William Cavendish, 2nd Earl of Devonshire (c. 1590 – 20 June 1628) was an English nobleman, courtier, and politician who sat in 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. ...
from 1614 until 1626 when he succeeded to the peerage and sat in the
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...
.
Life
Cavendish was the second son of
William Cavendish, 1st Earl of Devonshire
William Cavendish, 1st Earl of Devonshire (27 December 1552 – 3 March 1626) was an English nobleman, politician, and courtier.
Early life
William Cavendish was the second son of Sir William Cavendish and Bess of Hardwick. He was educate ...
, by his first wife Anne Keighley. He was educated by
Thomas Hobbes
Thomas Hobbes ( ; 5/15 April 1588 – 4/14 December 1679) was an English philosopher, considered to be one of the founders of modern political philosophy. Hobbes is best known for his 1651 book ''Leviathan'', in which he expounds an influent ...
, the philosopher, who lived at
Chatsworth as his private tutor for many years. In 1608, he went up to
St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...
accompanied by Hobbes. He was knighted at Whitehall in 1609. He then went with Hobbes on a
Grand Tour
The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tuto ...
from about 1610, where he visited France and Italy before his coming of age. He was a leader of court society, and an intimate friend of James I, and Hobbes praised his learning in the dedication of his translation of
Thucydides
Thucydides (; grc, , }; BC) was an Athenian historian and general. His ''History of the Peloponnesian War'' recounts the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been dubbed the father of "scientifi ...
.
In 1614, Cavendish was elected
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 of ...
for
Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...
. He became
Lord Lieutenant of Derbyshire
This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Derbyshire. Since 1689, all the Lord Lieutenants have also been Custos Rotulorum of Derbyshire.
*Francis Hastings, 2nd Earl of Huntingdon
*George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury 3 Ju ...
in 1619. In 1621 he was re-elected MP for Derbyshire. In April 1622 he introduced to audiences with the king Schwarzenburg, ambassador from the
Emperor Ferdinand, Valerssio from Venice, and d'Arsennes and Joachimi from the
United Provinces. He was re-elected MP for Derbyshire in 1624 and 1625. In 1625 he was present at
Charles I Charles I may refer to:
Kings and emperors
* Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings
* Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily
* Charles I of ...
's marriage with
Henrietta Maria
Henrietta Maria (french: link=no, Henriette Marie; 25 November 1609 – 10 September 1669) was Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland from her marriage to King Charles I on 13 June 1625 until Charles was executed on 30 January 1649. She wa ...
. He was high bailiff of Tutbury in 1626 and was re-elected MP for Derbyshire in 1626, until the death of his father early in 1626 gave him a seat in the
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...
. In the Lords, he resisted
George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham
George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, 28 August 1592 – 23 August 1628), was an English courtier, statesman, and patron of the arts. He was a favourite and possibly also a lover of King James I of England. Buckingham remained at the ...
's attempt to find a treasonable meaning on a speech of
Sir Dudley Digges
Sir Dudley Digges (19 May 1583 – 18 March 1639) was an English diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1610 and 1629. Digges was also a "Virginia adventurer," an investor who ventured his capital in the Virginia ...
(13 May 1626).
Cavendish's spending strained his resources, and he procured a private
Act of Parliament
Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...
to enable him to sell some of the
entailed
In English common law, fee tail or entail is a form of trust established by deed or settlement which restricts the sale or inheritance of an estate in real property and prevents the property from being sold, devised by will, or otherwise alien ...
estates in discharge of his debts in 1628. His London house was in
Bishopsgate
Bishopsgate was one of the eastern gates in London's former defensive wall. The gate gave its name to the Bishopsgate Ward of the City of London. The ward is traditionally divided into ''Bishopsgate Within'', inside the line wall, and ''Bishop ...
, on the site afterwards occupied by
Devonshire Square
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, ...
.
Cavendish died at his London house, from over-indulgence it was said, at the age of about 35 and was buried in All Hallows Church (All Saints Church), Derby. The monument was sculpted by
Edward Marshall.
Family
![Van somer christian lady cavendish](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9f/Van_somer_christian_lady_cavendish.jpg)
Cavendish married
Christian(a) Bruce, daughter of
Edward Bruce, 1st Lord Kinloss
Edward Bruce, 1st Lord Kinloss PC (1548 – 14 January 1611) was a Scottish lawyer and judge.
He was the second son of Edward Bruce of Blairhall and Alison Reid.
Career
In 1594 James VI sent him as ambassador to London and gave him £1,000 ...
, on 10 April 1608. They had three children:
*Anne Cavendish (c. 1611–1638), married
Robert Rich, 3rd Earl of Warwick
Robert Rich, 3rd Earl of Warwick (28 June 1611 – 29 May 1659 in London), supported the Royalist cause in the English Civil War (his father the 2nd Earl supported the Parliament of England).
Biography
Robert Rich was the eldest son of Robert Ri ...
and had issue.
*
William Cavendish, 3rd Earl of Devonshire
William Cavendish, 3rd Earl of Devonshire, KB, FRS (c. 10 October 161723 November 1684) was an English nobleman and politician, known as a royalist supporter.
Life
The eldest son of William Cavendish, 2nd Earl of Devonshire and his wife Christi ...
(1617–1684)
*
Charles Cavendish (1620–1643)
* Henry Cavendish (died April 1620)
[''HMC Duke of Portland'', vol. 2 (London, 1893), p. 118.]
Notes
References
* Pearson, John, ''The Serpent and the Stag'', Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1983.
Attribution:
*
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Devonshire, William Cavendish, 2nd Earl Of
1590s births
1628 deaths
Earls of Devonshire (1618 creation)
Lord-Lieutenants of Derbyshire
People from Derbyshire Dales (district)
Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge
William Cavendish, 02nd Earl of Devonshire
English MPs 1614
English MPs 1621–1622
English MPs 1624–1625
English MPs 1625
English MPs 1626