William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham

On November 16, 1754, William Pitt married Lady Hester Grenville, the daughter of the 1st Countess Temple. At the time of their wedding Pitt was around 46 years old while Hester was thirty four. By that time, they had known each other for twenty years.

The marriage was a happy one and produced five children; Hester, Harriet, John, William and James. Among them, William was known as William Pitt the Younger and served as Prime Minister several times.

William Pitt the Older died on May 11, 1778. He used to visit the Parliament regularly even at this old age. On April 7, 1778, while making speech against the government for withdrawing troops from the colonies he collapsed in the House of Lords. He was taken to Hayes, where he breathed his last just one month after the incident.

William Pitt was born on November 15, 1708 in Westminster, London into a politically influential family. His grandfather Thomas Pitt was the Governor of Madras and father Robert Pitt served as a Member of Parliament from 1705 to 1727. His mother Harriet Pitt nee Villiers also came from a leading family.

William had six siblings. His elder brother Thomas Pitt, who inherited his father’s estate, was also a Member of Parliament. Besides, he had five sisters; Harriet, Catherine, Ann, Elizabeth, and Mary.

In 1719, William was admitted to Eton Collage. He did not enjoy his stay there. Moreover, he had his first attack of gout, an affliction that would remain with him for the rest of his life, sometime during this period.

In 1727, William was admitted to the Trinity Collage as a ‘gentleman commoner’. However, he had to leave his studies in 1728 due to a violent attack of gout. He then spent some time travelling around in Europe and ultimately got admission in the Utrecht University in the Dutch Republic and finished his education in 1730.

William Pitt started his career as a commissioned officer in the British army. He obtained a coronet’s commission with the help of his friends. However, his military career was short lived and in 1735, he entered the Parliament as a representative of Old Serum. He was at that time 27 years old.

During that time, Sir Roberts Walpole of the Whig Party was the Prime Minister of Great Britain. Pitt joined the opposing faction known as the Patriot Whigs and swiftly became one of its prominent members. The faction offered effective opposition to Walpole. *Pitt gave his maiden speech in 1736. Although the speech was of little historical importance, it helped him to gain the attention of the house. Very soon, he began talking about more relevant subjects and criticized the government on several occasions; especially for its non-intervention in the war in Europe.

As a retaliatory measure, Walpole had him dismissed from the army. However, the loss of commission was compensated by Frederick, the Prince of Wales, who appointed him as his Groom of the Bed Chamber. This solved his financial problem and he could concentrate on his political career.

Pitt continued his attack against both the government and especially Prime Minister Walpole. He spoke in favoUr of war with Spain and against subsidies to Hanover and Austria. He also supported the motion for an enquiry into Walpole’s last years of rule. Ultimately, Walpole had to resign. That was in 1742.

Although Walpole resigned from the post of the Prime Minister, he remained the real source of power until his death in 1745. By that time, Pitt had also antagonized King George II for his views on Hanover. Many Whig leaders were also against him and therefore, he could not benefit from this change of power.

William Pitt is best remembered as the leader who saved the nation from humiliating defeat at the hands of France. With his insight, Pitt changed the course of war in favor of Great Britain. Many historians are of the opinion that had he not been at the helm of the government at that time the Seven Year’s War might have stretched to thirty.

Pitt is said to be the first imperialist of Great Britain. He started by capturing French colonies and taking them under British control. Although he did not have much personal involvement in India, it was because of his excellent strategies that the empire spread to other parts of the world.