Edward King-Tenison facts for kids

Edward King Tenison (born January 21, 1805 – died June 19, 1878) was an important person from Ireland. He was a Whig and Liberal politician. He was also a talented photographer.

Early Life and Family

Edward King Tenison was born in 1805 at Kilronan Castle in Ireland. His parents were Thomas Tenison and Lady Frances King. He was also the grandson of a very important person, Edward King, 1st Earl of Kingston.

He went to famous schools like Eton College and Trinity College, Cambridge. After finishing school, he joined the army in 1825. He served as an officer in the 14th Light Dragoons until 1836.

After leaving the army, Edward took on many important local jobs. He was a Justice of the Peace, which meant he helped keep law and order. He also served as a High Sheriff for several counties. Later, he became a Lord Lieutenant for County Roscommon and County Sligo. These were all big responsibilities in his community.

In 1838, he married Lady Louisa Anson. She was a writer and artist. Together, they had two daughters: Louisa Frances Mary and Florence Margaret Christine.

Photography Adventures

In the 1840s, Edward King Tenison started a new hobby: photography! He began by taking pictures using early methods like daguerreotypes and paper negatives. He even got a special license from a famous photographer, William Henry Fox Talbot.

King Tenison's photo of Córdoba in Spain, taken in 1852

Between 1850 and 1852, Edward and his wife traveled to Spain. They went there to create art. Edward used a new photo process called calotype. People were very curious and even suspicious of his large camera equipment. They had never seen anything like it!

His photos from this trip were published in a book called Memories of Spain in 1854. His wife's artwork from the trip appeared in her own book, Castile and Anadalucia.

In 1853, he joined the Photographic Society of London. He showed his amazing photos at the Great Industrial Exhibition in Dublin. The next year, he helped start the Dublin Photographic Society.

Edward's photos were also shown in London. These included pictures from Spain, Belgium, and Normandy. He even traveled to Algeria to take more photos. Later in his career, he focused on taking pictures in his home country, Ireland.

Today, many of his old photos are kept safe. An album of his work from 1858 is in the National Photographic Archive in Dublin. Other photos are owned by private collectors. In 1999, one of his photo albums was sold for a lot of money!

Political Career

Edward King Tenison was also interested in politics. He first tried to become a Member of Parliament (MP) in 1830. An MP is someone elected to represent people in the government. He tried for the area of Roscommon but didn't win.

He was finally elected as an MP for Leitrim in 1847. He believed in civil and religious freedom for everyone. He was against rules that were unfair to Catholics. He served as an MP until 1852.

Edward tried to become an MP again several times after that. He ran for Leitrim in 1857 and for Roscommon in 1859, but he was not successful. In 1860, he tried for Sligo Borough. However, he stopped running because he refused to offer bribes to voters. His last attempt to become an MP was in 1865 for Leitrim, but he didn't win that time either.

Death

Edward King Tenison passed away at Kilronan Castle in June 1878. His wife, Lady Louisa, died a few years later in Italy, in September 1882.