Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham

Uncommon card · No. 179518

Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham (13 May 1730 – 1 July 1782) was a British Whig statesman and magnate, most notable for his two brief terms of less than a year each as Prime Minister of Great Britain, some 16 years apart. His second term was ended by his death from influenza at the age of 52. He was a leading Whig grandee, and the political patron of many Whigs, known as the Rockingham Whigs, who he managed to hold together during long years out of office. He served in only two high offices during his lifetime (prime minister and leader of the House of Lords) but was nonetheless very influential during his one and a half years of service. He was styled The Honourable Charles Watson-Wentworth before 1739, Viscount Higham between 1739 and 1746, Earl of Malton between 1746 and 1750, and the Marquess of Rockingham from 1750. Outside politics, Rockingham was a heavy gambler, on cards and on horse-racing, which was a great interest. He commissioned a number of paintings of...

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