Stained-glass hatchment (geograph 4511642)

Lord Frederick Charles Cavendish (30 November 1836 – 6 May 1882) was an English

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

politician and ''protégé'' of the Prime Minister,

William Ewart Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...

. Cavendish was appointed

Chief Secretary for Ireland The Chief Secretary for Ireland was a key political office in the British administration in Ireland. Nominally subordinate to the Lord Lieutenant, and officially the "Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant", from the early 19th century un ...

in May 1882 but was murdered only hours after his arrival in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, a victim of the politically motivated

Phoenix Park Murders The Phoenix Park Murders were the fatal stabbings of Lord Frederick Cavendish and Thomas Henry Burke (civil servant), Thomas Henry Burke in Phoenix Park, Dublin, British rule in Ireland, Ireland, on 6 May 1882. Cavendish was the newly appoint ...

Background and education

Born at

Compton Place Compton Place is a mansion house in the parish of Eastbourne, East Sussex, England. It was rebuilt from 1726 by Sir Spencer Compton (later 1st Earl of Wilmington), to the design of the architect Colen Campbell, and was completed after Campbel ...

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

, Cavendish was the second son of

William Cavendish, 7th Duke of Devonshire William Cavendish, 7th Duke of Devonshire, (27 April 1808 – 21 December 1891), styled as Lord Cavendish of Keighley between 1831 and 1834 and known as Earl of Burlington between 1834 and 1858, was a British landowner, benefactor, nobleman, ...

, by his wife

Lady Blanche Howard Blanche Cavendish, Countess of Burlington (''née'' Howard; 11 January 1812 – 27 April 1840), was the wife of William Cavendish, 2nd Earl of Burlington, who would later become the 7th Duke of Devonshire. Early life and family Born on 11 Janua ...

, fourth daughter of

George Howard, 6th Earl of Carlisle George Howard, 6th Earl of Carlisle of Castle Howard, (17 September 17737 October 1848), styled Viscount Morpeth until 1825, was a British statesman. He served as Lord Privy Seal between 1827 and 1828 and in 1834 and was a member of Lord Grey ...

, and the brother of

Spencer Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire Spencer Compton Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire, (23 July 183324 March 1908), styled Lord Cavendish of Keighley between 1834 and 1858 and Marquess of Hartington between 1858 and 1891, was a British statesman. He has the distinction of having ...

, who had also been Chief Secretary. Cavendish, after being educated at home, matriculated in 1855 at

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 ...

, where he graduated B.A. in 1858, and then served as a

cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B, though there is also a sopr ...

with the

Duke of Lancaster's Own Yeomanry The Duke of Lancaster's Own Yeomanry (DLOY) was a yeomanry unit of the British Army from 1798 to 1992. Originally raised as part-time cavalry for home defence and internal security, the regiment sent mounted infantry to serve in the Second Boer ...

cavalry.

Political career

From 1859 to 1864, Cavendish was private secretary to

Lord Granville Earl Granville is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of Great Britain and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It is now held by members of the Leveson-Gower family. First creation The first creation came in the Pee ...

. He travelled in the United States during 1859 and 1860, and in Spain in 1860. He was elected to parliament as a Liberal for the Northern Division of the West Riding of Yorkshire, 15 July 1865, and retained that office until his death. After serving as private secretary to the prime minister,

, from July 1872 to August 1873 he became a junior

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 the ...

, and held office until the resignation of the ministry. He was

Financial Secretary to the Treasury The financial secretary to the Treasury is a mid-level ministerial post in HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. It is nominally the fifth most significant ministerial role within the Treasury after the First Lord of the Treasury, first lord of th ...

from April 1880 to May 1882, when soon after the resignation of

William Edward Forster William Edward Forster, PC, FRS (11 July 18185 April 1886) was an English industrialist, philanthropist and Liberal Party statesman. His supposed advocacy of the Irish Constabulary's use of lethal force against the National Land League earne ...

, Chief Secretary to the

Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the Kingdo ...

, he was appointed to succeed him. In company with the Earl Spencer, Lord-Lieutenant, he proceeded to Dublin, and took the oath as chief secretary at

Dublin Castle Dublin Castle ( ga, Caisleán Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a former Motte-and-bailey castle and current Irish government complex and conference centre. It was chosen for its position at the highest point of central Dublin. Until 1922 it was the se ...

, on 6 May 1882; but on the afternoon of the same day, while walking in

Phoenix Park The Phoenix Park ( ga, Páirc an Fhionnuisce) is a large urban park in Dublin, Ireland, lying west of the city centre, north of the River Liffey. Its perimeter wall encloses of recreational space. It includes large areas of grassland and tre ...

in company with Thomas Henry Burke, the

Permanent Under-Secretary A permanent secretary (also known as a principal secretary) is the most senior civil servant of a department or ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day activities. Permanent secretaries are the non-political civil ...

, he was attacked from behind by several men from an extreme Irish nationalist group known as the

Irish National Invincibles The Irish National Invincibles, usually known as the Invincibles, were a freedom fighter organization based in Ireland active from 1881 to 1883. Founded as splinter group of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, the group had a more radical agenda, ...

, who with knives murdered Burke and Lord Frederick Cavendish. The event was known as the

Phoenix Park killings The Phoenix Park Murders were the fatal stabbings of Lord Frederick Cavendish and Thomas Henry Burke in Phoenix Park, Dublin, Ireland, on 6 May 1882. Cavendish was the newly appointed Chief Secretary for Ireland and Burke was the Permanent ...

. His remains were returned to England and buried in the churchyard of St Peter's Church, Edensor, near Chatsworth, on 11 May, where 300 members of 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. ...

and 30,000 other persons followed to the side of the grave. The trial of the murderers in 1883 (see James Carey) made it evident that the death of Cavendish was not premeditated, and that he was not recognised by the assassins; the plot was against Burke, and Cavendish was murdered because he happened to be in the company of Burke.

Family

Cavendish married, on 7 June 1864, Lucy Caroline Lyttelton, second daughter of

George Lyttelton, 4th Baron Lyttelton George William Lyttelton, 4th Baron Lyttelton, 4th Baron Westcote, (31 March 1817 – 19 April 1876) was an English aristocrat and Conservative politician from the Lyttelton family. He was chairman of the Canterbury Association, which encourag ...

, granddaughter of Sir Stephen Glynne and niece of

's wife

Catherine Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria. In the early Christ ...

. She was maid of honour to the Queen. A statue of Cavendish can be found in the plaza behind the

town hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness. In 2023 the ...

, where his father invested heavily in local industries. A window in memory of Cavendish was placed in St Margaret's Church, Westminster, at the cost of the members of the House of Commons. His imposing white

Carrara marble Carrara marble, Luna marble to the Romans, is a type of white or blue-grey marble popular for use in sculpture and building decor. It has been quarried since Roman times in the mountains just outside the city of Carrara in the province of Massa ...

tomb can be seen in

Cartmel Priory Cartmel Priory church serves as the parish church of Cartmel, Cumbria, England (formerly in Lancashire). Priory The priory was founded in 1190 by William Marshal, created 1st Earl of Pembroke, intended for a community of the Augustinian Canon ...

, Cumbria. Cavendish was a council member of

Yorkshire College , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

which after his death established the Cavendish Chair of Physics. There is also a

memorial fountain ''Memorial Fountain'' is an outdoor fountain created by the architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, located outside Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon, United States. Description ''Memorial Fountain'' is dedicated to those wh ...

to him at

Bolton Abbey Bolton Abbey in Wharfedale, North Yorkshire, England, takes its name from the ruins of the 12th-century Augustinian monastery now known as Bolton Priory. The priory, closed in the 1539 Dissolution of the Monasteries ordered by King Henry ...

. File:St Peter's Church, Edensor - funeral of Lord Frederick Cavendish (1836–1882) 1.JPG, The funeral of Lord Frederick Charles Cavendish in St Peter's Churchyard, Edensor St Peter's Church, Edensor - Memorial to Lord Frederick Cavendish (1836–1882).JPG, St Peter's Church, Edensor - Memorial to Lord Frederick Charles Cavendish Chapel window by Hardman at St Peter's Church, Edensor.jpg, Window erected in his memory in St Peter's Church, Edensor made by Hardman & Co. in 1882 Cavendish Memorial, Bolton Abbey - geograph.org.uk - 747970.jpg, The memorial to Cavendish at Bolton Abbey Memorial to Lord Frederick Charles Cavendish (geograph 3663852).jpg, Memorial to Cavendish at Bolton Abbey erected by tenants of the Estate Memorial to Lord Frederick Charles Cavendish in Cartmel Priory.jpg, Carrara marble memorial in

Ancestry

Notes

References

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cavendish, Frederick Charles, Lord 1836 births 1882 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Assassinated British MPs Assassinated English politicians Chief Secretaries for Ireland Deaths by stabbing in Ireland Duke of Lancaster's Own Yeomanry officers English murder victims Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies People from Eastbourne People murdered in Ireland UK MPs 1865–1868 UK MPs 1874–1880 UK MPs 1880–1885 Younger sons of dukes Frederick Cavendish, Lord 1880s murders in Ireland 1882 murders in the United Kingdom