William George Cavendish, 2nd Baron Chesham (29 October 1815 – 26 June 1882) 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...

 Liberal

Liberal Party (UK)

The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...

 politician.

A member of the Cavendish family

House of Cavendish

Cavendish is the surname of a British noble family, also known as the House of Cavendish, descended from Sir John Cavendish of Cavendish in the county of Suffolk Cavendish is the surname of a British noble family, also known as the House of Cavendish, descended from Sir John Cavendish of Cavendish...

 headed by the Duke of Devonshire

Duke of Devonshire

Duke of Devonshire is a title in the peerage of England held by members of the Cavendish family. This branch of the Cavendish family has been one of the richest and most influential aristocratic families in England since the 16th century, and have been rivalled in political influence perhaps only...

, Chesham was the son of Charles Compton Cavendish, 1st Baron Chesham and Lady Catherine Susan Gordon, daughter of George Gordon, 9th Marquess of Huntly

George Gordon, 9th Marquess of Huntly

George Gordon, 9th Marquess of Huntly KT , styled Lord Strathavon until 1795 and known as The Earl of Aboyne from 1795 to 1836, was a Scottish peer....

. In 1847 he was elected Member of Parliament

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 Peterborough

Peterborough (UK Parliament constituency)

Peterborough is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, formally styled The Honourable the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past...

, a seat he held until 1852, and later represented Buckinghamshire

Buckinghamshire (UK Parliament constituency)

Buckinghamshire is a former United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency. It was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1885.Its most prominent member was...

 from 1857 to 1863, when he succeeded his father in the Barony and took his seat in the House of Lords.

In 1849 Lord Chesham married Henrietta Frances Lascelles, daughter of William Saunders Sebright Lascelles

William Saunders Sebright Lascelles

William Saunders Sebright Lascelles PC was a British Whig politician. He served as Comptroller of the Household from 1847 to 1851.-Background:...

 and his wife Lady Caroline Georgiana Howard, daughter of George Howard, 6th Earl of Carlisle

George Howard, 6th Earl of Carlisle

George Howard, 6th Earl of Carlisle KG, PC, FRS , styled Viscount Morpeth until 1825, was a British statesman...

. He died in June 1882, aged 66, and was succeeded in the barony by his eldest son Charles Compton William Cavendish.