James Brownlow William Gascoyne-Cecil, 2nd Marquess of Salisbury, (17 April 1791 – 12 April 1868), styled Viscount Cranborne until 1823, was a British

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

politician. He held office under The Earl of Derby as

Lord Privy Seal The Lord Privy Seal (or, more formally, the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal) is the fifth of the Great Officers of State in the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord President of the Council and above the Lord Great Chamberlain. Originally, ...

in 1852 and

Lord President of the Council The lord president of the Council is the presiding officer of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom and the fourth of the Great Officers of State, ranking below the Lord High Treasurer but above the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal. The Lord ...

between 1858 and 1859. He was the father of

Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (; 3 February 183022 August 1903) was a British statesman and Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom three times for a total of over thirteen ...

, three times

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern p ...

, and grandfather of

Arthur Balfour Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour, (, ; 25 July 184819 March 1930), also known as Lord Balfour, was a British Conservative statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1902 to 1905. As foreign secretary in the ...

, who also served as Prime Minister.

Background

Salisbury was the son of

James Cecil, 1st Marquess of Salisbury James Cecil, 1st Marquess of Salisbury, (4 September 1748 – 13 June 1823), styled Viscount Cranborne until 1780 and known as The Earl of Salisbury between 1780 and 1789, was a British nobleman and politician. Background Salisbury was the so ...

, and Lady Emily Mary Hill, daughter of Wills Hill, 1st Marquess of Downshire.thepeerage.com Sir James Brownlow William Gascoyne-Cecil, 2nd Marquess of Salisbury
/ref>

Political career

Salisbury entered the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

in 1813 as

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for Weymouth and Melcombe Regis, a seat he held until 1817, and then sat for

Hertford Hertford ( ) is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. The parish had a population of 26,783 at the 2011 census. The town grew around a ford on the River Lea, n ...

between 1817 and 1823. In the latter year, he succeeded his father in the marquessate and entered the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminst ...

. He served in the Lord Derby's first two cabinets as

in 1852 and as

between 1858 and 1859. He was sworn of the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mo ...

in 1826 and 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 ...

in 1842. Apart from his political career he also served as titular Lord Lieutenant of Middlesex between 1841 and 1868, and followed his father as

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

of the

Hertfordshire Militia The Hertfordshire Militia was an auxiliary military force in Hertfordshire in South East England. From their formal organisation as Trained Bands in 1558 and their service in the English Civil War, the Militia of Hertfordshire served during times ...

. During a period of unrest in 1830 he raised the South Hertfordshire Yeomanry Cavalry and commanded it with the rank of

Major Major ( commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicato ...

. He was promoted to

Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colo ...

the following year when the regiment was expanded. In 1847, however, he exchanged with his second-in-command,

James Grimston, 2nd Earl of Verulam James Walter Grimston, 2nd Earl of Verulam (20 February 1809 – 27 July 1895), known as Viscount Grimston from 1815 to 1845, was a British peer and Conservative politician. He was the eldest son of James Walter Grimston, 1st Earl of Verulam, a ...

, and reverted to the rank of major.

Family

Lord Salisbury was married twice. His first marriage was on 2 February 1821 to Frances Mary Gascoyne (born 25 January 1802, died 15 October 1839), daughter of Bamber Gascoyne of Childwall Hall,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancas ...

, and his wife Sarah Bridget Frances Price. A biography of her by Carola Oman appeared in 1966.''The Gascoyne Heiress: The Life and Diaries of Frances Mary Gascoyne-Cecil, 1802-39'' (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1968). Retrieved 7 August 2012. The couple had six children, including: *James Emilius William Evelyn Gascoyne-Cecil, Viscount Cranborne (29 October 1821 – 14 June 1865), died unmarried. *Lady Mildred Arabella Charlotte Gascoyne-Cecil (21 October 1822 – 18 March 1881), married Alexander Beresford Hope and had children. *Lord Arthur Gascoyne-Cecil (19 December 1823 – 25 April 1825), died in infancy. *Lady Blanche Mary Harriet (5 March 1825 – 16 May 1872), married James Maitland Balfour; mother of Prime Minister

. * Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (3 February 1830 – 22 August 1903),

three times between 1885 and 1902, married Georgina Alderson and had children. *

Lord Eustace Brownlow Henry Gascoyne-Cecil (24 April 1834 – 3 July 1921), married Lady Gertrude Louisa Scott and had children. Lord Salisbury's second marriage, on 29 April 1847, was to Lady Mary Catherine Sackville-West, daughter of

George Sackville-West, 5th Earl De La Warr George John Sackville-West, 5th Earl de la Warr, PC (26 October 1791 – 23 February 1869), styled Viscount Cantelupe until 1795, was a British courtier and Tory politician. Background Sackville-West was the son of John West, 4th Earl De L ...

, and Elizabeth Sackville-West, Countess De La Warr, with whom he had five children: *Lord Sackville Arthur Cecil (16 March 1848 – 29 January 1898), died unmarried. * Lady Mary Arabella Arthur Cecil (26 April 1850 – 18 August 1903), married

Alan Stewart, 10th Earl of Galloway Alan Plantagenet Stewart, 10th Earl of Galloway, KT, DL, JP (21 October 1835 – 7 February 1901), styled Lord Garlies until 1873, was a British peer and politician. Background Galloway was the eldest son of Randolph Stewart, 9th Earl of G ...

. *Lady Margaret Elizabeth Cecil (1850 – 11 March 1919), died unmarried. *Lord Arthur Cecil (3 July 1851– 16 July 1913), married Elizabeth Ann Wilson and had children; married secondly, in 1902, Frederica von Klenck, daughter of diplomat Baron Otto von Klenck, of

Gmunden Gmunden () is a town in Upper Austria, Austria in the district of Gmunden. It has 13,204 inhabitants (estimates 2016 ). It is much frequented as a health and summer resort, and has a variety of lake, brine, vegetable and pine-cone baths, a hydrop ...

, and his British-born wife née Stewart. *

Lord Lionel Cecil (21 March 1853 – 13 January 1901), died unmarried. Lord Salisbury died in April 1868, aged 76, and was succeeded as marquess by his third, eldest surviving son, Robert. The Marchioness of Salisbury died in December 1900.

External links

* *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Salisbury, James Gascoyne-Cecil, 2nd Marquess of 1791 births 1868 deaths James Cranborne, James Gascoyne-Cecil, Viscount Knights of the Garter Lord-Lieutenants of Middlesex Salisbury2 Hertfordshire Yeomanry officers Lord Presidents of the Council Lords Privy Seal Cranborne, James Gascoyne-Cecil, Viscount Cranborne, James Gascoyne-Cecil, Viscount Cranborne, James Gascoyne-Cecil, Viscount Cranborne, James Gascoyne-Cecil, Viscount Salisbury, M2 James, Salisbury 2 Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Parents of prime ministers of the United Kingdom