Henry Petty-FitzMaurice, 4th Marquess of Lansdowne
Encyclopedia
Henry Thomas Petty-Fitzmaurice, 4th Marquess of Lansdowne KG
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...

 (7 January 1816 – 5 July 1866), styled Lord Henry Petty-FitzMaurice until 1836 and Earl of Shelburne between 1836 and 1863, was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 politician.

Background and education

Born Lord Henry Petty-FitzMaurice, he was the second son of Henry Petty-FitzMaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne
Henry Petty-FitzMaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne
Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne KG, PC, FRS , known as Lord Henry Petty from 1784 to 1809 and then as The Earl of Kerry to 1818, was a British statesman...

, and Lady Louisa Emma, daughter of Henry Fox-Strangways, 2nd Earl of Ilchester
Henry Fox-Strangways, 2nd Earl of Ilchester
Henry Thomas Fox-Strangways, 2nd Earl of Ilchester , known as Lord Stavordale from 1756 to 1776, was a British peer and Member of Parliament....

. He was educated at Westminster
Westminster School
The Royal College of St. Peter in Westminster, almost always known as Westminster School, is one of Britain's leading independent schools, with the highest Oxford and Cambridge acceptance rate of any secondary school or college in Britain...

 and Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...

. On the early death of his elder brother the Earl of Kerry
William Petty-FitzMaurice, Earl of Kerry
William Thomas Petty-FitzMaurice, Earl of Kerry , styled Earl of Wycombe between 1811 and 1818, was a British Whig politician.-Background:...

 in 1836 he became known under the courtesy title Earl of Shelburne.

Political career

After graduation, he entered the 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...

 as MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 for Calne
Calne (UK Parliament constituency)
Calne was a parliamentary borough in Wiltshire, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1295 until 1832, and then one member from 1832 until 1885, when the borough was abolished.-History:...

 in 1837. He served under Lord John Russell
John Russell, 1st Earl Russell
John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, KG, GCMG, PC , known as Lord John Russell before 1861, was an English Whig and Liberal politician who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century....

 as a Lord of the Treasury
Lord of the Treasury
In the United Kingdom, there are at least six Lords of the Treasury who serve concurrently. Traditionally, this board consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second Lord of the Treasury, and four or more junior lords .Strictly they are commissioners for exercising the office of Lord...

 from 1847 to 1848. In 1856, he was called up to the House of Lords
Writ of acceleration
A writ in acceleration, commonly called a writ of acceleration, was a type of writ of summons to the British House of Lords that enabled the eldest son and heir apparent of a peer with multiple peerage titles to attend the British House of Lords or Irish House of Lords, using one of his father's...

 in his father's barony of Wycombe and was Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs under Lord Palmerston
Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston
Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, KG, GCB, PC , known popularly as Lord Palmerston, was a British statesman who served twice as Prime Minister in the mid-19th century...

 from that year until 1858. On the death of their father in 1863, Lord Shelburne succeeded to his titles and was made a Knight of the Garter
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...

 a year later.

Family

On 18 August 1840, he had married Lady Georgiana Herbert (a daughter of the 11th Earl of Pembroke
George Herbert, 11th Earl of Pembroke
General George Augustus Herbert, 11th Earl of Pembroke and 8th Earl of Montgomery, KG, PC was a British peer, army officer and politician.-Early life:...

), but she died six months later. He then married Comtesse Emily de Flahault
Emily Petty-Fitzmaurice, Marchioness of Lansdowne
Emily Jane Mercer Elphinstone Petty-Fitzmaurice, Marchioness of Lansdowne and 8th Lady Nairne was a British peeress....

 (the eldest daughter of Charles Joseph, comte de Flahaut
Charles Joseph, comte de Flahaut
Auguste Charles Joseph de Flahaut de La Billarderie, Comte de Flahaut de La Billarderie was a French general and statesman...

 and the 2nd Baroness Keith) on 1 November 1843 in Vienna and they had three children:
  • Henry Charles Keith, Earl of Shelburne
    Henry Petty-FitzMaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne
    Henry Charles Keith Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne, KG, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, PC was a British politician and Irish peer who served successively as the fifth Governor General of Canada, Viceroy of India, Secretary of State for War, and Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs...

     (1845–1927)
  • Lord Edmond George
    Edmond Petty-FitzMaurice, 1st Baron FitzMaurice
    Edmond George Petty-Fitzmaurice, 1st Baron Fitzmaurice PC , styled Lord Edmond FitzMaurice from 1863 to 1906, was a British Liberal politician. He served as Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs from 1883 to 1885 and again from 1905 to 1908, when he entered the cabinet as Chancellor of the...

     (1846–1935), later Baron FitzMaurice.
  • Lady Emily Louisa Anne (1855–1939), married Col. Hon. Everard Digby, a son of the 9th Baron Digby
    Edward Digby, 9th Baron Digby
    Edward St Vincent Digby, 9th Baron Digby , also 3rd Baron Digby in the Peerage of Great Britain, was a British peer.-Biography:...

     and had issue.


Lord Lansdowne died in 1866 and his titles were inherited by his eldest son, Henry.

External links

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