Richard Southwell Bourke, sixth earl of Mayo and Lord Naas (1822-72) was born in Dublin,
Ireland, on 21 February 1822. He entered Trinity College, Dublin, in 1841, assumed
the title of Lord Naas in 1849, and in 1852 he was appointed chief secretary for Ireland,
resuming the post during the Conservative
Derby administrations in 1858 and 1866. He represented Kildare County in the House of Commons
from 1847 to 1852, Coleraine from 1852 to 1857, and the English borough of Cockermouth
from 1857 to 1868. He was sworn in as governor general of India on 12 January 1869,
serving actively until his assassination at Port Blair, in the Andaman Islands, on
8 February 1872.