James Rivett-Carnac
Sir James Rivett-Carnac, 1st Baronet (11 November 1784 – 28 January 1846) was an Indian-born British statesman and politician who served as Governor of the Bombay Presidency in British India from 1838 to 1841.
For the Royal Navy officer, see James Rivett-Carnac (Royal Navy officer).Career[edit]
Born in Bombay in 1784,[1] Carnac began nearly three decades of service with the East India Company in India in 1801[2] and was a director of the Company for various periods between 1827 and 1838.[3][4][5] He succeeded Robert Grant as Governor of the Bombay Presidency in 1838, serving for three years in that role.[6]
He was a Member of Parliament (MP) for Sandwich from 1837 to 1839 and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in May 1838.[7]
Personal life[edit]
Born James Rivett, his surname was legally changed to Rivett-Carnac by royal licence in 1801 when his father James, a member of the Bombay Government Council and chairman of the East India Company, was made testamentary by his brother-in-law, General John Carnac, the husband of Elizabeth Rivett (1751–1780).[8]
In 1815 he married Anna-Maria Richardes, the eldest daughter of William Richardes of Penglais,[9] and had three sons: John (1818–1893), William (1822–1874) and Charles (1824–1902). His descendants include the sailor Charles Rivett-Carnac and the Canadian police commissioner Charles Rivett-Carnac, as well as the colonial administrator Sir Richard Temple and his son Sir Richard Carnac Temple and the fashion designer Lulu Guinness.
In 1836 Rivett-Carnac was made a baronet.[10] He died on 28 January 1846 at what was Rookcliff House, Milford-on-Sea.[7]
His younger brother, Admiral John Rivett-Carnac (1796–1869), was an early explorer of Western Australia.