The University of Cambridge Chancellor election, 1748 was an election for the post of Chancellor of Cambridge University. The election was triggered by the retirement of the previous incumbent, Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset

Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset

Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset , sometimes referred to as the "Proud Duke". The son of Charles Seymour, 2nd Baron Seymour of Trowbridge, and Elizabeth Alington , he succeeded his brother Francis Seymour, 5th Duke of Somerset, to the dukedom when the latter was shot in 1678...

 in February 1748.

There were two candidates for the post: the heir to the throne Frederick, Prince of Wales

Frederick, Prince of Wales

Frederick, Prince of Wales was a member of the House of Hanover and therefore of the Hanoverian and later British Royal Family, the eldest son of George II and father of George III, as well as the great-grandfather of Queen Victoria...

, and the cabinet minister Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle.

A contest ensued, and on 6 July, the Duke of Newcastle was duly declared elected. According to Elisabeth Leedham-Green, Newcastle's victory "had been the result of much strenuous political activity by his supporters." William Coxe wrote in his Memoirs of the "mortification" felt by the Prince at his failure to secure election.

Edmund Pyle, the king's chaplain, later wrote of Newcastle's "pitiful passion for the Chancellorship of Cambridge" and of his having made promises of Church of England

Church of England

The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...

 preferments in the course of his campaign.

See also

• List of Chancellors of the University of Cambridge
• University of Cambridge Chancellor election, 2011
  University of Cambridge Chancellor election, 2011
  The University of Cambridge held an election for the position of Chancellor in October 2011, resulting in the choice of Lord Sainsbury of Turville to succeed the retiring incumbent Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. The Duke had retired on 30 June 2011, shortly after his 90th birthday, having been...
  
  
• University of Cambridge Chancellor election, 1950
  University of Cambridge Chancellor election, 1950
  An election for the Chancellor of the University of Cambridge was held in November 1950 after the death of the incumbent Chancellor, Jan Smuts. There was a contested election as the University establishment's candidate, Lord Tedder, was opposed by a group of Dons who favoured Jawaharlal Nehru...
  
  
• University of Cambridge Chancellor election, 1847
  University of Cambridge Chancellor election, 1847
  An election for the Chancellor of the University of Cambridge was held on 25-27 February 1847, after the death of the Duke of Northumberland. Many senior figures in the university hoped that Prince Albert, the Prince Consort could be persuaded to stand and elected unopposed, but a group from St...
  
  
• University of Cambridge Chancellor election, 1748
  University of Cambridge Chancellor election, 1748
  The University of Cambridge Chancellor election, 1748 was an election for the post of Chancellor of Cambridge University. The election was triggered by the retirement of the previous incumbent, Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset in February 1748....
  
  
• University of Cambridge Chancellor election, 1626