| The Right Honourable The Viscount Ossington PC |
|
|---|---|
| Speaker of the House of Commons | |
| In office 1857–1872 |
|
| Monarch | Victoria |
| Preceded by | Sir Charles Shaw-Lefevre |
| Succeeded by | Hon. Sir Henry Brand |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 27 January 1800 Ossington, Nottinghamshire |
| Died | 7 March 1873 (aged 73) |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Whig, Liberal |
| Spouse(s) | Lady Charlotte Bentinck (d. 1889) |
| Alma mater | Christ Church, Oxford |
John Evelyn Denison, 1st Viscount Ossington PC (27 January 1800 – 7 March 1873) was a British statesman. He served as Speaker of the House of Commons from 1857 to 1872.
Contents |
Denison was born at Ossington, Nottinghamshire, the eldest son of John Denison (d. 1820), and the brother of George Anthony Denison, a conservative churchman. He was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford.
A Whig, he became Member of Parliament (MP) for Newcastle-under-Lyme in 1823,[1] being returned for Hastings three years later,[2] and holding for a short time a subordinate position in George Canning's ministry. Defeated in 1830 both at Newcastle-under-Lyme and then at Liverpool, Denison secured a seat as one of the members for Nottinghamshire in 1831. After the Great Reform Act he represented the southern division of Nottinghamshire from 1832 until the general election of 1837.[3]
Denison then represented Malton from 1841 to 1857,[4] and North Nottinghamshire from 1857 to 1872.[3] In April 1857 Denison was chosen Speaker of the House of Commons. He was sworn of the Privy Council at the same time.[5] Re-elected at the beginning of three successive parliaments he retained this position until February 1872, when he resigned and was raised to the peerage as Viscount Ossington, of Ossington in the County of Nottingham.[6] He refused, however, to accept the pension usually given to retiring Speakers. Denison gave a justification—referred to as Speaker Denison's rule — as to why the Speaker casts his or her vote in most cases in favour of, rather than against, a government, where they have the casting vote.
Lord Ossington married Lady Charlotte, daughter of William Bentinck, 4th Duke of Portland, in 1827, but he left no children. He died on 7 March 1873, and his title became extinct. His Ossington Hall estate passed to his nephew William Evelyn Denison, son of his brother Sir William Thomas Denison.[7]
Ossington Street in London was named in his honour. Lady Ossington died in 1889.