John Petty, 2nd Marquess of Lansdowne

The 2nd Marquess of Lansdowne by Francois Xavier Fabre.

John Henry Petty, 2nd Marquess of Lansdowne (2 May 1765 – 15 November 1809) was the eldest son of the 1st Marquess, known to history as the Earl of Shelburne, the British prime minister who concluded the Peace of Paris recognising American independence, by his first wife, Lady Sophia Carteret.

Lansdowne travelled widely in spite of his ill health, which in turn was not helped by the burden of the debts he inherited from his father. To repay them, he sold almost all of his father’s collections, leaving Bowood House, the family seat, temporarily uninhabitable. He served in the House of Commons for Wycombe, his father's old seat, from 1786 to 1802, but due to his weakened constitution he only survived the first marquess by four years. He died childless and was succeeded in the marquessate by his half brother, Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice.

He married Mary Arabella Maddox (died 24 April 1833), the daughter of Rev. Hinton Maddox and the widow of Duke Gifford, on 27 May 1805.

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Marquess of Lansdowne