William Fox-Strangways, 4th Earl of Ilchester
| The Right Honourable The Earl of Ilchester FRS | |
|---|---|
| Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs | |
|
In office 18 April 1835 – 7 March 1840 | |
| Monarch |
William IV Victoria |
| Prime Minister | The Viscount Melbourne |
| Preceded by | Viscount Mahon |
| Succeeded by | Lord Leveson |
| Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the German Confederation | |
|
In office 17 March 1840 – 1849 | |
| Monarch | Victoria |
| Preceded by | Ralph Abercromby |
| Succeeded by | The Lord Cowley |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 7 May 1795 |
| Died | 10 January 1865 (aged 69) |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Whig |
| Spouse(s) | Sophia Penelope Sheffield |
| Alma mater | Christ Church, Oxford |
William Thomas Horner Fox-Strangways, 4th Earl of Ilchester FRS (7 May 1795 – 10 January 1865), styled The Honourable William Fox-Strangways until 1858, was a British diplomat, Whig politician and art collector.[1] He served as Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs under Lord Melbourne from 1835 to 1840 and was Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the German Confederation from 1840 to 1849.
Background and education
Fox-Strangways was the son of Henry Thomas Fox-Strangways, 2nd Earl of Ilchester, and his second wife Maria Digby, daughter of the Honourable William Digby. Henry Fox-Strangways, 3rd Earl of Ilchester, was his elder half-brother and John Fox-Strangways his younger brother. He was educated at Christ Church, Oxford, taking a BA in 1816 and an MA in 1820.
Political and diplomatical career
Fox-Strangways served as an attaché at the British embassies in St Petersburg, Constantinople, Naples and The Hague, as Secretary of Legation in Florence and Naples and as Secretary of Embassy in Vienna.[2] In 1835 he was appointed Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in the Whig administration of Lord Melbourne, a post he held until 1840 (however, he was not a Member of Parliament during this time). The latter year he was appointed Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the German Confederation,[3] which he remained until 1849. In 1858 he succeeded his half-brother as fourth Earl of Ilchester and entered the House of Lords.
He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in March 1821.[4]
Family
Lord Ilchester married Sophia Penelope Sheffield, daughter of Sir Robert Sheffield, 4th Baronet, in 1857. They had no children. He died in January 1865, aged 69, and was succeeded by his nephew Henry Edward Fox-Strangways. Between 1828 and 1834 Fox-Strangways donated 37 early Italian paintings to Christ Church. There they are still shown at the Christ Church Picture Gallery. "He also left a further 41 paintings to the Ashmolean, including Paolo Ucello's magnificent The Hunt", to be admired there.[5]
References
- ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b065x676
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 18993. p. 2470. 9 November 1832.
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 19836. p. 663. 17 March 1840.
- ↑ "Library and Archive Catalogue". Royal Society. Retrieved 22 October 2010.
- ↑ Financial Times, 4 September 2010, Life & Arts page 14
- Boase, Frederic (1897). Modern English Biography v. 2. Netherton & Worth. p. 6. Retrieved 2008-09-18.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Viscount Mahon |
Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs 1835–1840 |
Succeeded by Lord Leveson |
| Diplomatic posts | ||
| Preceded by Ralph Abercromby |
Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the German Confederation 1840–1849 |
Succeeded by The Lord Cowley |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by Henry Stephen Fox-Strangways |
Earl of Ilchester 1858–1865 |
Succeeded by Henry Edward Fox-Strangways |