Spencer Compton, 2nd Marquess of Northampton

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For other persons named Spencer Compton, see Spencer Compton (disambiguation).

Spencer Joshua Alwyne Compton, 2nd Marquess of Northampton (2 January 1790 – 17 January 1851) was a British nobleman and patron of science and the arts.

The second son of the 9th Earl of Northampton (later the First Marquess), Compton studied at Trinity College, Cambridge, receiving an M.A. in 1810. In 1812, following the assassination of his cousin, the prime minister Spencer Perceval, Compton, by now Lord Compton as heir to the Marquessate, took his seat for Northampton in the House of Commons.

In the Commons, Compton established a reputation as something of a maverick. Despite his family's strong Tory credentials, he often voted against the Tory government of the day. This led to his losing his seat in the general election of 1820.

Compton married Margaret Cleaphane, who was herself a poet admired by Sir Walter Scott and William Wordsworth, although her poetry was not published. The marriage was a happy one, producing six children. The couple lived in Italy for ten years from 1820 to 1830. Compton succeeded his father as Marquess of Northampton in 1828. Following Lady Northampton's death in the latter year, Northampton returned to England.

Following his return to England, Compton became a prominent figure in political and cultural life. He supported the Reform Bill in the House of Lords, but became more engaged in promotion of the arts and sciences.

He served as President of the Archaeological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland (1845-1846 and 1850-1851), and in 1838 became President of the Royal Society, an office he held for ten years. He took a particular interest in geology, and particularly in fossils, although he was not himself a scientist, but more of an interested amateur. He resigned in 1848, due to his opposition to the Society's increasing professionalization.

Compton married Margaret Douglas-Maclean-Clephane, daughter of William Douglas-Maclean-Clephane, on 24 July 1815. They had three children:

Charles Compton, 3rd Marquess of Northampton (1816–1877)
Lady Marianne Margaret Compton (1817–1888)
Admiral William Compton, 4th Marquess of Northampton (1818–1897)

Honorary Titles
Preceded by: HRH The Duke of Sussex	President of the Royal Society 1838–1848	Succeeded by: The Earl of Rosse
Peerage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by: Charles Compton	Marquess of Northampton 1828–1851	Succeeded by: Charles Douglas Compton