Henry Thomas Petty-Fitzmaurice, 4th Marquess of Lansdowne (7 January 1816 – 5 July 1866), styled Lord Henry Petty-FitzMaurice until 1836 and Earl of Shelburne between 1836 and 1863, was a British politician.

Background and education

Born Lord Henry Petty-FitzMaurice, he was the second son of

Henry Petty-FitzMaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne (2 July 178031 January 1863), known as Lord Henry Petty from 1784 to 1809, was a British statesman. In a ministerial career spanning nearly half a century, he notably served as Home Secretary a ...

, and Lady Louisa Emma, daughter of

Henry Fox-Strangways, 2nd Earl of Ilchester Henry Thomas Fox-Strangways, 2nd Earl of Ilchester (10 August 1747 – 5 September 1802), known as Lord Stavordale from 1756 to 1776, was a British peer and Member of Parliament. Early life and education Ilchester was the eldest son of Stephen ...

. He was educated at

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, 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 ...

. On the early death of his elder brother the

Earl of Kerry Baron Kerry is an ancient title in the Peerage of Ireland, named after County Kerry. It was created circa 1223 for Thomas FitzMaurice, Lord OConnello, son of Maurice FitzGerald, Lord of Llanstephan. In 1325, Maurice FitzMaurice, 4th Baron Ke ...

in 1836 he became known by the courtesy title Earl of Shelburne.

Political career

After graduation, he entered the

Commons The commons is the cultural and natural resources accessible to all members of a society, including natural materials such as air, water, and a habitable Earth. These resources are held in common even when owned privately or publicly. Commons ...

as MP for

Calne Calne () is a town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Wiltshire, southwestern England,OS Explorer Map 156, Chippenham and Bradford-on-Avon Scale: 1:25 000.Publisher: Ordnance Survey A2 edition (2007). at the northwestern extremity ...

in 1837. He served under

Lord John Russell John Russell, 1st Earl Russell (18 August 1792 – 28 May 1878), known as Lord John Russell before 1861, was a British Whig and Liberal statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1852 and again from 1865 to 186 ...

as a Lord of the Treasury from 1847 to 1848. In 1856, he was called up to the House of Lords in his father's barony of Wycombe and was

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs was a junior position in the British government, subordinate to both the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and since 1945 also to the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs. T ...

under

Lord Palmerston Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston (20 October 1784 – 18 October 1865), known as Lord Palmerston, was a British statesman and politician who served as prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1855 to 1858 and from 1859 to 1865. A m ...

from that year until 1858. On the death of his father in 1863, Lord Shelburne succeeded to his titles and was made a

Knight of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. The most senior order of knighthood in the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British honours system, it is outranked in ...

a year later. Historian Simon Kerry (a descendant) writes that he was “a competent administrator but lacked the charisma and flair f his father the 3rd Marquess��. In his final months he was one of the

Adullamites The Adullamites were a short-lived anti-reform faction within the UK Liberal Party in 1866. The name was a biblical reference to the cave of Adullam where David and his allies sought refuge from Saul. After the death of Palmerston in 1865, a ...

, whose opposition to

Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party. In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...

's 1866 reform bill helped bring down Earl Russell's Liberal ministry.

Family

On 18 August 1840, he married Lady Georgiana Herbert (a daughter of the 11th Earl of Pembroke), but she died six months later. He then married Comtesse Emily de Flahault (the eldest daughter of Charles Joseph, comte de Flahaut and the 2nd Baroness Keith) on 1 November 1843 in Vienna and they had three children: * Henry Charles Keith, Earl of Shelburne (1845–1927), later Marquess of Lansdowne * Lord Edmond George (1846–1935), later Baron FitzMaurice *Lady Emily Louisa Anne (1855–1939), married Col. Hon. Everard Digby, a son of the 9th Baron Digby and had issue Lord Lansdowne died suddenly from an attack of

apoplexy Apoplexy () refers to the rupture of an internal organ and the associated symptoms. Informally or metaphorically, the term ''apoplexy'' is associated with being furious, especially as "apoplectic". Historically, it described what is now known as a ...

on 5July 1866; his titles were inherited by his eldest son, Henry.thepeerage.com
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References

Books

* Kerry, Simon. ''Lansdowne: The Last Great Whig'' (2018), , , scholarly biography of his son the 5th Marquess
Online review
(''

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'').

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lansdowne, Henry Petty-FitzMaurice, 4th Marquess of 1816 births 1866 deaths Knights of the Garter Petty-FitzMaurice, Henry Petty-FitzMaurice, Henry Petty-FitzMaurice, Henry Petty-FitzMaurice, Henry Petty-FitzMaurice, Henry Lansdowne, M4 Petty-FitzMaurice, Henry 4 Earls of Kerry