Stained-glass hatchment (geograph 4511642)

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

. Cavendish was appointed Chief Secretary for Ireland in May 1882 but was murdered only hours after his arrival in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

, a victim of the politically motivated Phoenix Park Murders.

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 Campbe ...

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 l ...

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 Englis ...

, 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, fourth daughter of George Howard, 6th Earl of Carlisle, and the brother of Spencer Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire, 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 King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

, where he graduated B.A. in 1858, and then served as a cornet with the Duke of Lancaster's Own Yeomanry 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, and held office until the resignation of the ministry. He was Financial Secretary to the Treasury from April 1880 to May 1882, when soon after the resignation of William Edward Forster, Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, 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 s ...

, 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 t ...

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 s ...

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

. 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 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, granddaughter of Sir Stephen Glynne and niece of

's wife Catherine. She was maid of honour to the Queen. A statue of Cavendish can be found in the plaza behind the town hall of

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 t ...

, where his father invested heavily in local industries. A window in memory of Cavendish was placed in

St Margaret's Church, Westminster The Church of St Margaret, Westminster Abbey, is in the grounds of Westminster Abbey on Parliament Square, London, England. It is dedicated to Margaret of Antioch, and forms part of a single World Heritage Site with the Palace of Westminste ...

, at the cost of the members of the House of Commons. His imposing white Carrara marble tomb can be seen in Cartmel Priory, 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 , t ...

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 popul ...

which after his death established the Cavendish Chair of Physics. There is also a memorial fountain to him at Bolton Abbey. 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 Cartmel Priory

Ancestry

Notes

References

* * *

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