Sir Frederick Peel
SIR FREDERICK PEEL (1823-1906), the prime minister's second son, was educated at Harrow and at Trinity College, Cambridge, becoming a barrister in 1849. He entered parliament in that year, and with the exception of the period between 1857 and 1859 he remained in the House of Commons until 1865. In 1851-1852 and again in 1853-1855 he was under-secretary for the colonies; from 1855 to 1857 he was under-secretary for war; and from 1859 to 1865 he was secretary to the treasury. He became a privy councillor in 1857 and was knighted in 1869. Sir Frederick Peel's chief service to the state was in connexion with the railway and canal commission. He was appointed a commissioner on the inception of this body in 1873, and was its president until its reconstruction in 1888, remaining a member of the commission until his death on the 6th of June 1906.
The third son was SIR WILLIAM PEEL (1824-1858), and the youngest VISCOUNT PEEL (q.v.). Sir William was a sailor, who distinguished himself in the Crimea, where he gained the Victoria Cross, and also during the Indian Mutiny, being wounded at the relief of Lucknow. He died on the 27th of April 1858. Sir William wrote A Ride through the Nubian Desert (1852), giving an account of his travels in 1851.
Two of Sir Robert Peel's brothers were also politicians of note. WILLIAM YATES PEEL (1789-1858), educated at Harrow and at St John's College, Cambridge, was a member of parliament from 1817 to 1837, and again from 1847 to 1852; he was undersecretary for home affairs in 1828, and was a lord of the treasury in 1830 and again in 1834-1835. JONATHAN PEEL (1799-1879) was first a soldier and then a member of parliament during the long period between 1826 and 1868, first representing Norwich and then Huntingdon. From 1841 to 1846 he was surveyor-general of the ordnance, and in 1858-1859 and again in 1866-1867 he was a very competent and successful secretary of state for war. General Peel was also an owner of racehorses, and in 1844 his horse Orlando won the Derby, after another horse, Running Rein, had been disqualified.
For the history of the Peel family see Jane Ha worth, A Memoir of the Family of Peel from the year 1000 (1836).
Note - this article incorporates content from Encyclopaedia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, (1910-1911)
