The son of Frederick Ponsonby, third earl of Bessborough (d. 1844) and elder brother of Lady Caroline Lamb; he was a Whig MP (1805-34), home secretary (1834-35), and lord-lieutenant of Ireland (1846-47).

REFERENCES TO John William Ponsonby, fourth earl of Bessborough:

Thomas Creevey to Elizabeth Ord, 18 October 1820 in The Creevey Papers: A Selection from the Correspondence & Diaries of the late Thomas Creevey, M.P. (London: John Murray, 1903)

Thomas Creevey to Elizabeth Ord, 29 January 1821 in The Creevey Papers: A Selection from the Correspondence & Diaries of the late Thomas Creevey, M.P. (London: John Murray, 1903)

Henry Brougham to Thomas Creevey, 19 July 1821 in The Creevey Papers: A Selection from the Correspondence & Diaries of the late Thomas Creevey, M.P. (London: John Murray, 1903)

Samuel Rogers to Sarah Rogers, 11 November 1821 in Samuel Rogers and his Contemporaries 2 Vols (London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1889)

William Ponsonby to Lady Caroline Lamb, 20 April 1823 in Lady Morgan’s Memoirs: Autobiography, Diaries and Correspondence. Second Edition, Revised 2 vols (London: Wm. H. Allen & Co., 1863)

Thomas Creevey to Elizabeth Ord, 15 March 1827 in The Creevey Papers: A Selection from the Correspondence & Diaries of the late Thomas Creevey, M.P. (London: John Murray, 1903)

Michael Angelo Taylor to Thomas Creevey, 6 May 1827 in The Creevey Papers: A Selection from the Correspondence & Diaries of the late Thomas Creevey, M.P. (London: John Murray, 1903)

William Lamb to Lady Morgan, 12 December [1827] in Lady Morgan’s Memoirs: Autobiography, Diaries and Correspondence. Second Edition, Revised 2 vols (London: Wm. H. Allen & Co., 1863)

Thomas Creevey to Elizabeth Ord, 15 September 1828 in The Creevey Papers: A Selection from the Correspondence & Diaries of the late Thomas Creevey, M.P. (London: John Murray, 1903)

Thomas Creevey to Elizabeth Ord, 1 October 1828 in The Creevey Papers: A Selection from the Correspondence & Diaries of the late Thomas Creevey, M.P. (London: John Murray, 1903)

Thomas Creevey to Elizabeth Ord, 5 October 1828 in The Creevey Papers: A Selection from the Correspondence & Diaries of the late Thomas Creevey, M.P. (London: John Murray, 1903)

Thomas Creevey to Elizabeth Ord, 23 October 1828 in The Creevey Papers: A Selection from the Correspondence & Diaries of the late Thomas Creevey, M.P. (London: John Murray, 1903)

Thomas Creevey to Elizabeth Ord, 4 February 1831 in The Creevey Papers: A Selection from the Correspondence & Diaries of the late Thomas Creevey, M.P. (London: John Murray, 1903)

Thomas Creevey to Elizabeth Ord, 24 February 1831 in The Creevey Papers: A Selection from the Correspondence & Diaries of the late Thomas Creevey, M.P. (London: John Murray, 1903)

Thomas Creevey to Elizabeth Ord, 14 March 1831 in The Creevey Papers: A Selection from the Correspondence & Diaries of the late Thomas Creevey, M.P. (London: John Murray, 1903)

Thomas Creevey to Elizabeth Ord, 14 March 1831 in The Creevey Papers: A Selection from the Correspondence & Diaries of the late Thomas Creevey, M.P. (London: John Murray, 1903)

John Whishaw to Charles and Henry Romilly, June 1833 in The “Pope” of Holland House: Selections from the Correspondence of John Whishaw and his Friends 1813-1840 (London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1906)

Thomas Creevey to Elizabeth Ord, 1 June 1833 in The Creevey Papers: A Selection from the Correspondence & Diaries of the late Thomas Creevey, M.P. (London: John Murray, 1903)

John Whishaw to Charles and Henry Romilly, 16 July 1833 in The “Pope” of Holland House: Selections from the Correspondence of John Whishaw and his Friends 1813-1840 (London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1906)

John Whishaw to Charles and Henry Romilly, 19 July 1833 in The “Pope” of Holland House: Selections from the Correspondence of John Whishaw and his Friends 1813-1840 (London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1906)

Thomas Creevey to Elizabeth Ord, 3 November 1833 in The Creevey Papers: A Selection from the Correspondence & Diaries of the late Thomas Creevey, M.P. (London: John Murray, 1903)

Thomas Creevey to Elizabeth Ord, 24 November 1833 in The Creevey Papers: A Selection from the Correspondence & Diaries of the late Thomas Creevey, M.P. (London: John Murray, 1903)

Thomas Creevey to Elizabeth Ord, 16 August 1834 in The Creevey Papers: A Selection from the Correspondence & Diaries of the late Thomas Creevey, M.P. (London: John Murray, 1903)

Thomas Creevey to Elizabeth Ord, 19 August 1834 in The Creevey Papers: A Selection from the Correspondence & Diaries of the late Thomas Creevey, M.P. (London: John Murray, 1903)

Lady Morgan to Lord Duncannon, 26 August 1838 in Lady Morgan’s Memoirs: Autobiography, Diaries and Correspondence. Second Edition, Revised 2 vols (London: Wm. H. Allen & Co., 1863)

Lord Duncannon to Lady Morgan, 28 August 1838 in Lady Morgan’s Memoirs: Autobiography, Diaries and Correspondence. Second Edition, Revised 2 vols (London: Wm. H. Allen & Co., 1863)

Sydney Smith to John Archibald Murray, [June] 1841 in A Memoir of the Reverend Sydney Smith. By his Daughter, Lady Holland. With a Selection from his Letters, edited by Mrs. Austin 2 vols (London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1855)