Name Richard 6th | ||
Richard FitzWilliam, 6th Viscount FitzWilliam KB, PC, FRS (24 July 1711 - 25 May 1776, Mount Merrion), was an Irish peer and property developer.
FitzWilliam was the eldest son of Richard FitzWilliam, 5th Viscount FitzWilliam, by Frances Shelley, daughter of Sir John Shelley, 3rd Baronet. He succeeded his father in the viscountcy in 1743 and took his seat in the Irish House of Lords. He was Vice-Admiral of Leinster and sworn of the Irish Privy Council in 1766. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society.
He lived for a time with his father-in-law, Sir Matthew Decker, a wealthy merchant of Dutch origin, at Richmond Green, but moved back to Mount Merrion, the family's principal seat in Dublin. He was buried at Donnybrook Cemetery.
Family
Lord FitzWilliam married Catherine Decker, eldest daughter of Sir Matthew Decker, 1st Baronet and his wife Henrietta Watkins, on 3 May 1744: Horace Walpole thought the marriage notable enough to mention in his correspondence. They had several children: