Frederick North, 5th Earl Of Guilford

Frederick North, 5th Earl of Guilford, was born on 7 February 1766 and died on 14 October 1827. He was a British politician and colonial administrator. Prior to inheriting the earldom, he was styled The Honourable Frederick North until 1817.

He was the younger son of Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford, who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain, commonly known as Lord North. His education took place at Eton College from 1775 to 1782 and at Christ Church, Oxford.

In 1791, North converted to the Eastern Orthodox Church and became an adherent of the faith. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1794.

North's parliamentary career included representing the constituency of Banbury from 1792 to 1794. He then served as Secretary of State to the Viceroy Sir Gilbert Elliot from 1794 to 1796 during the short-lived Anglo-Corsican Kingdom. His responsibilities involved negotiations with Pasquale Paoli, and he concluded that Corsica was effectively ungovernable.

From 1798 to 1805, North served as the first British Governor of Ceylon. During his tenure, he constructed his official residence, known as the Doric Bungalow, near the Mannar Sea, based on his own plans. He also supervised the pearl fishery, which was a significant source of income for the British administration at the time.

In 1817, North succeeded his elder brother as the fifth Earl of Guilford. As an earl, he established the Ionian Academy on the island of Corfu in 1824. The academy was the first university established in modern Greece and was located in the United States of the Ionian Islands under British control. North financed studies for Greek mathematician Giovanni Carandino in France, at the École Polytechnique, and contributed to the academic development of Greece. The Ionian Academy has since closed, but a statue of North is present on Corfu, and there is a library and a street named after him.

North remained unmarried at the time of his death. He passed away in October 1827 at the age of 61 and was succeeded in his titles by his cousin, Francis North, 6th Earl of Guilford.