George Thomas Colomb

General George Thomas Colomb (4 June 1787 – 20 March 1874) was a senior officer in British Army and a talented amateur artist.

He was born in Twickenham, London, the son of Swiss emigré Pierre Philippe Colomb and joined the British Army in 1808 as an ensign in the 96th Regiment of Foot. He served on the staff in America in 1814/15 and was made Major in 1817 and Lieutenant-Colonel in 1841.^[1]

By that time he was living in Dublin and exhibited several of his paintings at the Royal Hibernian Academy. From then on he was almost an annual exhibitor until 1868 and elected an Honorary Member of the Academy in 1854.

In 1843 he was appointed Commandant of the Hibernian Military School in Phoenix Park, a position he vacated when promoted Major-General in 1858. From 1869 to his death he was Colonel of the 97th (The Earl of Ulster's) Regiment of Foot.^[2] He was promoted full General on 7 February 1874. ^[3]

He died in Dalkey, Dublin in 1874. He had married in 1820, Mary, the daughter of Sir Abraham Bradley King, Bt., with whom he had four sons and three daughters. His eldest son, George Halton Colomb, was a colonel in the Royal Artillery and also a competent amateur painter. His third son was Vice-Admiral Philip Howard Colomb and the fourth Sir John Charles Ready Colomb, naval strategist and M.P.

References

1. "Colomb, Major George Thomas, Hon. R.H.A.". Library Ireland. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
2. "97th (The Earl of Ulster's) Regiment of Foot". regiments.org. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
3. The London Gazette: no. 24068. p. 828. 24 February 1874.