Shelburne, Second Earl of (1737-1805), served as prime minister of Great Britain (now also called the United Kingdom) from July 1782 to March 1783. He led the government that negotiated peace terms in 1782 to end the Revolutionary War in America (1775-1783). But Parliament voted against the peace terms and forced Shelburne to resign.
Shelburne was born William Fitzmaurice on May 2, 1737, in Dublin. His father, John, changed the family name to Petty Fitzmaurice in 1751 when John inherited the Petty estate from his uncle. William was educated at Christ Church, Oxford. He later became an officer in the British Army, serving with distinction in the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763). Petty Fitzmaurice entered Parliament in 1760 as representative for Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. He was president of the Board of Trade for a period in 1763 and secretary of state for southern Europe from 1766 to 1768. He became the second Earl of Shelburne in 1761 and Marquess of Lansdowne in 1784.
Petty Fitzmaurice married Lady Sophia Carteret in 1765, with whom he had a son. Lady Carteret died in 1771. Petty Fitzmaurice married Lady Louisa Fitzpatrick in 1779 and had two more children. He died in London on May 7, 1805.
