John Proby, 1st Earl Of Carysfort

John Joshua Proby, 1st Earl of Carysfort (12 August 1751 – 7 April 1828), was a British judge, diplomat, politician, and poet. He was born into the Proby family as the son of John Proby, 1st Baron Carysfort, and Elizabeth, daughter of Joshua Allen, 2nd Viscount Allen. His education included attendance at Westminster School and Trinity College, Cambridge.

In 1772, he succeeded his father as the second Baron Carysfort. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1779 and was invested as a Knight of the Order of St Patrick in 1784. The same year, he was admitted to the Irish Privy Council. In 1789, he was created Earl of Carysfort in the Peerage of Ireland and was appointed Joint Master of the Rolls in Ireland, a position he held until 1801. The office of Master of the Rolls was considered a sinecure by that period.

Carysfort's parliamentary career included brief periods as a Member of Parliament. He was elected to the House of Commons for East Looe in February 1790 but served only until June 1790. Subsequently, he represented Stamford until 1801. Between 1800 and 1802, he served as Envoy to Berlin. On 18 February 1793, he was appointed a deputy lieutenant of Northamptonshire.

In 1801, he was elevated to the Peerage of the United Kingdom as Baron Carysfort, of the Hundred of Norman Cross in Huntingdonshire, which granted him a seat in the House of Lords. Under the government of Lord Grenville, he served as a Commissioner of the Board of Control and as Joint Postmaster General from 1806 to 1807. He was sworn into the Privy Council of the United Kingdom in 1806.

In 1810, Proby published a collection titled *Dramatic and Narrative Poems*. His residence was Elton Hall in Huntingdonshire, inherited from his father.

He married Elizabeth Osbourne, daughter of Sir William Osborne, 8th Baronet, in 1774. They had three sons and one daughter together. Following Elizabeth's early death in 1783, he married Elizabeth Grenville, daughter of Prime Minister George Grenville, in 1787. With her, he had three daughters.

John Joshua Proby died on 7 April 1828 at the age of 76. His eldest son William had predeceased him. He was succeeded by his second son, John, as the baron and earl. Lady Carysfort died in December 1842 at the age of 86.