Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne

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The Most Honourable
The Marquess of Lansdowne
KG PC FRS
Lord Henry Petty.jpg
Chancellor of the Exchequer
In office
5 February 1806 – 26 March 1807
Monarch George III
Preceded by William Pitt the Younger
Succeeded by Spencer Perceval
Home Secretary
In office
16 July 1827 – 22 January 1828
Monarch George IV
Preceded by William Sturges Bourne
Succeeded by Robert Peel
Lord President of the Council
In office
22 November 1830 – 14 November 1834
Monarch William IV
Prime Minister The Earl Grey
The Viscount Melbourne
Preceded by The Earl Bathurst
Succeeded by The Earl of Rosslyn
In office
23 April 1835 – 3 September 1841
Monarch William IV
Queen Victoria
Prime Minister The Viscount Melbourne
Preceded by The Earl of Rosslyn
Succeeded by The Lord Wharncliffe
In office
6 July 1846 – 27 February 1852
Monarch Queen Victoria
Prime Minister Lord John Russell
Preceded by The Duke of Buccleuch
Succeeded by The Earl of Lonsdale
Personal details
Born (1780-07-02)2 July 1780
Lansdowne House, Mayfair, Middlesex, England
Died Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist.
Bowood House, Derry Hill, Wiltshire, England
Political party British Whig Party
Spouse(s) Lady Louisa Fox-Strangway
(1785–1851)
Alma mater University of Edinburgh
Trinity College, Cambridge

Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne KG PC FRS (2 July 1780 – 31 January 1863), known as Lord Henry Petty from 1784 to 1809, was a British statesman. In a ministerial career spanning nearly half a century he notably served as Home Secretary and Chancellor of the Exchequer and was three times Lord President of the Council.

Background and education

Lansdowne was the son of Prime Minister William Petty, 1st Marquess of Lansdowne (better known as the Earl of Shelburne) by his second marriage to Lady Louisa, daughter of John FitzPatrick, 1st Earl of Upper Ossory. He was educated at Westminster School, the University of Edinburgh, and Trinity College, Cambridge.[1]

Political career

He entered the House of Commons in 1802 as member for the family borough of Calne and quickly showed his mettle as a politician. In February 1806 he became Chancellor of the Exchequer in Lord Grenville's Ministry of All the Talents, being at this time member for the University of Cambridge, but he lost both his seat and his office in 1807. In 1809 he became Marquess of Lansdowne, and in the House of Lords and in society he continued to play an active part as one of the Whig leaders. His chief interest was perhaps in the question of Roman Catholic emancipation, a cause which he consistently championed, but he sympathised also with the advocates of the abolition of the slave-trade and with the cause of popular education. Lansdowne, who had succeeded his cousin, Francis Thomas Fitzmaurice, as 4th Earl of Kerry in 1818, took office with Canning in May 1827 and was Secretary of State for the Home Department from July of that year until January 1828.

He was Lord President of the Council under Earl Grey and then under Lord Melbourne from November 1830 to August 1841, with the exception of the few months in 1835 when Sir Robert Peel was prime minister. He held the same office during the whole of Lord John Russell's ministry (1846–1852), and, having declined to become prime minister, sat in the cabinets of Lord Aberdeen and of Lord Palmerston, but without office. In 1857 he refused the offer of a dukedom, and he died on 31 January 1863. Lansdowne's social influence and political moderation made him one of the most powerful Whig statesmen of the time; he was frequently consulted by Queen Victoria on matters of moment, and his long official experience made his counsel invaluable to his party.

Other public appointments

Lansdowne chaired the inaugural meeting of the London Statistical Society, and was its first president (1834–1836). He later served a second term (1842–1844). (See The Times 15 and 17 March 1834, and John Bibby (1987) HOTS: History of Teaching Statistics.)

Family

Lord Lansdowne married Lady Louisa, daughter of the 2nd Earl of Ilchester, in 1808. She died in April 1851, aged 65. Lord Lansdowne died in January 1863, aged 82. His eldest son, the Earl of Kerry, had predeceased him and he was succeeded in the marquessate by his eldest surviving son Henry. The latter was the father of Henry Petty-FitzMaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne, who also became a distinguished statesman.

References

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External links

File:A great stream from a petty-fountain.jpg
In A Great Stream from a Petty-Fountain (1806), James Gillray caricatured the budget of Petty, then the new Chancellor of the Exchequer, as a stream from which his fellow Whigs fed. Petty is the fountainhead at the upper right.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Calne
18021806
With: Joseph Jekyll
Succeeded by
Joseph Jekyll
Osborne Markham
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Cambridge University
18061807
With: Earl of Euston
Succeeded by
Earl of Euston
Sir Vicary Gibbs
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Camelford
1807–1809
With: Robert Adair
Succeeded by
Robert Adair
Henry Brougham
Political offices
Preceded by Chancellor of the Exchequer
1806–1807
Succeeded by
Spencer Perceval
Preceded by Home Secretary
1827–1828
Succeeded by
Sir Robert Peel, Bt
Preceded by Lord President of the Council
1830–1834
Succeeded by
The Earl of Rosslyn
Preceded by Lord President of the Council
1835–1841
Succeeded by
The Lord Wharncliffe
Preceded by Lord President of the Council
1846–1852
Succeeded by
The Earl of Lonsdale
Preceded by Leader of the House of Lords
1846–1852
Succeeded by
The Earl of Derby
Party political offices
Preceded by Leader of the Whigs in the House of Lords
1842–1855
Succeeded by
The Earl Granville
Preceded by Leader of the British Whig Party
1842 – 1846 – with Lord John Russell
Succeeded by
Lord John Russell
Peerage of Great Britain
Preceded by Marquess of Lansdowne
1809–1863
Succeeded by
Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice
Earl Wycombe
1809–1863
Peerage of Ireland
Preceded by Earl of Kerry
1818–1863
Succeeded by
Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice
Academic offices
Preceded by Rector of the University of Glasgow
1829–1831
Succeeded by
Henry Thomas Cockburn
Honorary titles
Preceded by Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire
1827–1863
Succeeded by
The Marquess of Ailesbury
Preceded by Senior Privy Counsellor
1851–1863
Succeeded by
The Viscount Palmerston

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