Nominal head of a wartime ministry with the elder Pitt, 1756–57 (1756–1757)
A caretaker government in which William Pitt, as Secretary of State, took the lead
Prime Ministers · 18th century
Duke of Devonshire
1720–1764 · English
Whig
In office: 1756–1757
William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire, was a compromise First Lord of the Treasury from November 1756 to 1757, heading a ministry in which William Pitt the Elder was the driving force while Pitt and the Duke of Newcastle settled their differences. His brief premiership saw the Militia Act and the execution of Admiral Byng.
How to spot them
- ▸Pitt–Devonshire ministry in the early Seven Years' War
- ▸Execution of Admiral Byng (1757); Militia Act 1757
- ▸Lord Lieutenant of Ireland just before becoming PM; married the Burlington heiress
- ▸Died at Spa aged 44
In office
Execution of Admiral John Byng for failing to relieve Minorca (1757)
Shot on his own quarterdeck at Portsmouth; mocked by Voltaire 'to encourage the others'
Militia Act reviving county militias (1757)
Re-established militia regiments in the counties of England and Wales for home defence
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland immediately before the premiership (1755–1756)
Held the Irish post before being called to head the Treasury
Quick-fire facts
- •His marriage to Lady Charlotte Boyle, heiress of the architect Earl of Burlington, brought Chiswick House, Lismore Castle and Bolton Abbey into the Cavendish family
- •George III struck his name from the Privy Council in 1762 after he was dismissed as Lord Chamberlain
- •Died at Spa, in the Austrian Netherlands, in 1764 aged 44
- •Before succeeding to the dukedom he was known by the courtesy title Marquess of Hartington
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Sources
- GOV.UK — Past Prime Ministers: William Cavendish, Duke of Devonshire
- Oxford University Press — Oxford Dictionary of National Biography