William Cavendish, 7th Duke of Devonshire

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For other people named William Cavendish, see William Cavendish (disambiguation).

William Cavendish, 7th Duke of Devonshire, KG, PC (27 April 1808 – 21 December 1891), known as Lord Cavendish of Keighley between 1831 and 1834 and 2nd Earl of Burlington of the 2nd creation between 1834 and 1858, was the great-grandson of the 4th Duke of Devonshire, grandson of the 1st Earl of Burlington, and son of William Cavendish. He succeeded his grandfather as Earl of Burlington (2nd creation) in 1834 before succeeding his cousin as Duke of Devonshire in 1858. In 1829, he married a niece of the 6th Duke, Lady Blanche Howard.

He was Chancellor of the University of Cambridge from 1861 to 1891. He endowed the Cavendish Laboratory there, named after his relative Henry Cavendish. He made vast (and ultimately unsuccessful) investments in heavy industry at Barrow in Furness, and had his nearby country house Holker Hall rebuilt in its present form after it was gutted by a fire in 1871.

The Duke's three surviving sons became Members of Parliament: the eldest, known after 1858 by the courtesy title the Marquess of Hartington, MP for Lancashire North 1857–91, led the Liberal Party and was asked three times to be Prime Minister by Queen Victoria (he succeeded his father as 8th Duke in 1891); Lord Frederick Cavendish was MP for the West Riding and Chief Secretary for Ireland and was assassinated in 1882; Lord Edward Cavendish was MP for West Derbyshire. He also had one son, Hon. William (8 October 1831 – 15 May 1834) who died as an infant, and a daughter, Lady Louisa Caroline (d. 21 September 1907), who married Adm. Hon. Francis Egerton and had issue.

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• thePeerage.com

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by: The Viscount Palmerston Sir Nicholas Conyngham Tindal	Member for Cambridge University with The Viscount Palmerston 1829–1831	Succeeded by: Henry Goulburn William Yates Peel
Preceded by: Francis Jeffrey Henry Gally Knight	Member for Malton with Henry Gally Knight 1831	Succeeded by: Henry Gally Knight Charles Pepys
Preceded by: Constituency created	Member for North Derbyshire with Thomas Gisborne 1832–1834	Succeeded by: Thomas Gisborne Lord George Henry Cavendish
Honorary Titles
Preceded by: The Earl of Ellesmere	Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire 1857–1858	Succeeded by: The Earl of Sefton
Preceded by: The Duke of Devonshire	Lord Lieutenant of Derbyshire 1858–1891	Succeeded by: The Duke of Devonshire
Preceded by: The Prince Consort	Chancellor of the University of Cambridge 1861–1891	Succeeded by: The Duke of Devonshire
Peerage of England
Preceded by: William Cavendish	Duke of Devonshire 1858–1891	Succeeded by: Spencer Cavendish
Preceded by: George Cavendish	Earl of Burlington 1834–1891