Lord Frederick North
Tory 1770 to 1782
“Men may be popular without being ambitious, but there is hardly an ambitious man who does not try to be popular.”
Born
13 April 1732, Piccadilly, London
Died
5 August 1792, London
Dates in office
1770 to 1782
Political party
Tory
Major acts
Tea Act 1773: which sparked the Boston Tea party and led to the American Revolution in 1776.
Interesting facts
North was in office when the United States of America declared independence.
Biography
Lord North was long regarded as a failure as Prime Minister due to his association with Britain’s catastrophic defeat in the American War of Independence (1775 to 1783). He was also condemned by opponents as complicit in a reassertion of royal power against Parliament. However Lord North is more justly appreciated as an outstanding parliamentarian and potentially great premier brought low, like so many others, by ‘events’.
Read more about Lord Frederick North on the History of government blog.