Canning The Rt Hon Charles John

Canning, The Rt. Hon. Charles John, Viscount, was born in 1812, third son of George Canning. After a few months in the House of Commons as Conservative member for Warwick, he was removed to the Upper House through the death of his mother, his two elder brothers having already died. In 1841 he accepted the post of Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs in the ministry of Sir Robert Peel, becoming afterwards Chief Commissioner of Woods and Forests with a seat in the Cabinet, and Postmaster-General under Lords Aberdeen and Palmerston. In 1856 he succeeded Lord Dalhousie as Governor-General of India, thus holding that position in the difficult times of the Mutiny. In 1862 he returned to England seriously impaired in health and was created a K.G., having been raised to the rank of Earl in 1859. Two months after landing, however, he died, and was buried in Westminster Abbey near his father. He left no children and the title became extinct.