Frederick Ponsonby, 6th Earl Of Bessborough

Frederick George Brabazon Ponsonby, 6th Earl of Bessborough, was born on 11 September 1815 in Marylebone, London, and died on 11 March 1895 in Westminster, London. He was an Anglo-Irish peer and a cricketer who played first-class matches between 1834 and 1856.

He was the third son of John Ponsonby, 4th Earl of Bessborough, and Lady Maria Fane. His early education involved attendance at Harrow School and Trinity College, Cambridge. In 1837, Ponsonby was admitted to Lincoln's Inn and was called to the Bar in 1840.

Ponsonby inherited the title of Earl of Bessborough on 28 January 1880 following the death of his elder brother, who died without a male heir. He did not marry during his lifetime. Upon his death, the earldom was succeeded by his younger brother, Walter Ponsonby.

During his cricketing career, he was known as the Honorable Frederic Ponsonby. He participated in matches for Surrey, the Cambridge Town Club (also known as Cambridgeshire), Cambridge University Cricket Club (CUCC), and the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). He was a right-handed batsman and competed actively until around 1845, after which an arm injury limited his participation to sporadic appearances.

Ponsonby was instrumental in founding the Surrey County Cricket Club and served as its first vice-president. Additionally, he was a founder of the I Zingari cricket club and the Old Stagers amateur theatre company.

In the governmental arena, he chaired the Bessborough Commission, established by the second Gladstone administration in June 1880 to investigate the implementation of the 1870 Irish Land Act. The commission proposed significant reforms aimed at increasing tenants' rights in Ireland.

He owned approximately 35,000 acres of land, primarily located in Kilkenny and Carlow, Ireland.

The references and external links include contributions in Parliament by the Earl of Bessborough available through Hansard and his cricket profile on ESPNcricinfo.