>Tom.Reding at 20:34, 22 March 2021

2021-03-22T20:34:16Z

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{{Short description|British civil servant in India}}
{{About||his grandson George Russell Clerk|George Clerk (diplomat)|the British politician and Deputy Lieutenant for Edinburghshire|Sir George Clerk, 6th Baronet}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2018}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2018}}

'''Sir George Russell Clerk''' {{postnominals|country=GBR|GCSI|KCB}} (pronounced ''Clark''; {{circa|1801}} – 25 July 1889) was a British civil servant in [[British India]].

==Life==
Clerk was born at Worting House in [[Mortimer West End]], [[Hampshire]],<ref name="1851census">''1851 England Census''</ref> the son of John Clerk of [[Gloucester]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Foster |first1=Joseph |title=The Peerage, Baronetage, and Knightage of the British Empire: for 1882 |date=1883 |publisher=Westminster: Nichols and Sons |page=[https://archive.org/details/peeragebaronetag02fost/page/706 706] |url=https://archive.org/details/peeragebaronetag02fost |accessdate=9 May 2019}}</ref> and Anne St John Mildmay, daughter and coheir of the late [[Carew St John Mildmay]] of Shawford House, Hampshire.<ref name="county1">{{cite book |last1=Walford |first1=Edward |title=The County Families of the United Kingdom, Or Royal Manual of the Titled and Untitled Aristocracy of Great Britain and Ireland. 2. Ed. Greatly Enl |date=1864 |publisher=Hardwicke |page=209 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n9pv_1xLploC&q=Sir+George+Russell+Clerk&pg=PA209 |accessdate=9 May 2019 |language=en}}</ref> Like all civil servants until the introduction of Competitive examinations in the 1850s, Clerk had studied at [[East India Company College|Haileybury College]] in [[Hertfordshire]], being posted to [[Bengal]] as a writer in 1817.{{sfn|Carlysle|1901}}

Early in his career he worked in the Political and Secret Department of the Government, and most of his subsequent work was in that line. He thus worked as an Assistant to the President in [[Rajputana]] and [[Delhi]], before being posted as Political Agent at [[Ambala]] and subsequently at [[Ludhiana]] in 1839 and [[Lahore]] in 1840.

In 1843, he was posted as [[List of Lieutenant Governors of the North-Western Provinces|Lieutenant-Governor]] of the [[North-Western Provinces]] (present day U.P.). He was then appointed [[Governor of Bombay]] from 1848 to 1850.

Subsequently, he worked outside India, helping establish the [[Orange Free State]] between 1853 and 1856 and then became the first Permanent [[Under-Secretary of State for India]], a position which replaced that of the Examiner at [[East India House]] when the Government of India was looked after by the [[British East India Company|East India Company]].{{sfn|Carlysle|1901}}

He was Governor of Bombay for a second time from 11 May 1860 to 24 April 1862. After this, like a lot of eminent personnel in the civil and military line, he was appointed as a member of the [[Council of India]]. He remained there until 1876.{{sfn|Carlysle|1901}}

He died in London at his residence, 33 Elm Park Gardens, on 25 July 1889.<ref>"Deaths." ''The Belfast Newsletter'', p. 5. 29 July 1889</ref>

==Family==
In 1827, Clerk married Mary (died 26 November 1878), widow of Colonel Stewart. Their son was Sir Godfrey Clerk and grandson [[George Clerk (diplomat)|Sir George Clerk]].<ref name="county2">{{cite book |title=Dod's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, of Great Britain and Ireland, for ...: Including All the Titled Classes |date=1908 |publisher=S. Low, Marston & Company |page=269 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a2iSNbw1UlYC&q=Sir+George+Russell+Clerk&pg=PA269 |accessdate=9 May 2019 |language=en}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
;Attribution
{{DNBSupp|wstitle=Clerk, George Russell |first=Edward Irving|last= Carlyle}}

==External links==
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=George Russell Clerk |sopt=t}}
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=3VQTAAAAYAAJ&printsec=toc#PRA1-PA126,M1 The India List and India Office List By India Office, Great Britain]
* [https://archive.org/stream/bombayplacenames00sheprich/bombayplacenames00sheprich_djvu.txt Bombay place-names and street-names; an excursion into the by-ways of the history of Bombay City]

{{s-start}}
{{s-gov}}
{{succession box | title=[[List of Lieutenant Governors of the North-Western Provinces|Lieutenant Governor of North-Western Provinces]] | before=''Vacant'' <br><center><small>previously by-<br>[[Thomas Campbell Robertson|T. C. Robertson]]</small></center> | after=[[James Thomason (British colonial governor)|James Thomason]] | years=30 June 1843 – 22 December 1843}}
{{succession box | title=[[Governor of Bombay]] | before=[[Lestock Robert Reid]] | after=[[Lucius Cary, 10th Viscount Falkland|The Viscount Falkland]] | years=1848–1850}}
{{succession box | title=Governor of Bombay | before=[[John Elphinstone, 13th Lord Elphinstone|The Lord Elphinstone]] | after=[[Henry Bartle Frere|Sir Henry Bartle Frere]] | years=1860–1862}}
{{s-end}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clerk, George}}
[[Category:1800 births]]
[[Category:1889 deaths]]
[[Category:Governors of Bombay]]
[[Category:British East India Company civil servants]]
[[Category:Members of the Council of India]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India]]
[[Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath]]
[[Category:Lieutenant-Governors of the North-Western Provinces]]
[[Category:Permanent Under-Secretaries of State for India]]

George Russell Clerk - Revision history

>Tom.Reding at 20:34, 22 March 2021