George Pitt, 2nd Baron Rivers was a British nobleman and politician.
Background
Born in Angers, France, he was the only son of George Pitt, 1st Baron Rivers and his wife Penelope, daughter of Sir Henry Atkins, 4th Baronet of Clapham, Surrey. He succeeded his father as Member of Parliament for Dorset in the 1774 election, and like him, was consistently pro-administration.
Career
After completing his schooling, he spent several years on the Continent. He came under fire at the county meeting before the 1780 election from supporters of the "economical reform" campaign, but was returned unopposed. After the fall of the North ministry, he voted in favor of Shelburne"s peace proposals in 1783.
He did not vote on the East India Bill which brought down the Fox-North Coalition, and was considered a supporter of his kinsman William Pitt"s ministry in 1784.
He did not stand in the 1790 election. Pitt was commissioned into the Dorset Militia, of which his father was colonel from 1757 to 1798.
He was promoted from captain to major on 25 April 1790, second lieutenant-colonel on 25 June 1798, and first lieutenant-colonel shortly thereafter. He resigned his commission in late 1799.
In 1803, he succeeded his father as Baron Rivers.
He was a Lord of the Bedchamber from 1804 to 1819. In his younger years, he was a dandy and an avid huntsman, keeping an excellent pack of greyhounds until 1825, when failing health forced him to abandon the sport. He sold part of the family estates, those around Stratfield Saye House to the nation in about 1814, so that it could be given to Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington as the gift of a grateful nation following his defeat of Napoleon.
He died on 20 July 1828 in Grosvenor Place.
Membership
14th Parliament of Great Britain. 15th Parliament of Great Britain. 16th Parliament of Great Britain]
He lived in Naples during Sir William Hamilton"s tenure as ambassador, and later became a member of the Neapolitan Club.