LONGMAN, George (c.1773-1822), of 22 Bloomsbury Square, Mdx.

On the death of their father the successful publisherNephew of the founder, Thomas Longman of Bristol. See C. J. Longman and J. E. Chandler, House of Longman, 1724-1800 . in 1797, George Longman’s elder brother Thomas inherited the business. He devoted his share of the patrimony to setting up in business as a wholesale stationer at 39 Ludgate Street. In 1806 he entered into partnership with John Dickinson, first at Walbrook, then at 65 Old Bailey, and thanks to Dickinson’s acquisition of paper mills near Watford and inventive genius, the firm flourished.The Firm of John Dickinson and Co. Ltd. (1896).

Longman contested Maidstone, ‘one of the centres of the paper-making industry’,Ibid. 7. in 1806 and was returned on the Whig interest. He gave a silent support to the Grenville ministry and was listed among the ‘staunch friends’ of the abolition of the slave trade. He was a defaulter on 10 Apr. 1807, when an order for his attendance was renewed. He survived another contest in 1807 and went into opposition, though the first minority votes that appear were in the session of 1808, on the droits of Admiralty, 11 Feb., and for a larger grant to Maynooth Catholic seminary, 29 Apr. He was in the minorities against the Duke of York, 15-17 Mar., and for inquiry into ministerial corruption, 25 Apr. 1809. He voted against Perceval’s ministry on the address and the Scheldt inquiry, 23, 26 Jan., 5 and 30 Mar. 1810, the Whigs reckoning him one of their adherents. He opposed Burdett’s imprisonment and supported the discharge of the radical Gale Jones, 5, 16 Apr., and on 21 May voted for parliamentary reform. He rallied to opposition on the Regency, voted for inquiry into ex officio informations for libel, 28 Mar. 1811, and against the reinstatement of the Duke of York, 6 June. In the session of 1812 he supported inquiry into the state of Ireland, 4 Feb., opposed the orders in council, 3 Mar., favoured Catholic relief, 24 Apr., and voted for sinecure reform, 4 May. He opposed the leather tax, 1 July.

Longman was defeated in 1812 but regained his seat in 1818. Although he did not sign the requisition to Tierney to lead them, he again voted silently with opposition: for the inclusion of Brougham on the Bank committee, 8 Feb. 1819; against the Windsor establishment, 22, 25 Feb.; for a review of the criminal law, 2 Mar.; for Admiralty retrenchment, 18 Mar.; for Tierney’s censure motion, 18 May; against the public revenue proposals, 7 and 8 June; against the foreign enlistment bill, 10 June; in the minority on the cash payments bill, 14 June, and for parliamentary reform, 1 July. In the last session he voted steadily with opposition against repressive legislation from 24 Nov. until 6 Dec. 1819 and again from 16 to 22 Dec.

Longman retired in 1820 and died 23 Nov. 1822.Gent. Mag. (1822), ii. 474. His nephew Charles Longman replaced him as John Dickinson’s partner.