William Fitzwilliam, 3rd Earl Fitzwilliam

Who was William Fitzwilliam, 3rd Earl Fitzwilliam?

William FitzWilliam, 3rd Earl FitzWilliam was a British peer.

He was the son of John Fitzwilliam, 2nd Earl Fitzwilliam by his wife Anne, daughter of John Stringer of Sutton cum Lound, Nottinghamshire. His sister Anne was later second wife to Francis Godolphin, 2nd Baron Godolphin.

He succeeded his father as third Earl Fitzwilliam in the Peerage of Ireland on 28 August 1728. He was elected Member of Parliament for Peterborough on 4 May 1741, and sat until he was created Baron Fitzwilliam in the Peerage of Great Britain on 19 April 1742. He was made a Member of the Irish Privy Council on 6 June 1746, and further created Earl Fitzwilliam in the Peerage of Great Britain on 6 September 1746.

On 22 June 1744 at St George's, Hanover Square, Lord Fitzwilliam was married to Lady Anne Watson-Wentworth, daughter of the Earl of Malton. Lord Malton was later created Marquess of Rockingham; Lady Anne's brother was the future Prime Minister Charles Watson-Wentworth. Lord and Lady Fitzwilliam had two sons and six daughters, including:

Lady Charlotte Fitzwilliam, who married Thomas Dundas, 1st Baron Dundas and had issue; and