Overview
Sir Francis Mowatt (28 April 1837 – 20 November 1919) was a British civil servant.
He was a radical and Liberal civil servant at the Head of the Treasury. His influence was felt at a time of expansion in governmental activities.
Personal life
Mowatt was born in Sydney, Australia on 28 April 1837. His father Francis Mowatt (1803–1891) was an MP from Falmouth. His wife Sarah Sophia was the daughter of Captain George Barnes of Romford. Barnes was part of the marine services of the British East India Company. Mowatt's sister was married to Vernon Lushington, a permanent secretary to the Admiralty.
Early career
Mowat was educated at Harrow (1851–53) and Winchester, before going on to St John's College, Oxford (1855–56). He was a Treasury Clerkship scholar. In one of the first civil service exams taken, he scored 880 marks out of 1545. As a third class clerk he was paid £100 with an appraisal of £250.
On 9 June 1864, aged 27, Mowatt, on a salary of £430, married Lucy Sophia, daughter of John Andrew Freriche of Thirlestaine Hall, Cheltenham, and a widow of Count Stenbock, of Kolk, Estonia.
From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).