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Spencer Compton Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire

His Grace
The Duke of Devonshire
KG GCVO PC PC (Ire)
Spencer Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire.jpg
Leader of the Liberal Party
In office
1875–1880
Preceded by William Ewart Gladstone
Succeeded by William Ewart Gladstone
Lord President of the Council
In office
29 June 1895 – 19 October 1903
Monarch Victoria
Edward VII
Prime Minister The Marquess of Salisbury
Arthur Balfour
Preceded by The Earl of Rosebery
Succeeded by The Marquess of Londonderry
Personal details
Born 23 July 1833 (2017-04-29UTC18:55:56)
Died 24 March 1908(1908-03-24) (aged 74)
Cannes, France
Nationality British
Political party Liberal
Liberal Unionist
Spouse(s) Louisa Frederica Augusta von Alten
Alma mater Trinity College, Cambridge

Spencer Compton Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire KG GCVO PC PC (Ire) (23 July 1833 – 24 March 1908), styled The Honourable Spencer Cavendish in 1833, Lord Cavendish of Keighley between 1834 and 1858 and Marquess of Hartington between 1858 and 1891, was a British statesman. He has the distinction of having served as leader of three political parties (as Leader of the Liberal Party in the House of Commons (1875–1880), as of the Liberal Unionist Party (1886–1903) and of the Unionists in the House of Lords (1902–1903), though the Conservatives and Liberal Unionists operated in close alliance from 1892–1903 and would eventually merge in 1912). He also declined to become Prime Minister on three occasions, not because he was not a serious politician but because the circumstances were never right.

Devonshire was the eldest son of William Cavendish, 2nd Earl of Burlington, who succeeded his cousin as Duke of Devonshire in 1858, and Lady Blanche Cavendish (née Howard). Lord Frederick Cavendish and Lord Edward Cavendish were his younger brothers. He was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he graduated as MA in 1854. He later received honorary degrees as LLD in 1862, and as DCL at Oxford University in 1878.


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