Sir

Humphrey Clarke

Bt
Born
Humphrey Orme Clarke

(1906-07-06)6 July 1906
London, United Kingdom
Died22 January 1973(1973-01-22) (aged 66)
Bibury, Gloucestershire, UK
Alma materChrist Church, Oxford
Spouses
Frances Mary Powys Sketchley
​
​
(m. 1931; div. 1936)​
    Elisabeth Cook Campbell
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1938, divorced)​
      Constance Gibbs Langton
      ​
      ​
      (m. 1947; div. 1953)​
      ChildrenSir Toby Clarke, 6th Baronet
      Orme Roosevelt Clarke
      Parent(s)Sir Orme Bigland Clarke, 4th Baronet
      Elfrida Roosevelt
      RelativesTheo Clarke (granddaughter)
      Lawrence Clarke (grandson)

      Sir Humphrey Orme Clarke, 5th Baronet (6 July 1906 – 22 January 1973), was an English diplomat.

      Early life

      Clarke was born on 6 July 1906, in London, United Kingdom. He was the son of Sir Orme Bigland Clarke, 4th Baronet and Elfrida Roosevelt.[1] Humphrey had two younger brothers, Alfred Roosevelt Orme Clarke (who died young), and Charles Frederick Orme Clarke. His father was a barrister who had inherited the baronetcy from his uncle, General Sir Charles Clarke, 3rd Baronet, in 1932.

      His paternal grandparents were Frederick Clarke (second son of the Rev. Sir Charles Clarke, 2nd Baronet) and Adelaide Catherine Kerrison. His maternal grandparents were Alfred Roosevelt (a son of James A. Roosevelt) and Katherine Lowell (a daughter of Augustus Lowell). Through his mother, he was a first cousin, twice removed from U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt and a second cousin, twice removed from President Franklin D. Roosevelt.[2][3]

      He was educated at Eton College, where he was Captain of the Oppidans, and Christ Church, Oxford.[4]

      Career

      Sir Humphrey was with the British Embassy in Washington between 1941 and 1944. He was with the Foreign Office between 1944 and 1946.[5] He succeeded to the title of 5th Baronet Clarke, of Dunham Lodge, co. Norfolk (UK, 1831) on 31 March 1949.[6]

      Personal life

      On 12 June 1931, Clarke was married to Frances Mary Powys Sketchley, a daughter of Maj. Frederick Powys Sketchley.[7] They divorced in 1936.[4]

      On 1 September 1938, he married Elisabeth Irene (née Cook) Campbell, the daughter of Dr. William Alexander Cook of Tulsa, Oklahoma and former wife of Colin Leiter Campbell. They were the parents of:[8]

      He married, thirdly, Constance Elizabeth (née Gibbs) Langton, daughter of Herbert Gray Gibbs, on 11 February 1947. She was previously married to John Stephen Langton. Before their divorce in 1953, they were the parents of:[4]

      • Orme Roosevelt Clarke (1947–1992), who married Joanna Valentine Schuster, daughter of Maj. John Schuster and Hon. Lorna Frances Hermon-Hodge (a daughter of Roland Hermon-Hodge, 2nd Baron Wyfold), in 1971. They divorced in 1989 and he married Christine V. O'Flaherty, daughter of J. G. O'Flaherty, in 1991.[4]

      Sir Humphrey committed suicide by shotgun on 22 January 1973, at the age of 66, at his estate in Bibury, Gloucestershire.[5] He left an estate valued at £786,274,[10] was succeeded in the baronetcy by his eldest son, Toby.[4]

      Descendants

      Through his eldest son Toby, he was a grandfather of three: Theodora Roosevelt Clarke (MP for Stafford), Augusta Elfrida Clarke, and Olympic athlete Lawrence Somerset Clarke.[11]

      References

      1. ↑ "A DAY'S WEDDINGS; CLARKE -- ROOSEVELT". The New York Times. 20 June 1905. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
      2. ↑ "The Blacketts of North East England". Theblacketts.com. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
      3. ↑ Greenslet, Ferris. (1946) The Lowells and Their Seven Worlds, Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-89760-263-3.
      4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003, volume 1, page 809.
      5. 1 2 "Sir Humphrey Orme Clarke". The Daily Telegraph. 26 January 1973. p. 16. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
      6. ↑ "FUNERAL OF SIR ORME CLARKE". The Gloucestershire Echo. 5 April 1949. p. 6. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
      7. ↑ "Mr. H. Orme Clarke and Miss Powys Sketchley". The Daily Telegraph. 18 April 1931. p. 13. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
      8. ↑ TIMES, Special to THE NEW YORK (13 September 1939). "Son to Humphrey Clarkes". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
      9. ↑ "Tobias Clarke Weds Miss Walter". The New York Times. 2 February 1971. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
      10. ↑ "BARONET LEAVES £786,274 IN WILL". Western Daily Press and Times and Mirror. 20 February 1973. p. 8. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
      11. ↑ "Lawrence Clarke's Christening". tatler.com. 14 December 1990. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
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