William Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Devonshire

William Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Devonshire KG, PC (1672 – 4 June 1729) was a British nobleman and politician. He was the eldest son of William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Devonshire and Lady Mary Butler. A prominent Whig, he was sworn of the Privy Council in 1707, and served as Lord President of the Council from 1716 to 1718 and 1725 to 1729.

His Grace The Duke of Devonshire KG PC
Portrait by Godfrey Kneller
Lord President of the Council
In office 6 July 1716 – 16 March 1718
Monarch	George I
Preceded by	The Earl of Nottingham
Succeeded by	The Earl of Sunderland
In office 27 March 1725 – 4 June 1729
Monarchs	George I George II
Preceded by	The Lord Carleton
Succeeded by	The Lord Trevor
Personal details
Born	1672 (1672)
Died	4 June 1729(1729-06-04) (aged 56–57)
Nationality	British
Political party	Whig
Spouse	Rachel Russell
Children	William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire Lady Rachel Cavendish Lady Elizabeth Cavendish Lord James Cavendish Lord Charles Cavendish
Parent(s)	William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Devonshire Lady Mary Butler

Quartered arms of William Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Devonshire, KG

Biography

Cavendish was born as the eldest surviving son of William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Devonshire.^[1] After marrying the daughter of Whig martyr Lord Russell, Rachel Russell, Cavendish was sent out to the country, probably commanding his father's troop of cavalry, and was a volunteer in Flanders in 1692.^[1] His first attempt at entering politics was by competing in a by-election in 1691 for the House of Commons, which did not succeed.^[1] However, in 1695, he did manage to enter the House of Commons representing the county of Derbyshire.^[1]

Horse racing

Cavendish was significant in horse racing. He was the owner of Flying Childers, who is often considered the first true great racehorse in the history of thoroughbreds.^[2][3] Childers was also the son of Darley Arabian, which was one of the first three horses that led to the creation of the English thoroughbred.^[4] Cavendish intended to use Childers as a hunter for practical field use after buying him from Colonel Leonard Childers as a yearling, before eventually becoming putting him in racing and him becoming the Leading sire in Great Britain and Ireland.^[3][5] However, Childers was not a great breeder, and instead, his brother Bartlett's Childers, who was unsuitable for racing was bred, leading to Bartlett being the male ancestor of Eclipse.^[6][7]

Personal life

He married The Hon. Rachel Russell (1674–1725), daughter of William Russell, Lord Russell on 21 June 1688. The Duchess served as a Lady of the Bedchamber at the court of Queen Anne.^[8]

They had ten children:

1. Lady Mary Cavendish (18 August 1696 – 15 June 1719)^[9]
2. William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire (26 September 1698 – 5 December 1755)
3. Lady Rachel Cavendish (4 October 1699 – 18 June 1780)^[10] married Sir William Morgan on 14 May 1723
4. Lady Elizabeth Cavendish (27 September 1700 – 7 November 1747) married Sir Thomas Lowther, 2nd Baronet
5. Lord James Cavendish (23 November 1701 – 14 December 1741)
6. Lord Charles Cavendish (17 March 1704 – 28 April 1783) married Anne Grey on 9 January 1727, father of Henry Cavendish
7. Lady Anne Cavendish (died 23 August 1780 aged 70^[11])
8. Lady Katherine Cavendish (died 12 September 1715 aged 9^[11])
9. Lord John Cavendish (died 11 May 1720 aged 12^[11])
10. Lady Diana Cavendish (died 12 February 1722^[11])