English Statesman, Scientist. 3rd Earl Stanhope. He made early studies of electricity and was the inventor of the Stanhope printing press. He studied at Eton and the University of Geneva, where he specialised in mathematics and developed a lifelong love of liberty. He became Member of Parliament for High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, in 1786 and was a close supporter of William Pitt the Younger until Pitt abandoned the Liberal principals they shared. He was chairman of the "Revolution Society", a group formed in honour of the Glorious Revolution and in 1794 supported of Thomas Muir, an Edinburgh politician who was transported to Botany Bay. He continued his interest in science and was elected a fellow of the Royal Society in 1772. He published his "Principles of Electricity" in 1779 and also invented a method of protecting buildings from fire, a device for tuning musical instruments and the printing press and lens which are named after him. His other innovations included improvements in canal locks, experiments in steam navigation and two calculating machines. He also proposed a canal from Bristol to the English Channel, taking the levels himself. He died at the family seat of Chevening, Kent, at age sixty-three.
Stanhope married twice. Firstly on 19 December 1774 to Lady Hester Pitt (19 Oct 1755 – 20 July 1780), daughter of William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham ('Pitt the Elder'), Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, by whom he had three daughters:
Secondly in 1781 he married Louisa Grenville (1758–1829), daughter and sole heiress of the Hon. Henry Grenville (Governor of Barbados in 1746 and ambassador to the Ottoman Porte in 1762), a younger brother of Richard Grenville-Temple, 2nd Earl Temple, and of George Grenville. She survived him and died in March 1829. By her he had three sons:
Stanhope married twice. Firstly on 19 December 1774 to Lady Hester Pitt (19 Oct 1755 – 20 July 1780), daughter of William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham ('Pitt the Elder'), Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, by whom he had three daughters:
Secondly in 1781 he married Louisa Grenville (1758–1829), daughter and sole heiress of the Hon. Henry Grenville (Governor of Barbados in 1746 and ambassador to the Ottoman Porte in 1762), a younger brother of Richard Grenville-Temple, 2nd Earl Temple, and of George Grenville. She survived him and died in March 1829. By her he had three sons:
English Statesman, Scientist. 3rd Earl Stanhope. He made early studies of electricity and was the inventor of the Stanhope printing press. He studied at Eton and the University of Geneva, where he specialised in mathematics and developed a lifelong love of liberty. He became Member of Parliament for High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, in 1786 and was a close supporter of William Pitt the Younger until Pitt abandoned the Liberal principals they shared. He was chairman of the "Revolution Society", a group formed in honour of the Glorious Revolution and in 1794 supported of Thomas Muir, an Edinburgh politician who was transported to Botany Bay. He continued his interest in science and was elected a fellow of the Royal Society in 1772. He published his "Principles of Electricity" in 1779 and also invented a method of protecting buildings from fire, a device for tuning musical instruments and the printing press and lens which are named after him. His other innovations included improvements in canal locks, experiments in steam navigation and two calculating machines. He also proposed a canal from Bristol to the English Channel, taking the levels himself. He died at the family seat of Chevening, Kent, at age sixty-three.
Stanhope married twice. Firstly on 19 December 1774 to Lady Hester Pitt (19 Oct 1755 – 20 July 1780), daughter of William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham ('Pitt the Elder'), Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, by whom he had three daughters:
Secondly in 1781 he married Louisa Grenville (1758–1829), daughter and sole heiress of the Hon. Henry Grenville (Governor of Barbados in 1746 and ambassador to the Ottoman Porte in 1762), a younger brother of Richard Grenville-Temple, 2nd Earl Temple, and of George Grenville. She survived him and died in March 1829. By her he had three sons:
Stanhope married twice. Firstly on 19 December 1774 to Lady Hester Pitt (19 Oct 1755 – 20 July 1780), daughter of William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham ('Pitt the Elder'), Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, by whom he had three daughters:
Secondly in 1781 he married Louisa Grenville (1758–1829), daughter and sole heiress of the Hon. Henry Grenville (Governor of Barbados in 1746 and ambassador to the Ottoman Porte in 1762), a younger brother of Richard Grenville-Temple, 2nd Earl Temple, and of George Grenville. She survived him and died in March 1829. By her he had three sons:
Bio by: js
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