George Cornewall Lewis

Sir George Cornewall Lewis, 2nd Baronet PC (21 April 1806 – 13 April 1863) was a British statesman and man of letters. He was born in London, the son of Thomas Frankland Lewis of Harpton Court, Radnorshire and his wife Harriet Cornewall. Thomas, after holding subordinate office in various administrations, became a poor-law commissioner, and was made a baronet in 1846. His maternal grandparents were Sir George Cornewall, 2nd Baronet and Catherine ... more

Sir George Cornewall Lewis, 2nd Baronet PC (21 April 1806 – 13 April 1863) was a British statesman and man of letters. He was born in London, the son of Thomas Frankland Lewis of Harpton Court, Radnorshire and his wife Harriet Cornewall. Thomas, after holding subordinate office in various administrations, became a poor-law commissioner, and was made a baronet in 1846. His maternal grandparents were Sir George Cornewall, 2nd Baronet and Catherine Cornewall, daughter of Velters Cornewall. Lewis was educated at Eton College and at Christ Church, Oxford, where in 1828 he earned a first-class in classics and a second-class in mathematics. He then entered the Middle Temple, and was called to the bar in 1831. In 1833 he undertook his first public work as one of the commissioners to inquire into the condition of the poor Irish residents in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1834 Lord Althorp included him in the commission to inquire into the state of church property and... less