William Beckford the Elder
William Beckford the Elder ( December 19, 1709 - June 21, 1770 ) was an English politician. He was Lord Mayor of London twice (1762 and 1769) . He is the father of the writer and builder William Beckford , who built an eccentric structure, Fonthill Abbey , on the Fonthill family estate , which at the time was talked about across England.
Life
He spent his youth in Jamaica , where his family owned extensive estates acquired from his grandfather Peter Beckford . In 1723 he was sent to England for further training, where he studied at the Westminster School.
In 1744 he acquired Fonthill Gifford near Salisbury in Wiltshire . He expanded the Elizabethan estate, but in 1755 it was destroyed by fire. He then built Fonthill Splendens , a Palladian castle . This was first partially and finally completely demolished by his son when he built Fonthill Abbey from 1795.
In 1752 he became Alderman and in 1754 Member of Parliament for the City of London . With his considerable wealth he supported William Pitt's party and the Whigs - and the interests of the Jamaican sugar cane growers. In 1762 and again in 1769 he was elected Lord Mayor of London. On June 8, 1756 he had married Maria Hamilton, a direct descendant of Maria Stuart, and in 1760 his son William Thomas Beckford was born in Fonthill as the only descendant from this connection.
Beckford supported John Wilkes , for whose release he campaigned, and on May 23, 1770 he demanded King George III. because of the electoral irregularities that have occurred, publicly to dissolve Parliament and dismiss its advisors. The king was very angry at this improper address, but the Common Council of the City of London Corporation was so delighted that a life-size statue was erected for him, on the base of which Beckford's words were engraved in gold (see illustration).
His political opponents of Tory made fun of his broad colonial accent and his coarse language, gave him ridiculous names such as "William Hurricane" or "Rumford Sugarcane", but could not deny him (or the wealth he represented) respect .
On his death he left over £ 1,000,000 in cash (about £ 110 million in today's purchasing power), extensive estates, a legitimate heir and six illegitimate descendants.
literature
- Beckford, William . In: James Grant Wilson, John Fiske (Eds.): Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography . tape 1 : Aaron - Crandall . D. Appleton and Company, New York 1887, p. 213 (English, full text [ Wikisource ]).
Individual evidence
- ^ Elke Heinemann: Babylonian games: William Beckford and the awakening of the modern imagination. Munich 2000, p. 13 f.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Beckford, William the Elder |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | English politician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 19, 1709 |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 21, 1770 |