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Duke of Devonshire

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The Dukes of Devonshire are an aristocratic family in the United Kingdom. The dukedom started when William Cavendish, the 4th Earl of Devonshire, was created the 1st Duke of Devonshire in 1694 (see below).

William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Devonshire (1640-1707) was a soldier and statesman. A Whig under Charles II of England and James II of England, he was leader of the anti-court and anti-Romanist party in the House of Commons. He was a strong supporter of the "Glorious Revolution" of 1688 which brought William of Orange to the throne. He was created the 1st Duke and also Marquis of Hartington in recognition for his services.

William Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Devonshire (ca. 1673-1729).....

William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire (1698?-1755).....

William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire (ca. 1720-1764 was a statesman. He was Prime Minister from 1756 to 1757. He was married to Lady Charlotte Boyle (1731-1754), the daughter and heiress of Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington, a famous architect and art collector. Through her, the Devonshires inherited Chiswick House, London; Burlington House; Bolton Abbey; Londesborough Hall, Yorkshire; Lismore Castle, Co. Waterford, Ireland.

William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire (1748-1811) married twice: first Lady Georgiana Spencer, second Elizabeth... Georgiana Spencer (1757-1806) was a socialite who gathered around her a large circle or literary and political friends. She was painted by Thomas Gainsborough and Joshua Reynolds. The fifth Duke was closely involved with the nearby spa town of Buxton. He used the profits from his copper mines to transform the town into a replica of Bath, including The Crescent and the Devonshire Royal Hospital.

William George Spencer Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire (1790-1858), was known as the "Batchelor Duke". In 1811, at the age of 21, he inherited eight stately homes and 200,000 acres of land. He went on to improve his houses and gardens (including the rebuilding of the village of Edensor) and travelled extensively. He was Lord Chamberlain to King William IV and a close friend of Czar Nicholas I of Russia. Among his friends were also Antonio Canova, Charles Dickens, and his head gardener, Sir Joseph Paxton.

William Cavendish, 7th Duke of Devonshire ........

Spencer Compton Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire, (1833-[[1908] was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge and entered parliament in 1857. Between 1863 and 1874 he held various Government posts, including Lord of the Admiralty, under-secretary for war, war secretary, postmaster-general, and chief secretary for Ireland. In 1875 he became Leader of the Liberal opposition, and in 1880, after the fall of Benjamin Disraeli's government, he was invited to form a government, but chose instead to serve under William Ewart Gladstone.

Victor Christian William Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire.........

Edward William Spencer Cavndish, 10th Duke of Devonshire.........

Andrew Robert Buxton Cavendish, 11th Duke of Devonshire, is the present Duke. He lives at Chatsworth, the ancestral home.

His son and heir, Peregrine Cavendish, the Marquess of Hartington, lives at Bolton Abbey.

See: William Cavendish (Husband of Bess of Hardwick); George Cavendish (William's brother, Cardinal Wolsey's biographer)

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