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Charles Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, 5th Earl Fitzwilliam

Charles William Wentworth Fitzwilliam, 5th Earl Fitzwilliam in the peerage of Ireland, and 3rd Earl Fitzwilliam in the peerage of Great Britain, KG (4 May 1786 – 4 October 1857) was a British nobleman and politician. He was president three times of the Royal Statistical Society in 1838–1840, 1847–1849, and 1853–1855; and president of the British Association for the Advancement of Science in its inaugural year (1831–2).[1]

The Right Honourable
The Earl Fitzwilliam
KG

Charles William Wentworth-FitzWilliam

4 May 1786

4 October 1857(1857-10-04) (aged 71)

British

Eton College

Hon. Mary Dundas
​
​
(m. 1806; died 1830)​

13, including:

Early life[edit]

He was born on 4 May 1786 as the only son of William Fitzwilliam, 4th Earl Fitzwilliam, who served as Lord President of the Council and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, and his first wife, Lady Charlotte Ponsonby (daughter of William Ponsonby, 2nd Earl of Bessborough).[2] After his mother's death in 1822, his father married the Louisa, Baroness Ponsonby (daughter of Richard Molesworth, 3rd Viscount Molesworth and widow of William Ponsonby, 1st Baron Ponsonby), in 1823, however, she died soon after in February 1824.[2][a]


His paternal grandparents were William Fitzwilliam, 3rd Earl Fitzwilliam and Lady Anne Watson-Wentworth (daughter of Thomas Watson-Wentworth, 1st Marquess of Rockingham, and sister to Prime Minister Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham). His father inherited the 2nd Marquess of Rockingham's estates in 1782.[2]


He was a pupil at Eton College from 1796 to 1802.[2]

Career[edit]

Before inheriting the Earldom on 8 February 1833 on the death of his father, he was known by the courtesy title of Viscount Milton. Under that name, he was the Whig Member of Parliament for Northamptonshire between 1831 and 1832. Fitzwilliam became a strong supporter of Parliamentary Reform and one of the principal advocates of repeal of the Corn Laws.[3][4][5]


The family seat was Wentworth Woodhouse, reputedly the largest private house in England.[6]

Lady Charlotte Wentworth-FitzWilliam (b. 1807)

[9]

Hon. Margaret Bruce Wentworth-FitzWilliam (1809–1809)

[9]

Lady Mary Wentworth-FitzWilliam (1810–1893), who married Leonard Thompson, Esq.

[9]

William Charles Wentworth-FitzWilliam, Viscount Milton

[9]

[9]

(1815–1902)[9]

William Thomas Spencer Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, 6th Earl Fitzwilliam

Hon. George Wentworth-Fitzwilliam

[9]

Lady Anne Wentworth-Fitzwilliam (1819–1879), who married at the Chapel at Wentworth Woodhouse in 1838.[9]

Sir James John Randoll Mackenzie of Scatwell, 6th Bt

Lady Dorothy Wentworth-FitzWilliam (b. 1822)

[9]

Hon. John Wentworth-FitzWilliam (1823–1824)

[9]

Hon. (1826–1894), who married Anne Dundas, daughter of Reverend Hon. Thomas Lawrence Dundas, in 1854.[9] Died without issue.

Charles William Wentworth-Fitzwilliam

[a son] (b. and d. 18 Mar 1828)

[9]

Lady Albreda Elizabeth Wentworth-Fitzwilliam (1829–1891), who married in 1853.[9]

Fitzpatrick Henry Vernon, 2nd Baron Lyveden

On 8 July 1806, Viscount Milton married his cousin, the Hon. Mary Dundas (1787–1830). Mary was the daughter of Thomas Dundas, 1st Baron Dundas and Lady Charlotte Fitzwilliam (the 4th Earl's sister).[7] They had thirteen children:[8]


Lord Fitzwilliam died on 4 October 1857.[10]

1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Viscount Milton

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