Monarch George III Preceded by The Earl of Hertford Name James 1st | Died June 13, 1823 Monarch George III
George IV | |
 | ||
Prime Minister Hon. William Pitt the Younger
Henry Addington Parents James Cecil, 6th Earl of Salisbury Children James Gascoyne-Cecil, 2nd Marquess of Salisbury Grandchildren Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, Lord Eustace Cecil, Arabella Arthur Grandparents James Cecil, 5th Earl of Salisbury Great grandchildren Robert Cecil, 1st Viscount Cecil of Chelwood | ||
Succeeded by The Earl of Dartmouth Prime Minister The Earl of Liverpool | ||
James Cecil, 1st Marquess of Salisbury, (4 September 1748 – 13 June 1823), styled Viscount Cranborne until 1780 and known as The Earl of Salisbury between 1780 and 1789, was a British nobleman and politician.
Contents
Background
Salisbury was the son of James Cecil, 6th Earl of Salisbury, and Elizabeth, daughter of Edward Keat.
Political career
Salisbury was returned to Parliament for Great Bedwyn in 1774, a seat he held until 1780, and briefly represented Launceston and Plympton Erle in 1780. In the latter year he succeeded his father in the earldom of Salisbury and entered the House of Lords. He served under Lord North as Treasurer of the Household between 1780 and 1782 and under William Pitt the Younger and then Henry Addington as Lord Chamberlain of the Household between 1783 and 1804. He was admitted to the Privy Council in 1780 and created Marquess of Salisbury, in the County of Wiltshire, in 1789. He later served as Joint Postmaster General under Lord Liverpool from 1816 to 1823. He also held the honorary post of Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire between 1771 and 1823. He was made a Knight of the Garter in 1793.
Family
Lord Salisbury married Lady Emily Mary, daughter of Wills Hill, 1st Marquess of Downshire, on 2 December 1773. She became known as a sportswoman and influential society hostess. The couple had four children:
Lord Salisbury died in June 1823, aged 74, and was succeeded by his only son, James. The Marchioness of Salisbury died in a fire at Hatfield House in November 1835.