Name William 3rd Died December 5, 1755 | Role British Politician | |
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Children William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire, Lord John Cavendish, Lord Frederick Cavendish, Lord George Cavendish Parents Rachel Russell, William Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Devonshire Siblings Lord Charles Cavendish, James Cavendish Grandchildren William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire Similar People William Cavendish - 5th Duke, Rachel Russell - Lady Rus, William Russell - Lord Rus, Robert Walpole, Henry Cavendish | ||
William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire, KG, PC (26 September 1698 – 5 December 1755) was a British nobleman and Whig politician, the son of William Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Devonshire and the Hon. Rachel Russell.
He married Catherine Hoskins (or Hoskyn) (d. 8 May 1777) on 27 March 1718. They had seven children:
Like his father, the 3rd Duke was active in politics, and served for seven years as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. He was also a Member of Parliament from 1721 until his father's death sent him to the House of Lords in 1729.
He was made a Privy Counsellor (PC) in 1731, and served as Lord Privy Seal from 1731 to 1733. He was invested as a Knight of the Garter (KG) in 1733.
In 1739, he was enlisted as a founding governor for the new children's charity, the Foundling Hospital, in Bloomsbury, London, which aimed to alleviate the problem of babies being abandoned by destitute mothers and ended up becoming a centre for British art and music. William Cavendish sold the Old Devonshire House at 48 Boswell Street, Theobald's Road in Bloomsbury. In 1734 Cavendish engaged architect William Kent to build a new Cavendish House in fashionable Picadilly.
During the Jacobite rising of 1745 the Duke raised a militia in support of the King, known as the Derbyshire Blues, which mustered at The George Inn, Derby, on 3 December 1745.
William Cavendish is also notable as the most recent common ancestor of Prince Charles and his first wife, Lady Diana Spencer. Charles and Diana were seventh cousins once removed as Charles descends from William's son, the 4th Duke, and Diana was descended from William's daughter, Lady Elizabeth.