Robert Hobart, fourth Earl of Buckinghamshire (1760–1816), statesman, was a soldier in the war against the American colonies and served as aide-de-camp to several lord lieutenants of Ireland before becoming Chief Secretary for Ireland from 1789 to 1793. He was a member of the Irish Parliament for Portarlington, Ireland, from 1784 to 1790, but from 1788 was member for Bramber in the English Parliament. Governor of Madras from 1793 (when he inherited the title of Lord Hobart) to 1798, he was meanwhile member for Armagh, Ireland from 1790 to 1797. From March 1801 to May 1804 he was Secretary of State for War and the Colonies. During this period, Hobart Town was established and named in his honour. In late 1804 he succeeded his father to the earldom.
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