Henry Pelham

Henry Pelham PC (25 September 1694 – 6 March 1754) was a British Whig statesman, who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain from 27 August 1743 until his death. He was the younger brother of Thomas Pelham-Holles, the Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne, who succeeded Henry as Prime Minister. He is generally considered to have been Britain's third Prime Minister after Sir Robert Walpole and the Earl of Wilmington.

Career

For the first year of Pelham's premiership, real power was held by the Secretary of State for the Northern Department, Lord Carteret, who headed the Carteret Ministry (Pelham was First Lord of the Treasury, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Leader of the House of Commons). Thereafter, he shared power with his brother, the Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. This period was relatively uneventful in terms of domestic affairs (Great Britain fought in several wars, however). Upon his death, his brother took full control of the ministry.

Early life

Pelham, Newcastle's younger brother, was a younger son of the Thomas Pelham, 1st Baron Pelham and his wife, the former Lady Grace Holles, daughter of Gilbert Holles, 3rd Earl of Clare and Grace Pierrepont. He was educated at Westminster School and Hart Hall, Oxford. Hertford College Oxford, the present-day incarnation of Hart Hall, still honours him in the title of its most prestigious drinking club, the Sir Henry Pelham Gentlemen's Sporting Society. As a volunteer he served in Dormer's regiment at the Battle of Preston in 1715, spent some time on the Continent, and in 1717 entered Parliament for Seaford in Sussex which he represented until 1722.

Henry Pelham (engraver)

Henry Pelham (February 14, 1748/49 – 1806), American painter, engraver, and cartographer, was born in Boston, where his father, Peter Pelham, limner, engraver, and schoolmaster, had married Mary (Singleton) Copley, widow of Richard Copley and mother of John Singleton Copley. His father died in 1751. A small tobacco shop run by his mother provided support for the family until Copley brought prosperity to them all through his portrait painting. Their home was in Lindall Street, at the present-day intersection of Exchange Place and Congress Street. From there Henry attended the Boston Latin School. He is assumed to have studied drawing and painting with his half-brother. It was a likeness of Henry Pelham, then aged fifteen or sixteen, that featured in The Boy with the Squirrel, a painting that was exhibited in London in 1766 and brought Copley his first fame abroad.

Henry Pelham's many letters reveal a naïve, boyish young man, devoted to his mother and half-brother, an efficient assistant to the latter in practical affairs. He himself painted miniatures at this time, several of which are preserved. They reveal admirable workmanship.

Henry Pelham (disambiguation)

Henry Pelham (1694–1754) was British Prime Minister from 1743 to 1754.

Henry Pelham may also refer to:

See also

Henry Pelham (Speaker)

Henry Pelham (fl. 1640s) was an English lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1621 and 1648. He was Speaker of the English House of Commons for a short time in 1647.

Pelham was the son of Sir William Pelham, of Brocklesby, Lincolnshire. He matriculated at Trinity College, Cambridge at Easter 1615 and was admitted at Gray's Inn on 6 November 1616.

Pelham was elected Member of Parliament for Grimsby in 1621 and was re-elected in 1625, 1626 and 1628. He sat until 1629, when King Charles decided to rule without parliament for eleven years.

In April 1640, Pelham was elected MP for Grantham in the Short Parliament. He was re-elected MP for Grantham for the Long Parliament in November 1640. He was Grand Chamberlain from 1640 to 1648. He held the post of Speaker for a short time in 1647, when William Lenthall temporarily fled from London.

Pelham was Recorder of Lincoln until his resignation in 1658.

References

Henry Pelham (rower)

Henry Joseph Pelham (March 2, 1908 – March 17, 1978) was a Canadian rower who competed in the 1932 Summer Olympics.

In 1932 he was a crew member of the Canadian boat which was eliminated in the repêchage of the coxless fours event.

At the 1930 Empire Games he won the silver medal with the Canadian boat in the coxless fours competition.

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Henry Pelham (of Stanmer)

Henry Pelham (c.1694 – 2 June 1725) was a British politician, the eldest son of Henry Pelham and his wife Frances Bine.

Pelham was the first cousin of the Duke of Newcastle, who brought him into Parliament as Member for Hastings shortly after Henry reached his majority. Pelham was a reliable Government supporter, although he absented himself from the Peerage Bill debates in 1719. He was brought in for Lewes in 1722 on the Newcastle interest, and died three years later of consumption.

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