Mary Elizabeth Pitt, Countess of Chatham (2 September 1762 – 21 May 1821), formerly Mary Elizabeth Townshend, was an English noblewoman and political campaigner. Her husband was John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham. Mary was the daughter of

Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney (24 February 1733 – 30 June 1800) was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1754 to 1783 when he was raised to the peerage as Baron Sydney. He held several important Cabinet posts in ...

, and his wife, the former Elizabeth Powys. Her younger sister Frances (1772–1854) married

George Rice, 3rd Baron Dynevor George Talbot Rice, 3rd Baron Dynevor (Dinefwr) (8 October 1765 – 9 April 1852) was a British peer and politician. He was the son of Cecil de Cardonnel, 2nd Baroness Dynevor and George Rice (or Rhys). He was educated at Westminster Schoo ...

. Another sister, Harriet (1773–1814), married Charles Montagu-Scott, 4th Duke of Buccleuch. She married the earl on 9 July 1783, at

St George's, Hanover Square St George's, Hanover Square, is an Church of England, Anglican church, the parish church of Mayfair in the City of Westminster, central London, built in the early eighteenth century as part of a project to build fifty new churches around London ...

. Her brother-in-law,

William Pitt the Younger William Pitt (28 May 1759 – 23 January 1806) was a British statesman who served as the last prime minister of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain from 1783 until the Acts of Union 1800, and then first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, p ...

, became prime minister later the same year, and Mary's father, a political ally, became Home Secretary in 1784. In 1799 her husband, the earl, became First Lord of the Admiralty. In 1800, the countess's eldest brother,

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

, an MP since 1786, inherited the viscountcy on their father's death. Although by nature shy, and often in poor health, the countess was obliged to campaign on behalf of her husband and father and the Pitt government. Soon after her marriage, she had begun suffering from

rheumatism Rheumatism or rheumatic disorders are conditions causing chronic, often intermittent pain affecting the joints or connective tissue. Rheumatism does not designate any specific disorder, but covers at least 200 different conditions, including a ...

, which confined her to bed for a long period and later often forced her to use a wheelchair. After the death of her brother-in-law in 1806, she began suffering bouts of mental illness, which frequently incapacitated her. In October 1807, she made a suicide attempt, which resulted in her being kept out of the public eye for several years, and she never fully returned to public life. She died, possibly of liver failure, at the couple's London home in Hill Street, Mayfair. She was buried in the Pitt family vault in

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

. Her marriage was childless and the earldom became extinct on her husband's death in 1835.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chatham, Mary Pitt, Countess of 1762 births 1821 deaths British countesses Daughters of viscounts