William Cavendish, 7th Duke of Devonshire

William Cavendish, 7th Duke of Devonshire (27 April 1808 – 21 December 1891), styled Lord Cavendish of Keighley between 1831 and 1834 and Earl of Burlington between 1834 and 1858, was an English aristocrat, landowner, property developer, industrialist, benefactor, and prominent politician.

Early life Cavendish was the son of William Cavendish (1783–1812) and the Honourable Louisa O'Callaghan (d. 1863). His father was the eldest son of Lord George Cavendish (later created, in 1831, the 1st Earl of Burlington, by the second creation), third son of the 4th Duke of Devonshire and Lady Charlotte Boyle, daughter of the 3rd Earl of Burlington and 4th Earl of Cork. His mother was the daughter of the 1st Baron Lismore.

He was educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge, attaining the position of Second Wrangler and the Smith's Prize for mathematics. He became known by the courtesy title Lord Cavendish of Keighley in 1831 when the earldom of Burlington was revived in favour of his grandfather. At Cambridge he endowed the Cavendish Professorship of Physics, and the building of the Cavendish Laboratory. He made vast (and ultimately unsuccessful) investments in heavy industry at Barrow-in-Furness, and had his nearby country house Holker Hall rebuilt in its present form after it was gutted by a fire in 1871. He was one of the original founders of the Royal Agricultural Society in 1839, and was president in 1870. On 26 July 1871, he was nominated a trustee of the British Museum.

The 7th Duke inherited a considerable amount of property in Eastbourne from his grandfather, and from his wife Elizabeth Compton of Compton Place. He saw through the development of Eastbourne in the 19th century with its parks, baths and squares and is commemorated by a statue at the top of Devonshire Place. The Duke also played a part in the foundation of Eastbourne College, the local private school, by selling some of his land at a modest price to build the school on and commissioning respected architect Henry Currey to design the school chapel and College House (now the School House, a boarding facility). Lady Louisa Caroline Cavendish (1835–1907), who married Adm. The Hon. Francis Egerton on 26 September 1865. The Rt. Hon. Lord Frederick Charles Cavendish (1836–1882), who married The Hon. Lucy Lyttelton on 7 June 1864. Lord Frederick, the Chief Secretary for Ireland, was murdered in Phoenix Park, Dublin in 1882.

After a long illness, Devonshire died at his residence, Holker Hall near the village of Cartmel in Cumbria, England, on 21 December 1891.

He owned 198,000 acres. This included 89,000 acres in Derbyshire, 19,000 acres in the West Riding of Yorkshire, 12,000 acres in Lancashire and 32,000 acres in County Cork and 27,000 acres in County Waterford.

Descendants Through his daughter Lady Louisa, he was a grandfather of William Francis Egerton (1868–1949), who married Lady Alice Osborne, a daughter of George Osborne, 9th Duke of Leeds, on 7 August 1894 (they were the parents of one son, Captain Francis Egerton); Commander Frederick Greville Egerton (1869–1899); Blanche Harriet Egerton (1871–1943); Dorothy Charlotte Egerton (1874–1959); and Christian Mary Egerton (d. 1978).