William Windham (1750 - 1810)

Born 14 May 1750 in Soho, Middlesex, England

Ancestors

Husband of Frederica Marina Cecilia (Forrest) Windham — married 10 Jul 1798 in Binfield, Berkshire, England

Died 4 Jun 1810 at age 60 in Pall Mall, Westminster, Middlesex, England

Biography

William Windham PC, PC (Ire) (14 May [O.S. 3 May] 1750 –4 June 1810) was a British Whig statesman. Elected to Parliament in 1784, Windham was attached to the remnants of the Rockinghamite faction of Whigs, whose members included his friends Charles James Fox and Edmund Burke. Windham soon became noted for his oratory in the House of Commons.

An early supporter of the French Revolution, by late 1791 he shared Burke's hostility to it and became a leading anti-Jacobin. After war was declared on France in early 1793, he broke with the antiwar, pro-Revolution Foxite Whigs to form a small ‘Third Party’ that was independent of Pitt's government but supportive of the war effort. Like Burke, Windham supported the war as an ideological crusade against Jacobinism and was an enthusiastic supporter of the French émigrés and a Bourbon restoration. In July 1794 he finally joined Pitt's government as Secretary at War but did not control war policy. He discovered that Pitt did not share his enthusiasm for the Bourbon cause and he argued in Cabinet against a peace agreement with the French Republic.

In February 1801 Windham followed Pitt in resigning from the government over the King's rejection of Catholic Emancipation. He was the leading opponent of the new Prime Minister Henry Addington's peace with France in late 1801 and early 1802. In the Ministry of All the Talents in 1806-7, Windham became Secretary for War and the Colonies, having reconciled with the Foxites. He resigned with them from the government, again over Catholic Emancipation. He spent the rest of his life in opposition, dying in 1810.

Early life:

Windham was a member of an ancient Norfolk family and a great-great-grandson of Sir John Wyndham. He was the son of William Windham, Sr. of Felbrigg Hall and his second wife, Sarah Lukin. Windham was born at No. 6 Golden Square, Soho, London.

Windham was educated at Eton College from 1757 to 1766 (where he was a contemporary of Charles James Fox). Here he was noted for the ease in which he acquired knowledge, as well as successful in sports. He became known as “Fighting Windham” as he was good with his fists His father died in 1761 and his guardians were Benjamin Stillingfleet, Dr. Dampier, David Garrick and a Mr.Price of Hereford. Windham was removed from Eton for fighting

Windham attended the University of Glasgow in 1766 and studied under Dr. Anderson, Professor of Natural Philosophy, and Robert Simson the mathematician. Windham wrote three unpublished theses on mathematics He then went to University College, Oxford from 1767 to 1771 as a gentleman-commoner and was tutored by Robert Chambers, where, according to Edmund Malone, Windham "was highly distinguished for his application to various studies, for his love of enterprise, for that frank and graceful address, and that honourable deportment, which gave a lustre to his character though every period of his life" He took his BA degree in 1771, his MA degree on 7 October 1782, and in 1793 at the Duke of Portland's installation as Chancellor he was made a DCL

Windham was a Christian. Before his balloon ride, he wrote to George James Cholmondeley on 4 May 1785 in a letter that was only to be delivered if he did not survive the trip. It contained Windham's confession of faith:

The best, the greatest, the most solemn office I can render in a letter of this sort, is to extort you to a steady contemplation of divine truths, and a sincere endeavour to confirm in yourself that faith, which after various fluctuations I believe to be the true one, and which, independent of evidence, is supported by too great authorities ever to be rejected with confidence. Whatever may be the diversity of opinion as to the particular nature, I believe Christ to be a person divinely commissioned, and that faith in him affords the fairest hope of propitiating the great author of the world. Cultivate in your mind this persuasion and dwell upon it till it grows into a principle of action. May it avail both to the purposes of final salvation

Early political career: 1778–1789

In early 1778 Windham first took part in political matters. He felt strongly about the American War of Independence, writing to Richard Brinsley Sheridan on 5 January that "I never felt so much disposition to exert myself before" On 28 January Windham delivered his first public speech at Norwich, where he spoke against the war, and a few days later wrote a remonstrance against it which was signed by 5,000 people and presented to the House of Common His speech went down well and he was urged to stand for election. Windham stood unsuccessfully for Norwich in the election of September 1780

When in 1783 the Duke of Portland formed an administration, he appointed Lord Northington as Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland. Northington offered Windham the office of Chief Secretary of Ireland, which he accepted. However after just only four months in the post, Windham resigned under mysterious circumstances.

On 5 April 1784 Windham was elected to Parliament for Norwich He took part in the Impeachment of Warren Hastings and his speeches against him on 1 June 1787 and 22 March 1787 were admire

During the Regency Crisis of 1788-89 he spoke in favour of giving George, Prince of Wales full regal powers as Regen As he wrote on 26 November 1788: "If the King of a country is completely out of his mind, whatever sorrow may be felt for that event, the extent of the evil is, however, known: It is, for the time it lasts, just as if the King were dead. The same person must, upon all principles of reason, and all views of the Constitution, carry on the Government, as if the King were actually dead—should he again be restored completely to his senses, the case is then equally clear: he must be restored completely to his government".

For the Full Wikipedia Biography Refer:-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Windham

Sources

William Windham England Births and Christenings Name William Windham Sex Male Wife Sarah Son William Windham Other information in the record of William Windham from England Births and Christenings Name William Windham Residence Place Westminster, Middlesex, England Gender Male Christening Date 10 Jun 1750 Christening Date (Original) 10 JUN 1750 Christening Place St. James', Westminister, Middlesex, England Birth Date 03 May 1750 Father's Name William Windham Mother's Name Sarah

Citing this Record "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NRNV-DM7 : 30 December 2014, William Windham in entry for William Windham, 03 May 1750); citing St. James', Westminister, Middlesex, England, index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 1,042,308. SOURCE

Wikpedia

For the Full Wikipedia Biography Refer:-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Windham

From memorial brass in church at Felbrigge: born 14 May 1750; died 4 June 1810.

Acknowledgments

Thank you to Gilly Wood for creating Windham-63 on 24 Aug 13. Click the Changes tab for the details on contributions by Gilly and others.