John Ponsonby, 5th Earl of Bessborough

John George Brabazon Ponsonby, 5th Earl of Bessborough PC (14 October 1809 – 28 January 1880), styled Viscount Duncannon from 1844 until 1847, was a British cricketer, courtier and Liberal politician.

[2] Ponsonby entered the House of Commons in the 1831 general election, sitting as a Whig for Bletchingley, where he was returned unopposed.

Here, he was returned as a Liberal at Derby, though the campaign was marred by a "bizarre nervous breakdown"[3] brought on by stress, overwork, and the recent death of his mother.

[3] He represented Derby until May 1847, when he succeeded to the earldom on the death of his father, and took up his seat in the House of Lords.

In January 1866 he was appointed Lord Steward of the Household under Russell, a post he held until the Liberals lost power in June 1866, and again between 1868 and 1874 in William Ewart Gladstone's first administration.