The Earl of Dartmouth | |
|---|---|
 | |
| First Lord of Trade | |
| In office 20 July 1765 – 16 August 1766 | |
| Monarch | George III |
| Prime Minister | The Marquess of Rockingham |
| Preceded by | The Earl of Hillsborough |
| Succeeded by | The Earl of Hillsborough |
| Secretary of State for the Colonies andFirst Lord of Trade | |
| In office 27 August 1772 – 10 November 1775 | |
| Monarch | George III |
| Prime Minister | Lord North |
| Preceded by | The Earl of Hillsborough |
| Succeeded by | Lord George Germain |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 20 June 1731 (1731-06-20) |
| Died | 15 July 1801 (1801-07-16) (aged 70) |
| Nationality | British |
| Spouse | Frances Nicoll (d. 1805) |
| Signature | .png) |
William Legge, 2nd Earl of Dartmouth,PC,FRS (20 June 1731 – 15 July 1801), styled asViscount Lewisham from 1732 to 1750, was a British statesman who served asSecretary of State for the Colonies from 1772 to 1775, during the initial stages of theAmerican Revolution. He is also the namesake ofDartmouth College.
Dartmouth was the son ofGeorge Legge, Viscount Lewisham, who died when Dartmouth was one year old. His mother was Elizabeth, daughter ofSir Arthur Kaye, 3rd Baronet.[1] He enteredTrinity College, Oxford, in 1748,[2] and succeeded his grandfather in the earldom in 1750.
It was Lord Dartmouth who, in 1764, at the suggestion ofThomas Haweis, recommendedJohn Newton, the former slave trader and author of "Amazing Grace", toEdmund Keene, theBishop of Chester. He was instrumental in Newton's acceptance for theAnglican ministry.
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Lord Dartmouth's political career began with the presidency of theBoard of Trade and Foreign Plantations from 1765-1766.[3]
Lord Dartmouth wasSecretary of State for the Colonies from 1772 to 1775. He was in this role during theBoston Tea Party. He supported theIntolerable Acts and theQuebec Act.[4]
In 1772, in correspondence withSir William Johnson, the Superintendent of Northern Indian Affairs in America, he suggested that there was no reasonable way the British Government could support new trade regulations with the Indians. He sympathised with Johnson's arguments but stated the Colonies did not seem inclined to concur with any new regulations.
He received many letters from North Carolina royal governorJosiah Martin in the summer of 1775 communicating preparations the Loyalist government was making against Patriot militia units and events of the revolution.[5]
He served asLord Privy Seal from 1775-1782.[3]
Lord Dartmouth's arrival in the Colonies was celebrated byPhillis Wheatley's famous poem, "To the Right Honourable William, Earl of Dartmouth."
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Lord Dartmouth was a large donor to and the leading trustee for the English trust that would finance the establishment of theMoor's Charity School, inLebanon, Connecticut, byEleazar Wheelock to educate andconvert theIndians. Legge was unusual as an aristocrat of this period by being aMethodist and attending theWednesbury Methodist meetings, where fellow Methodists – many of themcolliers anddrovers – knew him as "Brother Earl".
Wheelock subsequently foundedDartmouth College inHanover, New Hampshire, naming the school in Lord Dartmouth's honour, in hopes of getting his financial support. Lord Dartmouth refused. In London, Lord Dartmouth supported the newFoundling Hospital, a charitable institution for the care and maintenance of London's abandoned children. He served as a vice-president of the organisation from 1755 until his death. The famous painterSir Joshua Reynolds painted the Earl's portrait and donated it to the hospital.
The portrait is still in the Foundling Hospital Collection and can be seen at theFoundling Museum in London. He was admitted aFellow of the Royal Society on 7 November 1754.[6]
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Lord Dartmouth married Frances Catherine Nicholl, daughter ofSir Charles Gounter Nicoll, on 11 January 1755. They had nine children together:
Dartmouth died atBlackheath, Kent, on 15 July 1801, aged 70. He was buried inTrinity Church in the Minories on 3 August 1801.[15]
He was succeeded by his eldest son,George. Lady Dartmouth died in July 1805. The family lived atSandwell Hall (since demolished) inSandwell Valley.
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This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Barker, George Fisher Russell (1892). "Legge, William (1731-1801)". InLee, Sidney (ed.).Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 32. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | First Lord of Trade 1765–1766 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Colonial Secretary 1772–1775 | Succeeded by |
| First Lord of Trade 1772–1775 | ||
| Preceded by | Lord Privy Seal 1775–1782 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Lord Steward 1783 | Succeeded by |
| Peerage of Great Britain | ||
| Preceded by | Earl of Dartmouth 1750–1801 | Succeeded by |
| Baron Dartmouth (descended byacceleration) 1750–1801 | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
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