Sir George Rumbold, 2nd Baronet facts for kids
Sir George Rumbold (born August 17, 1764 – died December 15, 1807) was an important British diplomat. A diplomat is someone who represents their country in other nations. Sir George worked as an ambassador, which is a top diplomat, for Britain in a group of cities called the Hanseatic League.
Early Life and Education
George Berriman Rumbold was born in Fort William, India. At that time, India was a very different place, and his father, Thomas Rumbold, worked there for a big trading company called the East India Company. This company was very powerful and traded goods between Britain and India. George's middle name, Berriman, was his mother's family name.
George went to school at home with private teachers. Later, he studied at Christ's College, Cambridge, a famous university in England.
A Career in Diplomacy
George Rumbold decided to join the British government's team that works with other countries. This team is called the Diplomatic Service. In 1803, he became Britain's ambassador to the Hanse Towns. These were a group of important trading cities in Europe, like Hamburg, which was a "free city" meaning it governed itself. He also worked as a special representative for Britain in a region called the Lower Saxon Circle.
The Abduction of Sir George
A very dramatic event happened to Sir George Rumbold on October 24, 1804. French soldiers, acting on orders from Napoleon, who was the powerful leader of France, kidnapped him. They claimed that British diplomats were secretly working against France.
A group of 250 French soldiers crossed a river called the Elbe and went to Sir George's home in Hamburg. They broke into his house and made him hand over all his important papers. Then, they took him away in a guarded coach, first to a place called Hanover, and then all the way to Paris, France. He was held prisoner in a famous old prison called the Temple.
News of his kidnapping made people in Berlin, Germany, very angry. The King of Prussia, Frederick William III, who was like a protector for the free cities, demanded that France release Sir George. The very next day, Napoleon ordered that Sir George be set free. He was taken to a French port city called Cherbourg and put on a French boat. This boat sailed under a special flag that meant it was peaceful, and it delivered him to a British warship called the Niobe. Sir George then sailed back to Portsmouth, England.
The papers the French took from Sir George's house are still kept in the French national archives today. They showed that there was no secret plot against France.
Sir George Rumbold went back to Hamburg, but he was replaced by another diplomat in 1806. He sadly died from a fever in a place called Memel on December 15, 1807.
Family Life
Sir George Rumbold's father was given a special title called "baronet" in the 1770s. A baronet is a title of honor that can be passed down in a family. George was the second son, but his older brother passed away before their father. So, when his father died in 1791, George became the 2nd Baronet.
In 1783, George married Caroline Hearn, who then became Lady Rumbold. Their oldest son, William, became the 3rd Baronet after Sir George died in 1807. A few years later, in 1809, Lady Rumbold married another famous person, Sir Sidney Smith.
