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 Elizabeth Cavendish, later Elizabeth Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury ( Hardwick; c. 1527 13 February 1608), known as Bess of Hardwick, of Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire, was a notable figure of Elizabethan English society. By a series of well-made ...

. He was educated with the children of George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, whom his mother married after his father's death. She made him a rich allowance in his youth. He then entered

Clare College, Cambridge Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. It was refound ...

Career

He was

M.P. 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 ofte ...

for

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

in 1586 and Newport (Cornwall) in 1588. He was appointed High Sheriff of Derbyshire, where the estates of his family lay, for 1595 and

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or '' puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the s ...

in 1603. He was created Baron Cavendish of Hardwick in 1605, thanks to the representations of his niece, Arbella Stuart. He participated in the colonisation of the

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, and Devonshire Parish was called after him; he also was a supporter of colonising Virginia. His mother's death in 1608, and his elder brother Henry's death in 1616, gave him a vast fortune. He was in attendance on James I in a progress in

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

in 1618, and on 2 August was created Earl of Devonshire, while the court was staying at the Bishop of Salisbury's palace; he was reported to have paid £10,000 for the title.

Death and legacy

He died on 3 March 1626, and was buried at St Peter's Church, Edensor. The 1st Earl of Devonshire and his brother Henry (died 1616) are commemorated through the Cavendish Memorial inside the church, a magnificent early-17th-century

church monument Funerary art is any work of art forming, or placed in, a repository for the remains of the dead. The term encompasses a wide variety of forms, including cenotaphs ("empty tombs"), tomb-like monuments which do not contain human remains, and comm ...

Family

His first wife was Anne Kighley or Keighley, daughter of Henry Kighley of

Keighley Keighley ( ) is a market town and a civil parish in the City of Bradford Borough of West Yorkshire, England. It is the second largest settlement in the borough, after Bradford. Keighley is north-west of Bradford city centre, north-west o ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, circa 21 March 1580. They had three sons and three daughters, including: * William Cavendish, 2nd Earl of Devonshire (c. 1590–1628) * Frances Cavendish (c. 1593–1613), married William Maynard, 1st Baron Maynard * Gilbert, who has been credited with the authorship of ''Horae Subsecivae'' (see Grey Brydges, 5th Baron Chandos), died young * James, died in infancy Cavendish's second wife was Elizabeth, daughter of Edward Boughton of Couston,

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avo ...

, widow of Sir Richard Wortley of Wortley,

, by whom he had a son, John, made a knight of the Bath when Prince Charles was created Prince of Wales in 1618. Sir John died on 18 January 1618.

References

History of Parliament CAVENDISH, William II (1551–1626) of Chatsworth and Hardwick, Derbys
;Attribution , - , - , - 1552 births 1626 deaths 17th-century English nobility Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Liverpool Earls of Devonshire (1618 creation) Lord-Lieutenants of Derbyshire William Cavendish, 01st Earl of Devonshire Cavendish, William Cavendish, William Cavendish, William Cavendish, William People from Derbyshire 16th-century English nobility {{16thC-England-MP-stub