Thomas Fortescue, 1st Baron Clermont (9 March 1815 – 29 July 1887) of Ravensdale Park in County Louth, Ireland, was an Irish Whig politician and was the historian of the ancient Fortescue family of 12th century Devonshire origins. Origins He was born on 9 March 1815, the son of Chichester Fortescue (1777–1826) of Dromisken, County Louth, Ireland, by his wife Martha Angel Hobson, a daughter of Samuel Meade Hobson of Muchridge House, County Cork, Ireland, a barrister. His younger brother was Chichester Parkinson-Fortescue, 1st Baron Carlingford (1823-1898). He was a descendant of Chichester Fortescue of Dromisken, whose brother William Fortescue was the grandfather of William Fortescue, 1st Earl of Clermont (1722-1806). Career He was educated at Exeter College, Oxford. In 1833 he inherited Ravensdale Park, County Louth, upon the death of Sir Henry James Goodricke, 7th Baronet, son of Sir Henry Goodricke, 6th Baronet by his wife Charlotte Fortescue, sister of the 1st Earl of Clermont. He served as High Sheriff of Louth in 1839. In 1840 he was returned to parliament as one of two representatives for County Louth, a seat he held until 1841. In 1852 he was raised to the Peerage of Ireland as Baron Clermont, of Dromisken in the County of Louth, a revival of the extinct Clermont titles held by his kinsman. The peerage was created with special remainder to his younger brother Chichester Fortescue. In 1866 he was also created Baron Clermont, of Clermont Park in the County of Louth, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, which entitled him to a seat in the House of Lords. This peerage was created with normal remainder to his heirs male. Marriage In 1840 he married Lady Louisa Grace Butler, a daughter of James Butler, 1st Marquess of Ormonde, which marriage was childless. She survived her husband and died at Ravensdale Park in November 1896, aged 80. Death and succession He died childless at Ravensdale Park in July 1887, aged 72. His United Kingdom peerage became extinct on his death but he was succeeded in the Irish peerage, in accordance with the special remainder, by his brother Chichester Parkinson-Fortescue, 1st Baron Carlingford, who in 1874 had been elevated to the Peerage of the United Kingdom in his own right as Baron Carlingford. History of the Family of Fortescue Lord Clermont wrote the definitive history of the ancient Fortescue family, titled History of the Family of Fortescue