Henry Petty, 1st Earl of Shelburne
Encyclopedia
Henry Petty, 1st Earl of Shelburne PC (I)
Privy Council of Ireland
The Privy Council of Ireland was an institution of the Kingdom of Ireland until 31 December 1800 and of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland 1801-1922...

 (22 October 1675 – 17 April 1751) was an Anglo-Irish
Anglo-Irish
Anglo-Irish was a term used primarily in the 19th and early 20th centuries to identify a privileged social class in Ireland, whose members were the descendants and successors of the Protestant Ascendancy, mostly belonging to the Church of Ireland, which was the established church of Ireland until...

 peer and politician.

Background

Petty was a younger son of Sir William Petty
William Petty
Sir William Petty FRS was an English economist, scientist and philosopher. He first became prominent serving Oliver Cromwell and Commonwealth in Ireland. He developed efficient methods to survey the land that was to be confiscated and given to Cromwell's soldiers...

 and Elizabeth, Baroness Shelburne, daughter of Sir Hardress Waller. Charles Petty, 1st Baron Shelburne, was his elder brother.

Political career

Petty was elected to the Irish House of Commons
Irish House of Commons
The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland, that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords...

 for Midleton
Midleton (Parliament of Ireland constituency)
Midleton was a constituency represented in the Irish House of Commons until 1800. Incorporated by Charter, 1671 whereby it was granted to Sir John Brodrick with a Corporation sovereign, two bailiffs and 12 burgesses. It was disenfranchised at the Act of Union and compensation of £15,000 paid to...

 in 1692, a seat he held until 1693, and then represented County Waterford between 1695 and 1699. The latter year the barony of Shelburne which had become extinct on the early death of his elder brother in 1696 was revived in his favour. Two years later he was sworn of the Irish Privy Council
Privy Council of Ireland
The Privy Council of Ireland was an institution of the Kingdom of Ireland until 31 December 1800 and of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland 1801-1922...

. He was later a member of the British House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...

 for Great Marlow
Great Marlow (UK Parliament constituency)
Great Marlow, sometimes simply called Marlow, was a parliamentary borough in Buckinghamshire. It elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons between 1301 and 1307, and again from 1624 until 1868, and then one member from 1868 until 1885, when the borough was abolished.-History:In the...

 between 1715 and 1772 and for Wycombe
Wycombe (UK Parliament constituency)
Wycombe is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It currently elects one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post system of elections....

 between 1722 and 1727. In 1719 he was further honoured when he was made Viscount Dunkerron and Earl of Shelburne in the Peerage of Ireland
Peerage of Ireland
The Peerage of Ireland is the term used for those titles of nobility created by the English and later British monarchs of Ireland in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland. The creation of such titles came to an end in the 19th century. The ranks of the Irish peerage are Duke, Marquess, Earl,...

.

Personal life

Lord Shelburne married the Hon. Arabella, daughter of Charles Boyle, 3rd Viscount Dungarvan
Charles Boyle, 3rd Viscount Dungarvan
Charles Boyle, 3rd Viscount Dungarvan, 3rd Baron Clifford, FRS , was a British peer and politician...

, in 1699. There were no children from the marriage. The Countess of Shelburne died in October 1740. Lord Shelburne survived her by eleven years and died in April 1751, aged 75, when his titles became extinct. His estates devolved on his nephew John FitzMaurice
John Petty, 1st Earl of Shelburne
John Petty, 1st Earl of Shelburne PC , known as John FitzMaurice until 1751 and as The Viscount FitzMaurice between 1751 and 1753, was an Anglo-Irish peer and politician...

, in whose favour the earldom of Shelburne was revived in 1753 (see Marquess of Lansdowne
Marquess of Lansdowne
Marquess of Lansdowne, in the County of Somerset, is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain held by the head of the Petty-Fitzmaurice family. This branch of the family descends from the Hon...

).
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK