William Lowther, 2nd Earl of Lonsdale

      The Right Honourable
      The Earl of Lonsdale
      PC, FRS
      Postmaster General
      In office
      9 September 1841 – 30 December 1845
      Monarch Victoria
      Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel, Bt
      Preceded by The Earl of Lichfield
      Succeeded by The Earl of St Germans
      Lord President of the Council
      In office
      27 February 1852 – 17 December 1852
      Monarch Victoria
      Prime Minister The Earl of Derby
      Preceded by The Marquess of Lansdowne
      Succeeded by The Earl Granville
      Personal details
      Born 21 July 1787 (1787-07-21)
      Died 4 March 1872 (1872-03-05)
      Nationality British
      Political party Tory
      Spouse(s) Unmarried

      William Lowther, 2nd Earl of Lonsdale PC, FRS (21 July 1787 – 4 March 1872), styled Viscount Lowther between 1807 and 1844, was a British Tory politician.

      Background

      Lonsdale was the eldest son of William Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale, and Lady Augusta, daughter of John Fane, 9th Earl of Westmorland. Henry Lowther was his younger brother.[1] He was educated at Harrow and Trinity College, Cambridge.[2]

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      Political career

      Lonsdale was returned to parliament for Cockermouth in 1808, a seat he held until 1813,[3] and later represented Westmorland between 1813 and 1831 and 1832 and 1841,[4]Dunwich in 1832[5] and West Cumberland between 1832 and 1833.[6] He was sworn of the Privy Council in 1818[7] and served under the Duke of Wellington as First Commissioner of Woods and Forests between 1828 and 1830 and under Sir Robert Peel as Treasurer of the Navy and Vice-President of the Board of Trade between 1834 and 1835.

      In 1841 he was summoned to the House of Lords through a writ of acceleration in his father's junior title of Baron Lowther and held office under Peel as Postmaster General between 1841 and 1845. In 1844 he succeeded his father in the earldom of Lonsdale. He held his last ministerial office as Lord President of the Council,[8] with a seat in the cabinet, in 1852, in the Earl of Derby's first administration.

      Lonsdale was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society on 5 July 1810.[9] He was also Lord Lieutenant of Cumberland and Westmorland between 1844 and 1868.[10]

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      Personal life

      Lord Lonsdale never married. He died in March 1872, aged 84, and was succeeded in the earldom by his nephew, Henry.[1] A marble bust of him was sculpted by Edward Bowring Stephens, now in the National Trust collection at Hughenden Manor, Buckinghamshire.

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      External links

      Parliament of the United Kingdom
      Preceded by
      Sir James Graham, Bt
      John Osborn
      Member of Parliament for Cockermouth
      1808–1813
      With: Sir James Graham, Bt 1808–1812
      Sir John Lowther, Bt 1812
      Augustus Foster 1812–1813
      Succeeded by
      Augustus Foster
      Thomas Wallace
      Preceded by
      The Lord Muncaster
      Hon. Henry Lowther
      Member of Parliament for Westmorland
      1813 – 1831
      With: Hon. Henry Lowther
      Succeeded by
      Hon. Henry Lowther
      Alexander Nowell
      Preceded by
      Frederick Barne
      Earl of Brecknock
      Member of Parliament for Dunwich
      1832
      With: Frederick Barne
      Constituency abolished
      New constituency Member of Parliament for West Cumberland
      1832 – 1833
      With: Edward Stanley
      Succeeded by
      Samuel Irton
      Edward Stanley
      Preceded by
      Hon. Henry Lowther
      Alexander Nowell
      Member of Parliament for Westmorland
      18321841
      With: Hon. Henry Lowther
      Succeeded by
      Hon. Henry Lowther
      William Thompson
      Political offices
      Preceded by
      Charles Arbuthnot
      First Commissioner of Woods and Forests
      1828–1830
      Succeeded by
      Hon. George Agar-Ellis
      Preceded by
      Charles Poulett Thomson
      Treasurer of the Navy
      1834–1835
      Succeeded by
      Sir Henry Parnell, Bt
      Vice-President of the Board of Trade
      1834–1835
      Succeeded by
      Henry Labouchere
      Preceded by
      The Earl of Lichfield
      Postmaster General
      1841–1845
      Succeeded by
      The Earl of St Germans
      Preceded by
      The Marquess of Lansdowne
      Lord President of the Council
      1852
      Succeeded by
      The Earl Granville
      Honorary titles
      Preceded by
      The Earl of Lonsdale
      Lord Lieutenant of Cumberland and Westmorland
      1844–1868
      Succeeded by
      Henry Lowther
      Peerage of the United Kingdom
      Preceded by
      William Lowther
      Earl of Lonsdale
      1844 – 1872
      Succeeded by
      Henry Lowther
      Peerage of Great Britain
      Preceded by
      William Lowther
      Baron Lowther
      (writ of acceleration)

      1841 – 1844
      Succeeded by
      Henry Lowther
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      Last modified on 2 May 2013, at 15:19