William George Spencer Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire, KG,PC (21 May 1790[1] – 18 January 1858), styled Marquess of Hartington until 1811, was a British peer, courtier, nobleman, and Whig politician. Known as the "Bachelor Duke", he was Lord Chamberlain of the Household between 1827 and 1828 and again between 1830 and 1834. The Cavendish banana is named after him.
Devonshire was also Lord Lieutenant of Derbyshire between 1811 and 1858[6] and carried the Orb at the coronation of George IV in 1821. However, increasing deafness from an early age prevented him from taking an even greater part in public life.[3]
Other interestsEdit
Devonshire had a major interest in gardening and horticulture, and devoted himself sedulously to the care and nurture of his vast estates. His major projects including the wholesale rebuilding of the village of Edensor, and significant improvement to his several stately houses and their gardens. He befriended Sir Joseph Paxton, then employed at the Royal Horticultural Society's Chiswick Gardens, located close to Devonshire's London estate Chiswick House, and appointed him his head gardener at Chatsworth House in 1826, despite Paxton being only in his early twenties at the time. Paxton greatly expanded the gardens at Chatsworth, including the construction of a 277 foot long conservatory, which served as a model for The Crystal Palace constructed in London's Hyde Park.
Devonshire, himself a keen horticulturalist, was elected President of the Royal Horticultural Society in 1838, a position in which he served for twenty years until his death.[7] It was this interest which led him to establish the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew as a national botanic garden.[7] The world's most commercially exploited banana, the Cavendish, was named in his honour. He had acquired an early specimen, which he raised in his glasshouse, and this plant is the progenitor of almost all the worldwide varieties of Cavendish banana.[8]
Devonshire was also patron of The Derby Town and County Museum and Natural History Society. In that position, he was instrumental in the creation of the Derby Museum and Art Gallery in 1836.[9]
He also travelled extensively.
In 1845, Cavendish published a book called Handbook to Chatsworth and Hardwick. It was privately printed and provided a history of the Cavendish family's two primary estates: Chatsworth House and Hardwick Hall; the handbook was praised by author Charles Dickens.[10][11]
Personal lifeEdit
St Peter's Churchyard, Edensor - grave of William Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire KG, PC (1790–1858)Shield of arms of William Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire, KG, PC
Much of Devonshire's private correspondence, including letters to his mistresses (one of whom he installed nearby), was destroyed by his Victorian relatives. He intended to marry Lady Caroline Ponsonby, his cousin, but she married William Lamb, which he found devastating.[1]
william, cavendish, duke, devonshire, william, george, spencer, cavendish, duke, devonshire, 1790, january, 1858, styled, marquess, hartington, until, 1811, british, peer, courtier, nobleman, whig, politician, known, bachelor, duke, lord, chamberlain, househol. William George Spencer Cavendish 6th Duke of Devonshire KG PC 21 May 1790 1 18 January 1858 styled Marquess of Hartington until 1811 was a British peer courtier nobleman and Whig politician Known as the Bachelor Duke he was Lord Chamberlain of the Household between 1827 and 1828 and again between 1830 and 1834 The Cavendish banana is named after him His GraceThe Duke of DevonshireKG PCThe Duke of Devonshire by Sir Thomas LawrenceLord Chamberlain of the HouseholdIn office 22 November 1830 14 November 1834MonarchWilliam IVPrime MinisterThe Earl Grey The Viscount MelbournePreceded byThe Earl of JerseySucceeded byThe Earl of JerseyIn office 5 May 1827 21 January 1828MonarchGeorge IVPrime MinisterGeorge Canning The Viscount GoderichPreceded byThe Duke of MontroseSucceeded byThe Duke of MontroseLord Lieutenant of DerbyshireIn office 27 August 1811 18 January 1858MonarchsGeorge IIIGeorge IVWilliam IVVictoriaPreceded byThe 5th Duke of DevonshireSucceeded byThe 7th Duke of DevonshireMember of the House of Lordsas Duke of DevonshireIn office 11 July 1811 18 January 1858Preceded byThe 5th Duke of DevonshireSucceeded byThe 7th Duke of DevonshirePersonal detailsBorn21 May 1790 1790 05 21 Paris FranceDied18 January 1858 1858 01 18 aged 67 Hardwick Hall Derbyshire England United KingdomNationalityBritishPolitical partyWhigParent s William Cavendish 5th Duke of DevonshireLady Georgiana SpencerAlma materTrinity College Cambridge Contents 1 Background 2 Political career 3 Other interests 4 Personal life 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External linksBackground EditBorn in Paris France Devonshire was the son of William Cavendish 5th Duke of Devonshire and Lady Georgiana daughter of John Spencer 1st Earl Spencer 1 He was educated at Harrow and at Trinity College Cambridge 2 He lost both his parents while still in his youth his mother died in 1806 and his father in 1811 when aged 21 he succeeded to the dukedom citation needed Along with the title he inherited eight stately homes and some 200 000 acres 809 km or 80 900 ha of land Political career Edit nbsp The duke carrying the Orb at the Coronation of George IV in 1821 Politically Devonshire followed in the Whig family tradition He supported Catholic emancipation the abolition of slavery and reduced factory working hours 3 He held office as Lord Chamberlain of the Household under George Canning and Lord Goderich between 1827 and 1828 and under Lord Grey and Lord Melbourne between 1830 and 1834 In 1827 he was sworn of the Privy Council 4 and made a Knight of the Garter 4 He was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary to the Russian Empire on the coronation of Tsar Nicholas I in 1826 5 Devonshire was also Lord Lieutenant of Derbyshire between 1811 and 1858 6 and carried the Orb at the coronation of George IV in 1821 However increasing deafness from an early age prevented him from taking an even greater part in public life 3 Other interests EditDevonshire had a major interest in gardening and horticulture and devoted himself sedulously to the care and nurture of his vast estates His major projects including the wholesale rebuilding of the village of Edensor and significant improvement to his several stately houses and their gardens He befriended Sir Joseph Paxton then employed at the Royal Horticultural Society s Chiswick Gardens located close to Devonshire s London estate Chiswick House and appointed him his head gardener at Chatsworth House in 1826 despite Paxton being only in his early twenties at the time Paxton greatly expanded the gardens at Chatsworth including the construction of a 277 foot long conservatory which served as a model for The Crystal Palace constructed in London s Hyde Park Devonshire himself a keen horticulturalist was elected President of the Royal Horticultural Society in 1838 a position in which he served for twenty years until his death 7 It was this interest which led him to establish the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew as a national botanic garden 7 The world s most commercially exploited banana the Cavendish was named in his honour He had acquired an early specimen which he raised in his glasshouse and this plant is the progenitor of almost all the worldwide varieties of Cavendish banana 8 Devonshire was also patron of The Derby Town and County Museum and Natural History Society In that position he was instrumental in the creation of the Derby Museum and Art Gallery in 1836 9 He also travelled extensively In 1845 Cavendish published a book called Handbook to Chatsworth and Hardwick It was privately printed and provided a history of the Cavendish family s two primary estates Chatsworth House and Hardwick Hall the handbook was praised by author Charles Dickens 10 11 Personal life Edit nbsp St Peter s Churchyard Edensor grave of William Cavendish 6th Duke of Devonshire KG PC 1790 1858 nbsp Shield of arms of William Cavendish 6th Duke of Devonshire KG PCDevonshire was a close friend of the Prince Regent 3 Other friends included Antonio Canova and Charles Dickens Much of Devonshire s private correspondence including letters to his mistresses one of whom he installed nearby was destroyed by his Victorian relatives He intended to marry Lady Caroline Ponsonby his cousin but she married William Lamb which he found devastating 1 Devonshire died at Hardwick Hall Derbyshire 3 in January 1858 aged 67 and left an estate valued at 500 000 in his will As he was unmarried the dukedom passed to his cousin William Cavendish 2nd Earl of Burlington His junior title of Baron Clifford fell into abeyance between his sisters Georgiana Countess of Carlisle and Harriet Countess Granville citation needed References Edit a b c K D Reynolds Cavendish William George Spencer sixth duke of Devonshire 1790 1858 Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Oxford University Press Sept 2004 online edn Jan 2008 accessed 6 June 2010 Cavendish William George Spencer Marquess of Hartington CVNS807WG A Cambridge Alumni Database University of Cambridge a b c d Biography of Devonshire on Orchidologists website a b No 18360 The London Gazette 11 May 1827 p 1033 No 18241 The London Gazette 25 April 1826 p 965 leighrayment com Peerage Desborough to Dorchester Usurped a b Lankester Botanical Garden 2010 Biographies PDF Lankesteriana 10 2 3 183 206 page 186 Archived PDF from the original on 23 May 2014 details of the taxonomic naming of the cavendish banana Newsletter of the Geological Curators Club Archived 16 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine Vol 1 No 8 1976 Retrieved 24 June 2011 Handbook of Chatsworth and Hardwick Chatsworth Retrieved 14 April 2021 The Devonshire Family Collections at Chatsworth Archives Hub 4 March 2019 Retrieved 14 April 2021 Further reading EditJames Lees Milne The Bachelor Duke Life of William Spencer Cavendish 6th Duke of Devonshire 1790 1858 1991 John Murray ISBN 0 7195 4920 5External links EditHansard 1803 2005 contributions in Parliament by the Duke of DevonshirePolitical officesPreceded byThe Duke of Montrose Lord Chamberlain of the Household1827 1828 Succeeded byThe Duke of MontrosePreceded byThe Earl of Jersey Lord Chamberlain of the Household1830 1834 Succeeded byThe Earl of JerseyPreceded byThe Duke of Devonshire Lord Lieutenant of Derbyshire1811 1858 Succeeded byThe Duke of DevonshirePeerage of EnglandPreceded byWilliam Cavendish Duke of Devonshire1811 1858 Succeeded byWilliam CavendishBaron Clifford1811 1858 In abeyance Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title William Cavendish 6th Duke of Devonshire amp oldid 1156964097, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
