| Authorised form of name | Spencer; Charles (c 1674 - 1722); 3rd Earl of Sunderland |
| Dates | c 1674 - 1722 |
| Nationality | British |
| Place of death | Sutherland House, Piccadilly, Westminster |
| Date of death | 19 April 1722 |
| DatesAndPlaces | Burial:
Brington, Northamptonshire |
| Activity | Education:
Cambridge; LLD (1705)
Career:
MP for Tiverton (1695-1702); Envoy Extraordinary to Vienna (1705); Commissioner for Union (1706); Privy Councillor (1706); Secretary of State for the South (1706-1710); Recorder of Coventry (1710-death); Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1714); Lord Privy Seal (1715-1716); Vice-Teasurer of Ireland (1716-1717); Secretary of State for the North (1717-1718); Lord President of the Council (1718-1719); Forst Lord of the Treasury (1718-1721); Groom of the Stole and First Gentleman of the Bedchamber (1719-death); involved in the disgrace of the South Sea Bubble (1721); died of pleurisy
Honours:
KG 1719
|
| Membership category | Fellow |
| Date of election | 30/11/1698 |
| Relationships | Son of Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl of Sunderland, and his wife, Anne, daughter of George Digby, 2nd Earl of Bristol, and his wife, Anne, daughter of Francis Russell, 4th Earl of Bedford; succeeded his father (1702).
Married: 1) Arabella, daughter of Henry Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Newcastle, and his wife, Frances, daughter of William Pierrepont; 2) Anne, daughter of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, and his wife, Sarah, daughter of Richard Jennings of Sandridge, Hertfordshire; 3) Judith, daughter of Benjamin Tichborne and his wife, Elizabeth, daughter of Edward Gibbs of Gloucester
Brother-in-law of John West, 1st Earl de la Warr (FRS 1728) |
| OtherInfo | The South Sea Company (officially The Governor and Company of the merchants of Great Britain, trading to the South Seas and other parts of America, and for the encouragement of the Fishery) was a British joint-stock company founded in 1711, created as a public-private partnership to consolidate and reduce the cost of the national debt. To generate income, in 1713 the company was granted a monopoly (the Asiento) to supply enslaved Africans to the islands in the 'South Seas' and South America. Company stock rose greatly in value as it expanded its operations dealing in government debt, and peaked in 1720 before suddenly collapsing to little above its original flotation price. The notorious economic bubble thus created, which ruined thousands of investors, became known as the South Sea Bubble. |
| Source | Sources:
Bulloch's Roll; DNB; GEC; Venn
Notes:
GEC gives year of birth as 1675. Spencer also held the title of Baron Spencer of Wormleighton. |
| Code | NA5759 |
Archives associated with this Fellow
| RefNo | Title | Date |
| MS/390/135 | Bond of Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland, to the Treasurer of the Royal Society | 30 October 1707 |