Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne


Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne, known as Lord Henry Petty from 1784 to 1809, was a British statesman. In a ministerial career spanning nearly half a century, he notably served as Home Secretary and Chancellor of the Exchequer and was three times Lord President of the Council, serving in every Whig or Liberal Ministry from 1806 to 1863.

Background and education

Lansdowne was the son of Prime Minister William Petty, 1st Marquess of Lansdowne, by his second marriage to Lady Louisa, daughter of John FitzPatrick, 1st Earl of Upper Ossory. He was educated at Westminster School, the University of Edinburgh, and Trinity College, Cambridge.

Political career

He entered the House of Commons in 1802 as member for the family borough of Calne and quickly showed his mettle as a politician. In February 1806 he became Chancellor of the Exchequer in Lord Grenville's Ministry of All the Talents, being at this time member for the University of Cambridge, but he lost both his seat and his office in 1807.
In 1809 he became the 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne, succeeding his politically disaffected elder half-brother, John Petty, in the title. The 2nd Marquess, had been obliged to leave Ireland, where the family had estates, after intelligence reports had implicated him in the United-Irish conspiracy of Robert Emmet. On the death of their father, the 1st Marquess had married his mistress by whom he had had no children.
In the House of Lords and in society the third marquess continued to play an active part as one of the Whig leaders. His chief interest was perhaps in the question of Roman Catholic emancipation, a cause which he consistently championed, but he sympathised also with the advocates of the abolition of the slave trade and with the cause of popular education. Lansdowne, who had succeeded his cousin, Francis Thomas Fitzmaurice, as 4th Earl of Kerry in 1818, took office with George Canning in May 1827 and was Secretary of State for the Home Department from July of that year until January 1828.
He was Lord President of the Council under Earl Grey and then under Lord Melbourne from November 1830 to August 1841, with the exception of the few months in 1835 when Sir Robert Peel was prime minister. He held the same office during the whole of Lord John Russell's ministry, and, having declined to become prime minister, sat in the cabinets of Lord Aberdeen and of Lord Palmerston, but without office. In 1857 he refused the offer of a dukedom. Punch approved of his refusal, writing: “Lord Lansdowne won’t be Duke of Kerry. Lord Lansdowne is a wise man, very. Punch drinks his health in port and sherry”.
In his later years Lansdowne was known as "the Nestor of the Whigs". His social influence and political moderation made him one of the most powerful Whig statesmen of the time; he was frequently consulted by Queen Victoria on matters of moment, and his long official experience made his counsel invaluable to his party. He died on 31 January 1863.
In Kenmare, he donated the site of the Holy Cross Church to the town. In 1864, Father John O'Sullivan built the church on that site.

Other public appointments

Lansdowne chaired the inaugural meeting of the London Statistical Society, and was its first president. He later served a second term.

Family

Lord Lansdowne married Lady Louisa Fox-Strangways, daughter of the 2nd Earl of Ilchester, in 1808. They had two sons and one daughter:
Louisa died in April 1851, aged 65, and Lord Lansdowne in January 1863, aged 82. His eldest son, the Earl of Kerry, had predeceased him and he was succeeded in the marquessate by his only surviving son, Henry. The latter was the father of Henry Petty-FitzMaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne, who also became a distinguished statesman. The elderly 3rd Marquess had a close relationship with his grandson, the future 5th Marquess.

Books

  • Kerry, Simon. Lansdowne: The Last Great Whig,,, scholarly biography of his grandson the 5th Marquess. .