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Duke of Devonshire

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The Dukes of Devonshire are an aristocratic family in the United Kingdom, descended from Bess of Hardwick (~1527 - 1608) and her second husband Sir William Cavendish (1505 - 1557); she was the one who built Chatsworth. The family name of Cavendish came from the village of Cavendish, Suffolk, England and from Sir John Cavendish who was born there in the 14th century. The dukedom started when William Cavendish, the 4th Earl of Devonshire, was created the 1st Duke of Devonshire in 1694 (see below).

William Cavendish (1640 - 1707), 1st Duke of Devonshire, 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 (1694) and also Marquis of Hartington in recognition for his services. He was married to Lady Mary Butler (1646-1710), daughter of the 1st Duke of Ormonde.

William Cavendish (ca. 1673 - 1729), 2nd Duke of Devonshire. He married Hon. Rachel Russell (1674 - 1725), daughter of William Lord Russell. One of their grandsons was the famous scientist Henry Cavendish who endowed the Cavendish Laboratory at the University of Cambridge.

William Cavendish (1698 - 1755), 3rd Duke of Devonshire, married Catherine Hoskins (died 1777).

William Cavendish (ca. 1720 - 1764), 4th Duke of Devonshire, was a statesman. He was Prime Minister from 1756 to 1757. He married to Lady Charlotte Boyle (1731 - 1754), the daughter and heiress of Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington and 4th Earl of Cork, 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 (1748 - 1811), 5th Duke of Devonshire, married twice: first, Lady Georgiana Spencer (1757 - 1806); second, Lady Elizabeth Hervey Foster (1759-1824). Georgiana Spencer 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 (1790 - 1858), 6th Duke of Devonshire, was known as the "Bachelor 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 traveled 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 (1808 - 1891), 7th Duke of Devonshire, was the great-grandson of the 4th duke and married the niece of the 6th duke, Lady Blanche Howard (1812 - 1840).

Spencer Compton Cavendish, (1833 - 1908), 8th Duke of Devonshire, 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, (1868 - 1937), 9th Duke of Devonshire, was Liberal Unionist Member of Parliament for West Derbyshire 1891-1908, Governor-General of Canada 1916-1921, and Colonial Secretary 1922-1924. His son Charles married Adele, sister of Fred Astaire.

Edward William Spencer Cavendish, (1895 - 1950), 10th Duke of Devonshire, was Member of Parliament for West Derbyshire and a Minister in Winston Churchill's wartime cabinet. He was married to Lady Mary Cecil, the daughter of the 4th Marquess of Salisbury. They had two sons and two daughter.

Andrew Robert Buxton Cavendish, (born 1920), 11th Duke of Devonshire, is the present Duke. He served as a minister in Harold Macmillan's government, and he received the Military Cross in 1944. He married Deborah Mitford, sister to Nancy Mitford and Jessica Mitford. He lives at Chatsworth, the ancestral home.

The 11th Duke's son and heir, Peregrine Cavendish, (born 1944), 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); Sir John Cavendish 14th century ancestor killed in Peasants' Revolt.

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