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. T ...

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 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 ...

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 influ ...

, 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 constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corporation established by a charter dated 9 April 1511. The ...

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 tut ...

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 " scienti ...

. 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 o ...

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 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 was ...

. 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

. 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 (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 legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of parliame ...

to enable him to sell some of the entailed 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 ''Bisho ...

, on the site afterwards occupied by Devonshire Square. 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

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 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