Roger Townshend (5 June 1708 – 7 August 1760) was a British soldier and Member of Parliament.
Townshend was the youngest son of Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend, from his first marriage to the Hon. Elizabeth Pelham. Charles Townshend, 3rd Viscount Townshend, Thomas Townshend and William Townshend were his elder brothers while George Townshend, 1st Marquess Townshend, Charles Townshend and Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney, were his nephews. Townshend was a cavalry officer in Wade's Regiment of Horse and was notably present as an aide-de-camp to King George II at the Battle of Dettingen in 1743. He served as Governor of the North Yarmouth garrison from 1745 to 1760.
Apart from his military career he also sat as Member of Parliament for Great Yarmouth from 1738 to 1747 and for Eye from 1747 to 1748 and a Receiver of Customs from 1748 to 1760. During his time in Parliament he voted with the Opposition in his first Parliament but thereafter with the Administration.
Townshend died in August 1760, aged 52. He never married.
See also
Notes
- Lee, Sidney, ed. (1899). "Townshend, Charles (1674-1738)" . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 57. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
- ^ Romney R. Sedgwick (1970). "TOWNSHEND, Hon. Roger (1708-60).". In Sedgwick, Romney (ed.). The House of Commons 1715–1754. The History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
References
- Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990,
- Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs
| Parliament of Great Britain | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded byWilliam Townshend Sir Edward Walpole |
Member of Parliament for Great Yarmouth 1738–1747 With: Sir Edward Walpole |
Succeeded bySir Edward Walpole Charles Townshend |
| Preceded byJohn Cornwallis Edward Cornwallis |
Member of Parliament for Eye 1747–1748 With: Edward Cornwallis |
Succeeded byEdward Cornwallis Nicholas Hardinge |
- 1708 births
- 1760 deaths
- 3rd Dragoon Guards officers
- British Army personnel of the War of the Austrian Succession
- Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies
- Younger sons of viscounts
- British MPs 1734–1741
- British MPs 1741–1747
- British MPs 1747–1754
- Townshend family
- Politics of the Borough of Great Yarmouth