Ridgeway Pitt, 3rd Earl of Londonderry (1722 – 1765) of Soldon in the parish of

Holsworthy Holsworthy is a market town and civil parish in the Torridge district of Devon, England, west of Exeter. The River Deer, a tributary of the River Tamar, forms the western boundary of the parish, which includes the village of Brandis Corner. ...

in North Devon, was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

politician and peer.

Origins

He was the younger son of

Thomas Pitt, 1st Earl of Londonderry Thomas Innes Pitt, 1st Earl of Londonderry ( 1688 – 12 September 1729) was a British Army officer, speculator and Whig politician who sat in the British House of Commons, House of Commons from 1713 to 1728. He served as Governor of the Leeward ...

and was a first cousin of

William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham (15 November 170811 May 1778) was a British people, British British Whig Party, Whig politician, statesman who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1766 to 1768. Historians call him "Chatham" or "Pit ...

("Pitt the Elder"), twice prime minister of Great Britain.

Career

His older brother, Thomas Pitt, 2nd Earl of Londonderry (1717-1734), died in a riding accident in 1734, when Ridgeway succeeded to his titles. In 1740 he was admitted to

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

. He took his seat in the

Irish House of Lords The Irish House of Lords was the upper house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from medieval times until the end of 1800. It was also the final court of appeal of the Kingdom of Ireland. It was modelled on the House of Lords of Englan ...

on 29 October 1743. As his title was in the

Peerage of Ireland The peerage of Ireland consists of those Peerage, titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lordship of Ireland, Lord or Monarchy of Ireland, King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great B ...

, he was not barred from election to the

House of Commons of Great Britain The House of Commons of Great Britain was the lower house of the Parliament of Great Britain between 1707 and 1801. In 1707, as a result of the Acts of Union 1707, Acts of Union of that year, it replaced the House of Commons of England and the Pa ...

and sat as a Member of Parliament for the

rotten borough A rotten or pocket borough, also known as a nomination borough or proprietorial borough, was a parliamentary borough or Electoral district, constituency in Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, or the United Kin ...

Camelford Camelford () is a town and civil parish in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, situated in the River Camel valley northwest of Bodmin Moor. The town is approximately north of Bodmin and is governed by Camelford Town Council. The ward pop ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

between 1747 and 1754.

Death

Londonderry never married. Upon his death, his titles became extinct.John Lodge, ''The Peerage of Ireland'', Volume 2 (J. Leathley, 1754), 127.

References

1722 births 1765 deaths Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for constituencies in Cornwall British MPs 1747–1754 Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Ridgeway Ridgeway {{Ireland-earl-stub