William Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Devonshire
The Duke of Devonshire | |
|---|---|
 Portrait by Godfrey Kneller | |
| Lord President of the Council | |
| In office 6 July 1716 – 16 March 1718 | |
| Monarch | George I |
| Preceded by | The Earl of Nottingham |
| Succeeded by | The Earl of Sunderland |
| In office 27 March 1725 – 4 June 1729 | |
| Monarchs | George I George II |
| Preceded by | The Lord Carleton |
| Succeeded by | The Lord Trevor |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1672 |
| Died | 4 June 1729 (aged 56–57) |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Whig |
| Spouse | Rachel Russell |
| Children | William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire Lady Rachel Cavendish Lady Elizabeth Cavendish Lord James Cavendish Lord Charles Cavendish |
| Parent(s) | William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Devonshire Lady Mary Butler |
William Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Devonshire KG, PC (1672 – 4 June 1729) was a British nobleman and politician. He was the eldest son of William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Devonshire and Lady Mary Butler. A prominent Whig, he was sworn of the Privy Council in 1707, and served as Lord President of the Council from 1716 to 1718 and 1725 to 1729.
Biography
[edit]Cavendish was born as the eldest surviving son of William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Devonshire.[1] After marrying the daughter of Whig martyr Lord Russell, Rachel Russell, Cavendish was sent out to the country, probably commanding his father's troop of cavalry, and was a volunteer in Flanders in 1692.[1] His first attempt at entering politics was by competing in a by-election in 1691 for the House of Commons, which did not succeed.[1] However, in 1695, he did manage to enter the House of Commons representing the county of Derbyshire.[1]
Horse racing
[edit]Cavendish was significant in horse racing. He was the owner of Flying Childers, who is often considered the first true great racehorse in the history of thoroughbreds.[2][3] Childers was also the son of Darley Arabian, which was one of the first three horses that led to the creation of the English thoroughbred.[4] Cavendish intended to use Childers as a hunter for practical field use after buying him from Colonel Leonard Childers as a yearling, before eventually becoming putting him in racing and him becoming the Leading sire in Great Britain and Ireland.[3][5] However, Childers was not a great breeder, and instead, his brother Bartlett's Childers, who was unsuitable for racing was bred, leading to Bartlett being the male ancestor of Eclipse.[6][7]
Personal life
[edit]He married The Hon. Rachel Russell (1674–1725), daughter of William Russell, Lord Russell on 21 June 1688. The Duchess served as a Lady of the Bedchamber at the court of Queen Anne.[8]
They had ten children:
- Lady Mary Cavendish (18 August 1696 – 15 June 1719)[9]
- William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire (26 September 1698 – 5 December 1755)
- Lady Rachel Cavendish (4 October 1699 – 18 June 1780)[10] married Sir William Morgan on 14 May 1723
- Lady Elizabeth Cavendish (27 September 1700 – 7 November 1747) married Sir Thomas Lowther, 2nd Baronet
- Lord James Cavendish (23 November 1701 – 14 December 1741)
- Lord Charles Cavendish (17 March 1704 – 28 April 1783) married Anne Grey on 9 January 1727, father of Henry Cavendish
- Lady Anne Cavendish (died 23 August 1780 aged 70[11])
- Lady Katherine Cavendish (died 12 September 1715 aged 9[11])
- Lord John Cavendish (died 11 May 1720 aged 12[11])
- Lady Diana Cavendish (died 12 February 1722[11])
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d "CAVENDISH, William (1672-1729) | History of Parliament". dev.historyofparliamentonline.org. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
- ^ Guest, Kristen; Mattfeld, Monica (26 November 2019). Horse Breeds and Human Society: Purity, Identity and the Making of the Modern Horse. Routledge. pp. 1–9. ISBN 978-0-429-65692-7. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
- ^ a b "James Seymour, 1702–1752, The Duke of Devonshire's Flying Childers, 1742". collections.britishart.yale.edu. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
- ^ Morland, Thomas Hornby (1810). The genealogy of the English race horse; with the natural history of his progenitors. J. Barfield. p. 72. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
- ^ Live Stock Journal. Vinton. 1899. p. 555. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
- ^ Parlin, Simon W. (1905). The American Trotter: A Treatise on His Origin, History and Development. American Horse Breeder Publishing Company. p. 21. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
- ^ Clee, Nicholas (29 March 2012). Eclipse: The Horse That Changed Racing History Forever. Abrams. ISBN 978-1-4683-0005-5. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
- ^ "Warrant Books: April 1713, 1–15 Pages 169–184 Calendar of Treasury Books, Volume 27, 1713. Originally published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1955". British History Online. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
- ^ England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538–1975
- ^ Jervas, Charles. "Lady Rachel Cavendish, Lady Morgan (1697–1780), as a Shepherdess". National Trust.
- ^ a b c d Cox, John Charles (1881). "The Chronicles of the Collegiate Church or Free Chapel of All Saints, Derby".
| Barons Cavendish of Hardwick |  | |
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| Earls of Devonshire |
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| Dukes of Devonshire |
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| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
- 1672 births
- 1729 deaths
- Cavendish family
- Dukes of Devonshire
- English MPs 1695–1698
- English MPs 1698–1700
- English MPs 1701
- English MPs 1701–1702
- English MPs 1702–1705
- English MPs 1705–1707
- Garter Knights appointed by Anne
- Lord-lieutenants of Derbyshire
- Lord presidents of the Council
- Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain
- People from Derbyshire