William Windham

For other people named William Windham, see William Windham (disambiguation).

William Windham PC
Secretary of State for War and the Colonies
In office 5 February 1806 – 25 March 1807
Monarch	George III
Prime Minister	The Lord Grenville
Preceded by	Viscount Castlereagh
Succeeded by	Viscount Castlereagh
Personal details
Born	3 May 1750 (1750-05-03)
Died	4 June 1810 (1810-06-05)
Nationality	British
Political party	Whig

William Windham (3 May 1750 – 4 June 1810) was a British Whig statesman.

Background

Windham was the member of an ancient Norfolk family and a great-great-grandson of Sir John Wyndham.

Political career

Windham was opposed to the American War. He took part in the impeachment of Warren Hastings, and was Secretary at War under William Pitt the Younger. He advocated the removal of Catholic disabilities, but was opposed to Parliamentary reform. Windham has been described by his contemporaries as the model both physically and mentally of an English gentleman, able and high-minded. However, he played a key role in Parliament during the 1790s in curtailing civil liberties and mobilizing popular sentiment against political reform.

Personal life

Windham died in June 1810, aged 60.

References

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Wood, James, ed. (1907). The Nuttall Encyclopædia. London and New York: Frederick Warne. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

See also

David Wilkinson, ‘Windham, William (1750–1810)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, May 2006 [1], accessed 20 Aug 2007.