 1807 Canning was made Foreign Secretary under the Duke of Portland. His greatest success was outmanoeuvring Napoleon at Copenhagen by seizing the Danish navy.

But he also quarrelled badly with the War Minister, Castlereagh, over the deployment8 of troops. When Castlereagh discovered in September 1909 that Canning had made with the Duke of Portland to have him removed from office, he was furious.

Demanding redress9, he challenged Canning to a duel10, which was fought on 21 September 1809. Canning had never before fired a pistol and completely missed, whilst Castlereagh wounded his opponent in the thigh11. Both men resigned as a result of the incident.

To Portugal and back

A few weeks later, Canning was disappointed to be passed over as the choice for prime minister in favour of Spencer Perceval.

His anger was such that he refused a high profile post in Perceval's government. However, after a brief stint12 as ambassador to Portugal, he returned to join the government as President of the Board of Control.

He later replaced his old rival as Foreign Secretary in Lord Liverpool's government after Castlereagh's suicide in 1822. Once again, he made a successful Foreign Secretary, especially in preventing South America from falling into French hands.

Canning replaced Liverpool as PM on 10 April 1827, and set about forming a coalition13 with the Whigs under Lord Lansdowne.

But on 8 August 1827, Canning died from pneumonia14 at Chiswick House, after spending barely five months in office. His last words were 'Spain and Portugal'.

He has come to be regarded by some as a 'lost leader', with much speculation15 about what would have happened had he lived.

Quote unquote

"The happiness of constant occupation is infinite."

Did you know?

Canning holds the record of having served as prime minister for the shortest period. He is buried in Westminster Abbey.

Wife

Five years younger than Canning, Joan Scott preferred to stay in the background rather than playing the role of society heiress. Canning adored her and trusted her judgement on everything, discussing all his public and private concerns with her. She was created Viscountess Canning soon after her husband's death.



点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 maiden yRpz7     
n.少女,处女;adj.未婚的,纯洁的,无经验的
参考例句:
  • The prince fell in love with a fair young maiden.王子爱上了一位年轻美丽的少女。
  • The aircraft makes its maiden flight tomorrow.这架飞机明天首航。
2 subsidy 2U5zo     
n.补助金,津贴
参考例句:
  • The university will receive a subsidy for research in artificial intelligence.那个大学将得到一笔人工智能研究的补助费。
  • The living subsidy for senior expert's family is included in the remuneration.报酬已包含高级专家家人的生活补贴。
3 Oxford Wmmz0a     
n.牛津(英国城市)
参考例句:
  • At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
  • This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。
4 witty GMmz0     
adj.机智的,风趣的
参考例句:
  • Her witty remarks added a little salt to the conversation.她的妙语使谈话增添了一些风趣。
  • He scored a bull's-eye in their argument with that witty retort.在他们的辩论中他那一句机智的反驳击中了要害。
5 follower gjXxP     
n.跟随者;随员;门徒;信徒
参考例句:
  • He is a faithful follower of his home football team.他是他家乡足球队的忠实拥护者。
  • Alexander is a pious follower of the faith.亚历山大是个虔诚的信徒。
6 opposition eIUxU     
n.反对,敌对
参考例句:
  • The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
  • The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。
7 emancipation Sjlzb     
n.(从束缚、支配下)解放
参考例句:
  • We must arouse them to fight for their own emancipation. 我们必须唤起他们为其自身的解放而斗争。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • They rejoiced over their own emancipation. 他们为自己的解放感到欢欣鼓舞。 来自《简明英汉词典》
8 deployment 06e5c0d0f9eabd9525e5f9dc4f6f37cf     
n. 部署,展开
参考例句:
  • He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
  • Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。
9 redress PAOzS     
n.赔偿,救济,矫正;v.纠正,匡正,革除
参考例句:
  • He did all that he possibly could to redress the wrongs.他尽了一切努力革除弊端。
  • Any man deserves redress if he has been injured unfairly.任何人若蒙受不公平的损害都应获得赔偿。
10 duel 2rmxa     
n./v.决斗;(双方的)斗争
参考例句:
  • The two teams are locked in a duel for first place.两个队为争夺第一名打得难解难分。
  • Duroy was forced to challenge his disparager to duel.杜洛瓦不得不向诋毁他的人提出决斗。
11 thigh RItzO     
n.大腿;股骨
参考例句:
  • He is suffering from a strained thigh muscle.他的大腿肌肉拉伤了,疼得很。
  • The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。
12 stint 9GAzB     
v.节省,限制,停止;n.舍不得化,节约,限制;连续不断的一段时间从事某件事
参考例句:
  • He lavished money on his children without stint.他在孩子们身上花钱毫不吝惜。
  • We hope that you will not stint your criticism.我们希望您不吝指教。
13 coalition pWlyi     
n.结合体,同盟,结合,联合
参考例句:
  • The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
  • Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。
14 pneumonia s2HzQ     
n.肺炎
参考例句:
  • Cage was struck with pneumonia in her youth.凯奇年轻时得过肺炎。
  • Pneumonia carried him off last week.肺炎上星期夺去了他的生命。
15 speculation 9vGwe     
n.思索,沉思;猜测;投机
参考例句:
  • Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
  • There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。
TAG标签:
发表评论
请自觉遵守互联网相关的政策法规,严禁发布色情、暴力、反动的言论。
评价:
表情:
验证码:点击我更换图片