Authorised form of name | Cavendish; William (1617 - 1684); 3rd Earl of Devonshire; politician |
Dates | 1617 - 1684 |
Nationality | British |
Place of birth | Chatsworth, Derbyshire, England, Europe |
Date of birth | 10 October 1617 |
Place of death | Roehampton House, Surrey, England, Europe |
Date of death | 23 November 1684 |
DatesAndPlaces | Burial: Edensor near Chatsworth, Derbyshire, England, Europe |
Activity | Education: Educated by his mother and Thomas Hobbes Career: Travelled abroad with Hobbes (1634-1637); Lord-Lieutenant of Derbyshire (1638-1642, 1660-1684); High Steward of Ampthill (1640); Joint Commissioner of Array for Leicestershire (1642); expelled from Parliament (1642); went abroad and his estates were sequestrated; returned and lived in retirement (1646); Steward of Tutbury (1660) and of High Peak (1661); Commissioner of Trade (1668-1669) Honours: KB 1625
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Membership category | Original Fellow |
Date of election | 20/05/1663 |
Other Royal Society activity | Was solicited in January 1668 by the President, Viscount Brouncker, as a Fellow likely willing and able to help with the construction and establishment of a Society building |
Relationships | Parents: William Cavendish, 2nd Earl of Devonshire and Christiana; succeeded his father (1628) Married: Elizabeth Cecil Children: William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Devonshire (FRS 1663); Lady Anne Cavendish |
OtherInfo | Cavendish showed support for the Royalists during his time in the House of Lords and was approached by Queen Henrietta Maria in her attempts to build a royalist faction in parliament. His brother Charles Cavendish was killed during the Civil War in a skirmish in Lincolnshire, however the earl himself did not go to battle. Throughout the Protectorate, he did financially support royals and supporters in exile without actively participating in plots or conspiracies. After the Restoration, Cavendish remained fairly inactive in his political roles.
As a Commissioner of Trade, Cavendish was a member of the Counil of Trade, which carried the responsibility for trade and plantation affairs and contributed to furthering the government's colonial interests. The Council's orders and tasks fell within a broad remit and included finding ways in which to take and enslave people to bring to the colonies, mediating between the Royal African Company and the colonies, as well as enforcing the 'reeducation' of Native Americans and enslaved people in the colonised regions. |
Related images | Discover a selection of related images in our picture library |
Source | Sources: Bulloch's Roll; DNB; GEC; ODNB Note: ODNB (Stater) gives an alternative place of birth as Devonshire House, London. |
Virtual International Authority File | http://viaf.org/viaf/16203838 |
Code | NA5787 |
Archives associated with this Fellow
RefNo | Title | Date |
MS/390/60 | Bond of William Cavendish, 3rd Earl of Devonshire, to the Treasurer of the Royal Society | 16 December 1674 |