Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne, (2 July 178031 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 The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all nationa ...

and

Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the Ch ...

and was three times

Lord President of the Council The lord president of the Council is the presiding officer of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom and the fourth of the Great Officers of State, ranking below the Lord High Treasurer but above the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal. The Lord ...

Background and education

Lansdowne was the son of Prime Minister

William Petty, 1st Marquess of Lansdowne William Petty Fitzmaurice, 1st Marquess of Lansdowne, (2 May 17377 May 1805; known as the Earl of Shelburne between 1761 and 1784, by which title he is generally known to history), was an Irish-born British Whig statesman who was the firs ...

(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 (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

, the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 1 ...

, and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

Political career

He entered the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

in 1802 as member for the family borough of

Calne Calne () is a town and civil parish in Wiltshire, southwestern England,OS Explorer Map 156, Chippenham and Bradford-on-Avon Scale: 1:25 000.Publisher: Ordnance Survey A2 edition (2007). at the northwestern extremity of the North Wessex Downs ...

and quickly showed his mettle as a politician. In February 1806 he became

in Lord Grenville's Ministry of All the Talents, being at this time member for the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, but he lost both his seat and his office in 1807. In 1809 he became Marquess of Lansdowne, and in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminst ...

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 Canning is a method of food preservation in which food is processed and sealed in an airtight container ( jars like Mason jars, and steel and tin cans). Canning provides a shelf life that typically ranges from one to five years, althoug ...

in May 1827 and was

Secretary of State for the Home Department The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national ...

from July of that year until January 1828. He was

under Earl Grey and then under

Lord Melbourne William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, (15 March 177924 November 1848), in some sources called Henry William Lamb, was a British Whig politician who served as Home Secretary (1830–1834) and Prime Minister (1834 and 1835–1841). His first pr ...

from November 1830 to August 1841, with the exception of the few months in 1835 when Sir

Robert Peel Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet, (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850) was a British Conservative statesman who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835 and 1841–1846) simultaneously serving as Chancellor of the Excheque ...

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 A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

, sat in the cabinets of

Lord Aberdeen George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen, (28 January 178414 December 1860), styled Lord Haddo from 1791 to 1801, was a British statesman, diplomat and landowner, successively a Tory, Conservative and Peelite politician and specialist in ...

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 Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

on matters of moment, and his long official experience made his counsel invaluable to his party. In Kenmare, he donated the site of the Holy Cross Church to the town. In 1864, Father John O'Sullivan (1806-74) built the church on that site.

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 Fox-Strangways, daughter of the 2nd Earl of Ilchester, in 1808. They had three sons and one daughter: *Lady Louisa (d. 12 June 1906) married Hon. James Kenneth Howard, son of

Thomas Howard, 16th Earl of Suffolk Thomas Howard, 16th Earl of Suffolk, 9th Earl of Berkshire FSA (18 August 1776 – 4 December 1851) was a British peer and politician. Background Suffolk was the second but eldest surviving son of General John Howard, 15th Earl of Suffolk, an ...

. They had a son Kenneth (married Lady Emily Bury, daughter of the

Earl of Charleville Earl of Charleville was a title that was created twice in the Peerage of Ireland. The first creation came in 1758 when Charles Moore, 2nd Baron Moore, was made Earl of Charleville, in the King's County. The title Baron Moore, of Tullamore in the ...

) and daughter Winifrede. * William Thomas Petty-FitzMaurice, Earl of Kerry (30 Mar 1811 - 21 Aug 1836) * Henry Petty-FitzMaurice, 4th Marquess of Lansdowne (7 Jan 1816 - 5 July 1866) *Hon. Bentinck Yelverton (1855 - 1892), died unmarried. Louisa died in April 1851, aged 65, and Lord Lansdowne 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 Henry Charles Keith Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne, (14 January 18453 June 1927), was a British statesman who served successively as Governor General of Canada, Viceroy of India, Secretary of State for War and Secretary of State f ...

, who also became a distinguished statesman.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lansdowne, Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess Of 1780 births 1863 deaths Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge British Secretaries of State Chancellors of the Exchequer of Great Britain Children of prime ministers of the United Kingdom Fellows of the Royal Society Garter Knights appointed by William IV Lord-Lieutenants of Wiltshire Lord Presidents of the Council Petty, Lord Henry Petty, Henry Presidents of the Royal Statistical Society Rectors of the University of Glasgow Petty, Lord Henry Petty, Lord Henry Petty, Lord Henry Lansdowne, M3 Petty, Lord Henry Petty, Lord Henry Henry Presidents of the Zoological Society of London 3 Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council Earls of Kerry Leaders of the House of Lords