William Petty 2nd Earl of Shelburne

Tags: Prime Minister.

William Petty 1st Marquess of Lansdowne KG PC (2 May 1737 – 7 May 1805) known as The Earl of Shelburne between 1761 and 1784 by which title he is generally known to history was an Irish-born British Whig statesman who was the first Home Secretary in 1782 and then Prime Minister 1782–1783 during the final months of the American War of Independence. He succeeded in securing peace with America and this feat remains his legacy.

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active years end date

1768-10-20, 1782-07-10, 1783-04-02

active years start date

1766-07-30, 1782-03-27, 1782-07-04

alma mater

Christ Church Oxford

birth date

1737-05-02

birth place

County Dublin, Dublin, Ireland, Kingdom of Ireland

death date

1805-05-07

death place

London, Berkeley Square, Westminster, Middlesex, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

monarch

George III of the United Kingdom

order in office

Leader of the House of Lords, Secretary of State for the Home Department, Prime Minister of Great Britain, Secretary of State for the Southern Department

party

Whigs (British political party)

prime minister

Augustus FitzRoy 3rd Duke of Grafton, William Pitt 1st Earl of Chatham, Charles Watson-Wentworth 2nd Marquess of Rockingham

religion

English Dissenters

successor

Thomas Thynne 1st Marquess of Bath, Thomas Townshend 1st Viscount Sydney, William Cavendish-Bentinck 3rd Duke of Portland