General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

William Lygon Pakenham, 4th Earl of Longford (31 January 1819 – 19 April 1887), styled The Honourable William Pakenham before 1860, was an

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the State rel ...

hereditary peer The hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom. As of April 2025, there are 800 hereditary peers: 30 dukes (including six royal dukes), 34 marquesses, 189 earls, 108 viscounts, and 439 barons (not counting subsidiary ...

, soldier and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

politician.

Early life and education

Pakenham was the second son of

Thomas Pakenham, 2nd Earl of Longford Thomas Pakenham, 2nd Earl of Longford, (14 May 1774 – 28 May 1835), known as The Lord Longford between 1792 and 1794, was an Anglo-Irish hereditary peer. Early life Pakenham was born in 1774, the eldest son of Edward Pakenham, 2nd Baron Lon ...

and his wife

Lady ''Lady'' is a term for a woman who behaves in a polite way. Once used to describe only women of a high social class or status, the female counterpart of lord, now it may refer to any adult woman, as gentleman can be used for men. "Lady" is al ...

Georgiana Emma Charlotte Lygon, daughter of

William Lygon, 1st Earl Beauchamp William Lygon, 1st Earl of Beauchamp (25 July 1747 – 21 October 1816), known as Lord Beauchamp of Powyke between 1806 and 1815, was a British politician. Early life Lygon was the son of Reginald Lygon (originally Reginald Pyndar), of Madr ...

. He was educated at

Winchester College Winchester College is an English Public school (United Kingdom), public school (a long-established fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) with some provision for day school, day attendees, in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It wa ...

and entered the army in 1837. A year prior to his entry into the army, Pakenham played a single

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...

match for the Gentlemen in the

Gentlemen v Players Gentlemen v Players was a long-running series of cricket matches that began in July 1806 and was abolished in January 1963. It was a match between a team consisting of amateurs (the Gentlemen) and a team consisting of professionals (the Players ...

fixture of 1836 at

Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket List of Test cricket grounds, venue in St John's Wood, Westminster. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex C ...

. He, however, had no success in the match, twice being dismissed without scoring.

Military career

After service in both the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

and the

Indian Rebellion The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the form ...

, Pakenham became Adjutant-General in India in November 1858. He was also

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

of the

Northumberland Fusiliers The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers was an infantry regiment of the British Army. Raised in 1674 as one of three 'English' units in the Dutch Anglo-Scots Brigade, it accompanied William III to England in the November 1688 Glorious Revolution and ...

from 1878 to his death.

Public life

Pakenham succeeded in the earldom and to a seat in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

in 1860 upon the death of his unmarried and childless elder brother, the third Earl. He sat on the Conservative benches in the House of Lords and served as

Under-Secretary of State for War Undersecretary (or under secretary) is a title for a person who works for and has a lower rank than a secretary (person in charge). It is used in the executive branch of government, with different meanings in different political systems, and is a ...

from 1866 to 1868 under first the Earl of Derby and later

Benjamin Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman, Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician and writer who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a ...

. In February 1870 he was voted chairman of the ''Central Protestant Defence Association'' which was established in response to the

Irish Church Act 1869 The Irish Church Act 1869 ( 32 & 33 Vict. c. 42) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which separated the Church of Ireland from the Church of England and disestablished the former, a body that commanded the adherence of a small mi ...

. He also served as Lord Lieutenant of Longford from 1874 to 1887. In

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, he was a member of the

Kildare Street Club The Kildare Street Club is a historical member's club in Dublin, Ireland, at the heart of the Anglo-Irish Protestant Ascendancy. The club remained in Kildare Street between 1782 and 1977, when it merged with the Dublin University Club to becom ...

Honours

Longford was created CB in 1855, KCB in the 1861 Birthday Honours and GCB in the

1881 Birthday Honours The 1881 Birthday Honours were appointments by Queen Victoria to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of the Queen, and wer ...

Marriage and children

Lord Longford married

the Honourable ''The Honourable'' (Commonwealth English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific Style ...

Selina Rice-Trevor, daughter of

George Rice-Trevor, 4th Baron Dynevor George Rice-Trevor, 4th Baron Dynevor (5 August 1795 – 7 October 1869) was a British politician and peer. Early life He was the son of George Talbot Rice, 3rd Baron Dynevor. Dynevor matriculated at Christ Church, Oxford 13 October 1812; ...

, in 1862. They had five children:Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003, volume 2, page 2394 * Lady Georgiana Frances Henrietta Pakenham (1863 - 30 July 1943), married Hugh Gough, 3rd Viscount Gough. * William Pakenham, Lord Silchester (19 October 1864 - 16 February 1876) * Brigadier general

Thomas Pakenham, 5th Earl of Longford Brigadier-General Thomas Pakenham, 5th Earl of Longford, KP, MVO (19 October 1864 – 21 August 1915), known as Lord Silchester until 1887, was an Anglo-Irish hereditary peer and soldier. Biography Background and early life Born in Dublin, ...

(19 October 1864 - 21 August 1915) *

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

Hon Edward Michael Pakenham (20 February 1866 - 27 December 1937) * Lady Katharine Louisa Pakenham (1868 - 9 March 1954), married Lt Col Hon William Lyonel Vane, mother of

William Fletcher-Vane, 1st Baron Inglewood William Morgan Fletcher-Vane, 1st Baron Inglewood (12 April 1909 – 22 June 1989), was a British Conservative Party politician. Early life Inglewood was the son of Lieutenant-Colonel the Hon. William Lyonel Vane, a descendant of Gilbert Vane, ...

Death

Lord Longford died in April 1887 at the age of 68 and was succeeded in the earldom by his second but eldest surviving son, Thomas. His grandson

Frank Pakenham, 7th Earl of Longford Francis Aungier Pakenham, 7th Earl of Longford (5 December 1905 – 3 August 2001), known to his family as Frank Longford and styled Lord Pakenham from 1945 to 1961, was a British politician and social reformer. A member of the Labour Party (U ...

, became a prominent Labour politician. The Countess of Longford survived her husband by over thirty years and died in January 1918, aged 81.

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Longford, William Pakenhem, 4th Earl 1819 births 1887 deaths Conservative Party (UK) hereditary peers Lord-lieutenants of Longford Royal Northumberland Fusiliers officers

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

Companions of the Order of the Bath Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath 4 English cricketers Gentlemen cricketers British Army generals British Army personnel of the Crimean War British military personnel of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 Military personnel from County Westmeath