William pitt the younger

William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham

Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1766 to 1768

This article is about William Pitt the Elder. Not to be confused with William Pitt the Younger.

"The Earl of Chatham" redirects here. For other holders of the title, see Earl of Chatham.

The Right Honourable

The Earl of Chatham

PC FRS

Pitt the Elder, by William Hoare

In office
30 July 1766 – 14 October 1768
MonarchGeorge III
Preceded byThe Marquess of Rockingham
Succeeded byThe Duke of Grafton
In office
30 July 1766 – 14 October 1768
Preceded byThe Duke of Newcastle
Succeeded byThe Earl of Bristol
In office
27 June 1757 – 6 October 1761
Preceded byHimself
Succeeded byGeorge Grenville
In office
4 December 1756 – 6 April 1757
Preceded byHenry Fox
Succeeded byHimself
In office
27 June 1757 – 5 October 1761
Preceded byThe Earl of Holderness
Succeeded byThe Earl of Egremont
In office
4 December 1756 – 6 April 1757
Preceded byHenry Fox

William Pitt 'The Younger'


Born

28 May 1759, Hayes Place, near Hayes Kent

Died

23 January 1806, Putney Heath, London

Dates in office

1783 to 1801, 1804 to 1806

Political party

Tory and Whig

Major acts

India Act 1784: for the superintendence and control overall the British territorial possessions in the East Indies and control over the affairs of the company. Act of Union 1800: united the Kingdom of Great Britain with the Kingdom of Ireland to create United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

Interesting facts

He was Britain's youngest ever Prime Minister, entering office at the age of 24. He fought a duel 27 May 1798 on Putney Heath against George Tierney, a Foxite MP. Pitt wrote to his mother; “….The business concluded without anything unpleasant to either Party”

Biography

At just 24 years old, William Pitt The Younger, son of Pitt the Elder, was the youngest Prime Minister in history. He died aged only 46. He was exhausted by the demands of an office whose modern conception he helped to establish, and of a peculiarly threatening

William Pitt 'The Elder' (Whig, 1766-1768)

William Pitt the Elder, first Earl of Chatham, was an important war leader who found it harder to govern in peace time.

Born in November 1708, Pitt’s grandfather and father were both MPs and his grandfather, Thomas, had been governor of Madras. Pitt was a pupil at Eton from 1719 until 1726. He entered Trinity College, Oxford in 1727 but rapidly moved on to study in Utrecht. His elder brother inherited the family estates and William had to seek other employment. His Etonian friend, George Lyttelton, introduced him to Richard Temple, Viscount Cobham in 1731 and Pitt gained a commission in Temple’s regiment.

Youthful opposition

William Pitt was elected to the family pocket borough of Old Sarum in 1735. He quickly sided with the opposition to Walpole, joining Cobham’s nephews Richard Grenville and Lyttelton as a member of the group known as ‘Cobham’s cubs’. Opposition to the ministry in the eighteenth century was frequently associated with the heir to the throne and Pitt and the cubs moved closer to Frederick, Prince of Wales. Pitt wa

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