Henry Thomas Petty-Fitzmaurice, 4th Marquess of Lansdowne (7 January 1816 – 5 July 1866), styled Lord Henry Petty-FitzMaurice until 1836 and Earl of Shelburne between 1836 and 1863, was a British 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, (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 ...

, and Lady Louisa Emma, daughter of

Henry Fox-Strangways, 2nd Earl of Ilchester Henry Thomas Fox-Strangways, 2nd Earl of Ilchester (29 July 1747 – 5 September 1802), known as Lord Stavordale from 1756 to 1776, was a British peer and Member of Parliament. Life Ilchester was the eldest son of Stephen Fox-Strangways, 1st E ...

. He was educated at

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

and

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

. On the early death of his elder brother the

Earl of Kerry Baron Kerry is an ancient title in the Peerage of Ireland named after County Kerry. It was created circa 1223 for Thomas FitzMaurice, Lord OConnello. In 1325, Maurice FitzMaurice, 4th Baron Kerry, murdered Diarmaid Óg MacCarthy (son of Corma ...

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

Political career

After graduation, he entered the

Commons The commons is the cultural and natural resources accessible to all members of a society, including natural materials such as air, water, and a habitable Earth. These resources are held in common even when owned privately or publicly. Commons ...

as MP for

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 ...

in 1837. He served under

Lord John Russell John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, (18 August 1792 – 28 May 1878), known by his courtesy title Lord John Russell before 1861, was a British Whig and Liberal statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1852 and a ...

as a

Lord of the Treasury In the United Kingdom there are at least six Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, serving as a commission for the ancient office of Treasurer of the Exchequer. The board consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second Lord of th ...

from 1847 to 1848. In 1856, he was called up to the House of Lords in his father's barony of Wycombe and was

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs is a vacant junior position in the British government, subordinate to both the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and since 1945 also to the Minister of State for Foreign Affai ...

under

Lord Palmerston Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, (20 October 1784 – 18 October 1865) was a British statesman who was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century. Palmerston dominated British foreign policy during the period ...

from that year until 1858. On the death of his father in 1863, Lord Shelburne succeeded to his titles and was made a

Knight of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. It is the most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, outranked in precedence only by the Victoria Cross and the George ...

a year later.

Family

On 18 August 1840, he married Lady Georgiana Herbert (a daughter of the 11th Earl of Pembroke), but she died six months later. He then married Comtesse Emily de Flahault (the eldest daughter of

Charles Joseph, comte de Flahaut Auguste-Charles-Joseph de Flahaut de La Billarderie, comte de Flahaut (21 April 17851 September 1870) was a French general during the Napoleonic Wars, a statesman, and late in life French ambassador to the Court of St James's. Biography He was ...

and the 2nd Baroness Keith) on 1 November 1843 in Vienna and they had three children: * Henry Charles Keith, Earl of Shelburne (1845–1927), later Marquess of Lansdowne * Lord Edmond George (1846–1935), later Baron FitzMaurice *Lady Emily Louisa Anne (1855–1939), married Col. Hon. Everard Digby, a son of the 9th Baron Digby and had issue Lord Lansdowne died suddenly from an attack of

apoplexy Apoplexy () is rupture of an internal organ and the accompanying symptoms. The term formerly referred to what is now called a stroke. Nowadays, health care professionals do not use the term, but instead specify the anatomic location of the bleedi ...

on 5July 1866; his titles were inherited by his eldest son, Henry.thepeerage.com
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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lansdowne, Henry Petty-FitzMaurice, 4th Marquess of 1816 births 1866 deaths Knights of the Garter Petty-FitzMaurice, Henry Petty-FitzMaurice, Henry Petty-FitzMaurice, Henry Petty-FitzMaurice, Henry Petty-FitzMaurice, Henry Lansdowne, M4 Whig (British political party) MPs 4 Earls of Kerry