Lord Melbourne(1779-1848)
- Writer
The Eton and Cambridge-educated William Lamb was called to the bar in 1804. He took his seat in the House of Commons in 1805, and married Caroline Ponsonby, daughter of the 3rd Earl of Bessborough, that June 3rd. Her grandfather, the 1st Earl Spencer, was the 6th great-grandfather of Princess Diana.
After 2 miscarriages, Caroline gave birth to a son, George Augustus Frederick, on August 28, 1807. Tragically, was he epileptic and mentally handicapped. But instead of placing him in an asylum, as other couples of their rank would have done, Lamb and Caroline cared for him themselves. George died in 1836.
Despite the heartbreak of George's condition and the loss of their daughter, who died 24 hours after she was born, the pair were happy. Then Caroline met Lord Byron in 1812 at a party she was hosting. Although she famously noted in her diary later that evening that he was "mad, bad, and dangerous to know", she soon succumbed to the notorious libertine, and remained obsessed by him after he broke with her. An exasperated Byron eventually sought help from Lady Melbourne, who launched a very-public campaign to rid her son of his wife. It was Caroline who finally prevailed upon Lamb to agree to a formal separation, nine years after Byron left England for good. Lamb undertook the perilous voyage from Ireland to his family's estate to be with Caroline before she died on January 25, 1828; he never remarried. Upon his father's death that July 23rd, he was styled 2nd Viscount Melbourne, of Kilmore in the County of Cavan. He became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on April 18, 1835.
In 1836, the husband of socialite Caroline Norton attempted to blackmail him. When Lamb refused to pay out, Norton accused him of being Caroline's lover. Owing to his reputation for integrity, not only did Lamb's government not fall, King William and the Duke of Wellington urged him to stay on. He was ultimately vindicated; however, Caroline's reputation was ruined, and their friendship was destroyed.
In June 1837, the now-58-year-old Lamb became the then-18-year-old Queen Victoria's first Prime Minister. His foreign secretary Lord Palmerston's obsession with British identity was a thorn in Lamb's side, and Ireland was a constant worry. Conservative and cautious, he had mastered the art of doing next to nothing. Biographer Dorothy Marshall noted: "Lamb's capacity to do absolutely nothing unless driven, and then do as little as possible, was a definite asset". Victoria's marriage to Prince Albert effectively ended Lamb's role as her advisor and mentor. Trouble between British and French settlers in Canada and unrest in Jamaica as a result of his decision to abolish slavery were his undoing. When his majority fell to just four, he resigned on August 30, 1841.
Lamb died on November 24, 1848. Melbourne, Australia is named for him.
After 2 miscarriages, Caroline gave birth to a son, George Augustus Frederick, on August 28, 1807. Tragically, was he epileptic and mentally handicapped. But instead of placing him in an asylum, as other couples of their rank would have done, Lamb and Caroline cared for him themselves. George died in 1836.
Despite the heartbreak of George's condition and the loss of their daughter, who died 24 hours after she was born, the pair were happy. Then Caroline met Lord Byron in 1812 at a party she was hosting. Although she famously noted in her diary later that evening that he was "mad, bad, and dangerous to know", she soon succumbed to the notorious libertine, and remained obsessed by him after he broke with her. An exasperated Byron eventually sought help from Lady Melbourne, who launched a very-public campaign to rid her son of his wife. It was Caroline who finally prevailed upon Lamb to agree to a formal separation, nine years after Byron left England for good. Lamb undertook the perilous voyage from Ireland to his family's estate to be with Caroline before she died on January 25, 1828; he never remarried. Upon his father's death that July 23rd, he was styled 2nd Viscount Melbourne, of Kilmore in the County of Cavan. He became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on April 18, 1835.
In 1836, the husband of socialite Caroline Norton attempted to blackmail him. When Lamb refused to pay out, Norton accused him of being Caroline's lover. Owing to his reputation for integrity, not only did Lamb's government not fall, King William and the Duke of Wellington urged him to stay on. He was ultimately vindicated; however, Caroline's reputation was ruined, and their friendship was destroyed.
In June 1837, the now-58-year-old Lamb became the then-18-year-old Queen Victoria's first Prime Minister. His foreign secretary Lord Palmerston's obsession with British identity was a thorn in Lamb's side, and Ireland was a constant worry. Conservative and cautious, he had mastered the art of doing next to nothing. Biographer Dorothy Marshall noted: "Lamb's capacity to do absolutely nothing unless driven, and then do as little as possible, was a definite asset". Victoria's marriage to Prince Albert effectively ended Lamb's role as her advisor and mentor. Trouble between British and French settlers in Canada and unrest in Jamaica as a result of his decision to abolish slavery were his undoing. When his majority fell to just four, he resigned on August 30, 1841.
Lamb died on November 24, 1848. Melbourne, Australia is named for him.