Goderich, Viscount, << GOHD rihch, VY kownt >> (1782-1859), Frederick John Robinson, served as prime minister of the United Kingdom for 130 days from August 1827 to January 1828. Goderich was a minister in British governments for more than 30 years. He served as chancellor of the exchequer, the official who prepares the government’s annual budget, from 1823 until 1827. His budget speeches on the state of the United Kingdom’s economy were so optimistic that he earned the nickname “Prosperity Robinson.”
In April 1827, he was given the title Viscount Goderich and became leader of the House of Lords, the upper house of the British Parliament. Goderich was appointed prime minister in August that year. However, he was a weak leader and could not unite the government. Goderich resigned as prime minister in January 1828. He became a Cabinet member again in 1830, and he received the title of Earl of Ripon when Lord Grey was prime minister in 1833. He again held Cabinet offices in the government of Sir Robert Peel from 1841 to 1846.
Goderich was born Frederick John Robinson in London on Oct. 30, 1782. He was educated at Harrow School and at St. John’s College, Cambridge. In 1802, he became a member of Lincoln’s Inn, one of the four Inns of Court in London, where lawyers lived and studied. But he was never called to the bar—that is, given the right to argue cases in higher courts. In 1806, Robinson entered Parliament as representative for Carlow Borough, Ireland, in the House of Commons. The following year, he was elected representative for Ripon, West Riding of Yorkshire, a position he held until 1827. Robinson married Lady Sarah Albinia Louisa Hobart in 1814, and they had three children. He died in London on Jan. 28, 1859.
