Pitt, William, 1759-1806

British statesman and prime minister.

From the description of Papers, 1762-1884 and n.d. (Duke University Library). WorldCat record id: 122417293

From the description of Papers, 1762-1884. (Duke University Library). WorldCat record id: 20019673

Chancellor of the Exchequer.

From the description of Document signed : [London], 1784 Apr. 16. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270890755

From the description of Document signed : [London], 1787 Nov. 23. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270890762

From the description of Document signed : [London], 1785 July 29. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270890760

From the description of Document signed : Whitehall, to the Duke of Newcastle, 1790 Nov. 18. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270890763

From the description of Document signed : [London], 1794 Dec. 18. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270890766

English statesman.

From the description of Autograph letter signed : [n.p.], to an unidentified recipient, "Saturday," [n.d.]. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270860179

From the description of Letter signed : [n.p.], to an unidentified recipient, 1782 Oct. 29. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270867812

William Pitt was prime minister from 1783-1801 and 1804-1806. During his time in office, Pitt waged war against Napoleon while expanding England's holdings abroad, worked to calm the revolutionary fervor spreading from the new Republic of France and the new United States, and made great attempts to reconcile Britain with its recently lost colony.

From the description of Papers of the prime ministers of Great Britain: series 1, William Pitt the Younger papers, 1779-1806 (bulk), [microform]. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 86131846

From the description of The Papers of William Pitt the Younger [microform]. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 702690893

Born in London on 15 November 1708, "the elder Pitt," as William Pitt was known, was the son of Robert Pitt and Lady Harriet Villiers. He was educated at Eton and Trinity College, Oxford, and in 1735 entered parliament for Old Sarum, one of the boroughs controlled by his brother. He became secretary of state in 1756, where he was determined to continue and increase military action against France during the Seven Years War. Opposition from King George II forced him to resign a year later, but public support brought him back only a few months later. He was forced to resign again in 1761, when the cabinet refused to support a war with Spain. In 1766 he established a new ministry, but his health prevented him from serving any real function, and he resigned in 1768. Pitt died on 11 May 1778.

William Pitt was born in Kent, England on 28 May 1759, son of William Pitt, Earl of Chatham, and Lady Hester Grenville. He was educated at home as a child, and at age fourteen attended Pembroke Hall, Cambridge. In 1780, he was called to the bar, and joined the western assize circuit. He failed to win a parliamentary seat at Cambridge in 1780, but in 1781 he was elected to a seat for Appleby in Westmorland. In July of 1782, he became Chancellor of the Exchequer. He became the leader of the Commons in the ministry of William Petty, Earl of Shelburne, defeating Charles James Fox, with whom he began a lifelong rivalry. After the failure of the ministries of Shelburne and his successor, William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck, Duke of Portland, Pitt became Britain's youngest Prime Minister at the age of twenty-four. His seventeen-year term saw the reduction of the national debt, the union of England with Ireland, and the defeat of the invading French at Trafalgar. He died heavily in debt in 1806.

From the guide to the William Pitt collection, 1758-1806, (Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library)