Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham

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The Most Hon. The Marquess of Rockingham
Image:Charles-Wentworth.jpg <small/>
Prime Minister of Great Britain
In office 13 July 1765 – 30 July 1766 27 March 1782 – 1 July 1782
Preceded by	George Grenville Lord North
Succeeded by	The Earl of Chatham The Earl of Shelburne

Born	13 May 1730 South Yorkshire
Died	1 July 1782 Wimbledon, London
Political party	Whig

Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, KG PC (13 May 1730 – 1 July 1782), styled The Hon. Charles Watson-Wentworth before 1733, Viscount Higham between 1733 and 1746, Earl of Malton between 1746 and 1750 and The Earl Malton in 1750, was a British Whig statesman, most notable for his two terms as Whig Prime Minister of Great Britain. He served in only two high offices during his lifetime (Prime Minister and Leader of the House of Lords), but was nonetheless very influential during his one and a half years of service.

A descendant of the 1st Earl of Strafford, Lord Rockingham was brought up at the family home of Wentworth Woodhouse near Rotherham in South Yorkshire. He was educated at the Westminster School and at St John's College, Cambridge. In 1746, he rode from Wentworth to Carlisle to join the Duke of Cumberland in pursuit of the "Young Pretender." Four years later, he was created Earl Malton in the Peerage of Ireland, then acceded to his father's marquessate shortly thereafter.

He took his seat in the House of Lords the following year, and was made a knight of the Order of the Garter in 1761. In 1762, King George III appointed his friend and mentor, Lord Bute, to the position of Prime Minister; however, he was forced to resign due to growing opposition. He was replaced by George Grenville, who again did not attract enough support; following Grenville's resignation in 1765, Lord Rockingham was appointed Prime Minister.

Rockingham appointed his allies Henry Seymour Conway and the Duke of Grafton as secretaries of state. During his term of office, he repealed the Stamp Act, reducing the tax burden on the colonies. However, internal dissent within the cabinet led to his resignation and the appointment of Lord Chatham as Prime Minister (the Duke of Grafton was appointed First Lord of the Treasury, one of the few cases in which those two offices were separate).

Rockingham spent the next sixteen years in opposition. He was a keen supporter of constitutional rights for colonists, and backed the claim for American independence. In 1782 he was appointed Prime Minister for a second time (with Charles James Fox and Lord Shelburne as secretaries of state) and, upon taking office, acknowledged the independence of the United States, initiating an end to British involvement in the Revolutionary War. However, this term was short-lived, for Lord Rockingham died 14 weeks later.

Rockingham County, New Hampshire, Rockingham County, North Carolina, and Rockingham County, Virginia in the United States are named in his honour.

[edit] Titles from birth to death

The Hon. Charles Watson-Wentworth (1730-1733)
Viscount Higham (1733-1746)
Earl of Malton (1746-1750)
The Rt. Hon. The Earl Malton (1750-1750)
The Most Hon. The Marquess of Rockingham (1750-1761)
The Most Hon. The Marquess of Rockingham, KG (1761-1765)
The Most Hon. The Marquess of Rockingham, KG, PC (1765-1782)

[edit] Rockingham's First Government, July 1765 – July 1766

The Marquess of Rockingham — First Lord of the Treasury and Leader of the House of Lords
The Earl of Northington — Lord Chancellor
The Earl of Winchilsea — Lord President of the Council
The Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne — Lord Privy Seal
William Dowdeswell — Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Duke of Grafton — Secretary of State for the Northern Department
Henry Seymour Conway — Secretary of State for the Southern Department and Leader of the House of Commons
Marquess of Granby — Master-General of the Ordnance
The Earl of Egmont — First Lord of the Admiralty
The Duke of Cumberland — Minister without Portfolio

Changes

October 1765 - The Duke of Cumberland dies.
May 1766 - The Duke of Grafton resigns from the cabinet. Henry Seymour Conway succeeds him as Northern Secretary, and the Duke of Richmond succeeds Conway as Southern Secretary.

[edit] Rockingham's Second Government, March – July 1782

Political offices
Preceded by: George Grenville	Prime Minister 1765–1766	Succeeded by: The Earl of Chatham
Preceded by: Unknown	Leader of the House of Lords 1765–1766	Succeeded by: The Duke of Grafton
Preceded by: Lord North	Prime Minister 1782	Succeeded by: The Earl of Shelburne
Preceded by: Unknown	Leader of the House of Lords 1782	Succeeded by: The Earl of Shelburne
Peerage of Great Britain
Preceded by: Thomas Watson-Wentworth	Marquess of Rockingham 1750–1782	Succeeded by: Extinct
Peerage of Ireland
Preceded by: New Creation	Earl of Malton 1750–1782	Succeeded by: Extinct