Thomas Lister, 4th Baron Ribblesdale

Thomas Lister, 4th Baron Ribblesdale (29 October 1854 – 21 October 1925), was a British Liberal politician.

Biography

Ribblesdale was the eldest son of Thomas Lister, 3rd Baron Ribblesdale, and his wife Adelaide (née Lister), and succeeded his father in the barony in 1876. He sat on the Liberal benches in the House of Lords and served as a Lord-in-Waiting (government whip in the House of Lords) under William Gladstone from 1880 to 1885 and in 1886 and as Master of the Buckhounds under Gladstone and later Lord Rosebery from 1892 to 1895. Apart from his political career he was also a Captain in the Rifle Brigade and a Trustee of the National Gallery from 1909 to 1925. His portrait was painted by John Singer Sargent and is said to epitomise the British aristocrat.

Lord Ribblesdale married Charlotte, daughter of Sir Charles Tennant, 1st Baronet, and half-sister of Margot Tennant, in 1877. His eldest son, Captain the Hon. Thomas Lister, was killed in action during the Somaliland campaign of 1903 to 1904 while his youngest son the Hon. Charles Alfred Lister died from wounds received at the Battle of Gallipoli during the First World War. His daughter the Hon. Laura married Simon Fraser, 14th Lord Lovat, and was the mother of Simon Fraser, 15th Lord Lovat, and Sir Hugh Fraser. Lady Ribblesdale died in 1911. Lord Ribbesdale married secondly Ava Lowle Willing, daughter of Edward Shippen Willing and former wife of John Jacob Astor IV, in 1919. He died in October of 1925, aged 70. With his death the barony became extinct. [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Ribblesdale |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,728590,00.html |quote=He was 65 when he married Mr. Astor's wife (Ava Willing, Philadelphia). No children were born. One of the two fine sons of his earlier marriage was killed in Somaliland, one in Gallipoli. His title dies with him. |work=Time (magazine) |date=1925 |accessdate=2008-08-11 ] cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Lord Ribblesdale Dead |url=http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/lord-ribblesdale-dead-line-extinct.html |quote=Lord Ribblesdale, who wed in 1919 the late John Jacob Astor's first wife, the former Miss Ava L. Willing, known as Mrs. John Astor after she had divorced the New Yorker, died this morning at his mansion in Grosvener Square at the age of 71. His two sons had been killed in wars, and the barony is now extinct. He gave to the National Gallery as a memorial to his sons a portrait of himself in hunter's costume, done by Sargent. |work=New York Times |date=22 October 1925 |accessdate=2008-08-11 ] Ava Lowle Willing died in 1958. [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Lady Ribblesdale Dead. First Wife of John Jacob Astor IV. Mother of Vincent Astor. |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50617FE3F54127B93C3A8178DD85F4C8585F9 |quote= Ava Willing Ribblesdale, she took up residence here. She continued to be listed in the telephone directory as Lady Ribblesdale. ... |work=New York Times |date=June 11, 1958 |accessdate=2008-08-11 ]

References

Further reading

*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). "Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage" (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990.
* [http://www.angeltowns.com/town/peerage/ Leigh Rayment's Peerage Page]
* [http://www.thepeerage.com/ www.thepeerage.com]
* [http://www.ribblesdale.net/gisburn/gisburnvillage/ribblesdales2.htm History of the Lister family]

External links

* [http://www.nationalgalleryimages.co.uk/search.aspx?q=4th+Baron+Ribblesdale&frm=1 Portrait of Lord Ribbesdale by John Singer Sargent at the National Gallery]
* [http://jssgallery.org/Paintings/Lord_Ribblesdale.htm Portraits of Lord Ribbesdale by John Singer Sargent at jssgallery.org]