William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne

William Petty, 1st Marquess of Lansdowne

Coat of arms of William Petty, 1st Marquess of Lansdowne

William Petty, 1st Marquess of Lansdowne, 2nd Earl of Shelburne KG PC (born May 2, 1737 in Dublin , † May 7, 1805 in London ), was a British military and statesman and from 1782 to 1783 British Prime Minister .

Life

He was born as John FitzMaurice and was the older son of John FitzMaurice (1706–1761). His father changed the family name in 1750 after his mother's family from "FitzMaurice" to "Petty" and in 1753 was elevated to Earl of Shelburne .

He grew up in the south of Ireland and studied from 1755 at Christ Church College of Oxford University .

In 1757 he joined the British Army and served in General Wolfe's regiment . In the Seven Years' War Fitzmaurice distinguished itself in 1759 in the battle of Minden . In 1760 he was promoted to colonel and was aide-de-camp of the king from 1760 to 1763 . He also fought in the Battle of Kampen Monastery in 1760 . In 1765 he was promoted to major-general , in 1772 to lieutenant-general and finally in 1783 to general .

In 1760 he was elected to the British House of Commons as MP for Chipping Wycombe . When his father died in 1761, he inherited his title of nobility and was given a seat in the House of Lords , with which he resigned from the House of Commons. After leading the parliamentary opposition for several years, he moved to the Ministry in 1766 with William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham . Must after he also had at its dissolution in 1768 to resign, he proved to be the most violent opponents of the ministerial policy with regard to the measures against the North American colonies, was in 1782 Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and immediately began peace negotiations with the United States that the American Revolutionary War ended . In 1782 he was accepted into the Order of the Garter as a Knight Companion . After the death of Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham , he was at the head of the cabinet until 1783, was then for a short time ousted by the coalition ministry Fox-North, overturned the same thing with Pitt in December 1783, but did not resign into the cabinet.

Raised Marquess of Lansdowne in 1784 , he soon retired to his estates, where he lived as a protector of scholars and artists. In 1798 he was elected as a fellow in the Society of Antiquaries and in 1803 in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences .

He died in London on May 7, 1805 and was buried in High Wycombe , Buckinghamshire . The British Museum bought his library .

Marriages and offspring

His first marriage was on February 3, 1765 in London, Lady Sophia Carteret, daughter of John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville . With her he had a son:

John Petty, 2nd Marquess of Lansdowne (1765-1809).

His second marriage was on July 19, 1779, in London, with Lady Louisa FitzPatrick, daughter of John FitzPatrick, 1st Earl of Upper Ossory . With her he had a son and a daughter:

Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne (1780-1863);
Lady Louisa FitzMaurice († young).

Literature and web links

Edmond George Petty-Fitzmaurice: Life of William, Earl of Shelburne . 2 volumes, Macmillan & Co., London 1912.

General William Petty, 1st Marquess of Lansdowne on thepeerage.com

Individual evidence

^ Deed Poll Office: Private Act of Parliament 1750 (24 Geo. 2). c. 43

predecessor	Office	successor
New title created	Marquess of Lansdowne 1784-1805	John Petty
John Petty	Earl of Shelburne 1761-1805	John Petty

personal data
SURNAME	Petty, William, 2nd Earl of Shelburne
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Petty, William, 1st Marquess of Lansdowne
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	British statesman and British Prime Minister
DATE OF BIRTH	May 2, 1737
PLACE OF BIRTH	Dublin
DATE OF DEATH	May 7, 1805
Place of death	London

[1] Deed Poll Office: Private Act of Parliament 1750 (24 Geo. 2). c. 43