Portland, Duke of (1738-1809), served as prime minister of Great Britain (now also called the United Kingdom) from April to December 1783 and from March 1807 to October 1809. As a Whig in 1783, he headed a coalition government. From 1794 until 1801, he served as home secretary under Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger. In 1807, Portland returned as prime minister at the head of a Tory government. He resigned in 1809, just weeks before his death.
Portland was born William Henry Bentinck on April 14, 1738, in Bulstrode, Buckinghamshire. He was the oldest of six children born to William Bentinck, Second Duke of Portland, and Lady Margaret Cavendish Harley. Young William was educated at Westminster School and Christ Church College, Oxford. In 1761, Bentinck entered Parliament as representative for Weobley, Herefordshire, in the House of Commons. The following year, he succeeded to the title of Duke of Portland and took his seat in the House of Lords. He married Lady Dorothy Cavendish in 1765, with whom he had six children. He added his wife’s family name to his own, making his surname Cavendish-Bentinck. Portland died in Bulstrode on Oct. 30, 1809.
