William Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, 4th Earl Fitzwilliam
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The Right Honourable The Earl Fitzwilliam PC |
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Fitzwilliam as painted by William Owen, 1817
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| Earl Fitzwilliam | |
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In office 10 August 1756 – 8 February 1833 |
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| Preceded by | William Fitzwilliam |
| Succeeded by | Charles Wentworth-Fitzwilliam |
| Lord Lieutenant of Ireland | |
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In office 13 December 1794 – 13 March 1795 |
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| Monarch | George III |
| Prime Minister | Hon. William Pitt the Younger |
| Preceded by | The Earl of Westmorland |
| Succeeded by | The Earl Camden |
| Lord President of the Council | |
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In office 1 July – 17 December 1794 |
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| Monarch | George III |
| Prime Minister | William Pitt the Younger |
| Preceded by | The Earl Camden |
| Succeeded by | The Earl of Mansfield |
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In office 19 February – 8 October 1806 |
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| Monarch | George III |
| Prime Minister | Lord Grenville |
| Preceded by | The Earl Camden |
| Succeeded by | Viscount Sidmouth |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 30 May 1748 |
| Died | 8 February 1833 (aged 84) |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Whig |
| Spouse(s) | (1) Lady Charlotte Ponsonby (c. 1750–1822) (2) Hon. Louisa Molesworth (1749–1824) |
William Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, 4th Earl Fitzwilliam PC (30 May 1748 – 8 February 1833), styled Viscount Milton until 1756, was a British Whig statesman of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. In 1782 he inherited the estates of his uncle Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, making him one of the richest people in Britain. He played a leading part in Whig politics until the 1820s.
Fitzwilliam was the son of William Fitzwilliam, 3rd Earl Fitzwilliam, by his wife Lady Anne, daughter of Thomas Watson-Wentworth, 1st Marquess of Rockingham. Prime Minister Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham was his maternal uncle. He inherited the two earldoms of Fitzwilliam (in the Peerages of Great Britain and of Ireland) in 1756 at the age of eight on the death of his father. He was educated at Eton, where he became friends with Charles James Fox and Lord Morpeth. His tutor there, Edward Young, wrote to Lady Fitzwilliam on 25 July 1763 of Fitzwilliam's "exceeding good understanding, and...most amiable disposition and temper".Lord Carlisle, another school friend, penned a poem about his friends:
Say, will Fitzwilliam ever want a heart,
Cheerful his ready blessings to impart?
Will not another's woe his bosom share,
The widow's sorrow and the orphan's prayer?
Who aids the old, who soothes the mother's cry,
Who feeds the hungry, who assists the lame?
All, all re-echo with Fitzwilliam's name.
Thou know'st I hate to flatter, yet in thee
No fault, my friend, no single speck I see.
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Wikipedia