William Cavendish, 2nd Earl of Devonshire (c. 1590 – June 20, 1628) was an English courtier and politician.
William Cavendish, 2nd Earl of Devonshire, Earl of Devonshire, was born circa 1590 to William Cavendish, 1st Earl of Devonshire (1552-1626) and Anne Keighley (1566-1598) and died 20 June 1628 of unspecified causes. He married Christian Bruce (1595-1674) 1608 .
Life
He was the second son of William Cavendish, 1st Earl of Devonshire, by his first wife Anne Keighley. He was educated by Thomas Hobbes, the philosopher, who lived at Chatsworth as his private tutor for many years and accompanied him on the Grand Tour between 1610 and 1615, visiting France and Italy before his coming of age. Hobbes praises his learning in the dedication of his translation of Thucydides. Cavendish was knighted at Whitehall in 1609.
He was a leader of court society, and an intimate friend of James I. He was M.P. for Derby in 1621, 1624, 1625, and 1626; lord-lieutenant of Derbyshire in 1619 and in 1625-6; and high bailiff of Tutbury in 1626. In April 1622 he introduced to audiences with the king Schwarzenburg, ambassador from the Emperor Ferdinand, Valerssio from Venice, and d'Arsennes and Joachimi from the United Provinces. In 1625 he was present at Charles I's marriage with Henrietta Maria.
Early in 1626 the death of his father gave him a seat in the House of Lords, and he resisted George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham's attempt to find a treasonable meaning on a speech of Sir Dudley Digges (13 May 1626). His spending strained his resources, and he procured a private act of parliament to enable him to sell some of the entailed estates in discharge of his debts (1628). His London house was in Bishopsgate, on the site afterwards occupied by Devonshire Square. He died there, from over-indulgence it was said on 20 June 1628, and was buried in Allhallows Church, Derby.
Family
He married Christian(a) Bruce, daughter of Edward Bruce, 1st Lord Kinloss,[1] on 10 April 1608. They had three children:
Children
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Anne Cavendish (c1611-1638) | 1611 | 24 August 1638 | Robert Rich, 3rd Earl of Warwick (1611-1659) |
| William Cavendish, 3rd Earl of Devonshire (1617-1684) | 10 October 1617 Hardwicke, Derby, England, United Kingdom | 23 November 1684 Roehampton House, Putney, Surrey, England, United Kingdom | Elizabeth Cecil (1619-1689) |
| Charles Cavendish (1620-1643) | |||
- Anne Cavendish (c. 1611–?), married Robert Rich, 3rd Earl of Warwick and had issue.
- William Cavendish, 3rd Earl of Devonshire (1617–1684)
- Charles Cavendish (1620–1643)
Notes
- ^ Pearson, John, The Serpent and the Stag, (Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1983), 44.
References
- Pearson, John, The Serpent and the Stag, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1983.
- Attribution
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: "Cavendish, William (1591?-1628)". Dictionary of National Biography, 1885–1900. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
| Honorary titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Vacant Title last held by The Earl of Shrewsbury
|
Lord Lieutenant of Derbyshire jointly with The Earl of Devonshire 1619–1626 1619–1628 |
Succeeded by The Earl of Newcastle |
| Peerage of England | ||
| Preceded by William Cavendish |
Earl of Devonshire 1626–1628 |
Succeeded by William Cavendish |
| |||||||||||||
Footnotes (including sources)
| ‡ General |
| This page uses content from the English language Wikipedia. The original content was at William Cavendish, 2nd Earl of Devonshire. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with this Familypedia wiki, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons License. |
