Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney

The Right Honourable The Viscount Sydney PC
Portrait attributed to the American painter Gilbert Stuart, c. 1785
Home Secretary
In office 23 December 1783 – 5 June 1789
Monarch	George III
Prime Minister	William Pitt the Younger
Preceded by	The Earl Temple
Succeeded by	The Lord Grenville
In office 10 July 1782 – 2 April 1783
Monarch	George III
Prime Minister	The Earl of Shelburne
Preceded by	The Earl of Shelburne
Succeeded by	Lord North
Justice in Eyre south of the Trent
In office 19 June 1789 – 30 June 1800
Preceded by	Fletcher Norton, 1st Baron Grantley
Succeeded by	Thomas Grenville
President of the Board of Control
In office 4 September 1784 – 6 March 1790
Prime Minister	William Pitt the Younger
Preceded by	New Office
Succeeded by	William Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville
Leader of the House of Lords
In office December 1783 – June 1789
Prime Minister	William Pitt the Younger
Preceded by	George Nugent-Temple-Grenville, 1st Marquess of Buckingham
Succeeded by	Francis Osborne, 5th Duke of Leeds
President of the Committee on Trade and Foreign Plantations
In office 5 March 1784 – 23 August 1786
Monarch	George III
Prime Minister	William Pitt the Younger
Preceded by	The Lord Grantham (First Lord of Trade)
Succeeded by	The Earl of Liverpool (President of the Board of Trade)
Leader of the House of Commons
In office 10 July 1782 – 6 March 1783
Prime Minister	William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne
Preceded by	Charles James Fox
Succeeded by	Charles James Fox
Secretary at War
In office 1782–1782
Prime Minister	Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham
Preceded by	Charles Jenkinson
Succeeded by	George Yonge
Paymaster of the Forces
In office 9 December 1767 – 17 June 1768
Monarch	George III of the United Kingdom
Preceded by	Frederick North, Lord North George Cooke (died 1768)
Succeeded by	Richard Rigby
Member of Parliament for Whitchurch
In office 1754–1783
Preceded by	Charles Wallop Lord Robert Bertie
Succeeded by	George Brodrick, 4th Viscount Midleton William Selwyn (MP for Whitchurch)
Personal details
Born	(1733-02-24)24 February 1733 Raynham, Norfolk, England
Died	30 June 1800(1800-06-30) (aged 67) Sidcup, Kent, England
Political party	Whig
Spouse	Elizabeth Powys (1736–1826)
Children	Mary John
Parent(s)	Thomas Townshend Albinia Selwyn
Alma mater	Clare College, Cambridge

Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney PC (24 February 1733 – 30 June 1800) was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1754 to 1783 when he was raised to the peerage as Baron Sydney. He held several important Cabinet posts in the second half of the 18th century. The cities of Sydney in Nova Scotia, Canada, and Sydney in New South Wales, Australia were named in his honour, in 1785 and 1788, respectively.