George Byng

George Byng DL JP (17 May 1764 – 10 January 1847), of Wrotham Park in Middlesex (now Hertfordshire), and of Wentworth House, 5, St James's Square, London, was a British Whig politician.

Origins He was the eldest son and heir of George Byng (1735–1789) (eldest son of Robert Byng (1703–1740), third son of Admiral George Byng, 1st Viscount Torrington (1663–1733) ) of Wrotham Park, by his wife Anne Conolly, a daughter of William Conolly (d.1754), of Stratton Hall, Staffordshire and of Castletown, co. Kildare, a Member of Parliament. Anne's mother was Lady Anne Wentworth, a daughter of Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford (1672–1739). His younger brother was Field Marshal John Byng, 1st Earl of Strafford (1772–1860), where he studied under Georg Christoph Lichtenberg. Byng was returned to Parliament for Middlesex in 1790, a seat he held until his death 57 years later. During his early years he was an associate of Charles James Fox. Between 1832 and 1847 he was Father of the House of Commons. He was offered a peerage in order to increase the Whig majority in the House of Lords prior to the 1832 Reform Act, but refused.

Marriage In 1797 he married Harriet Montgomery, a daughter of Sir William Montgomery, 1st Baronet, of Macbie Hill, Peebles, but had no children.

Death and succession He died on 10 January 1847, aged 82. His heir was his younger brother, Field Marshal John Byng, 1st Earl of Strafford (1772–1860), elevated to the peerage in the same year.