British Politician. He was a leading Whig politician and Britain's first Foreign Secretary. He was educated at Eton and Oxford University and elected to represent Midhurst in the House of Commons when he was only nineteen. At the age of twenty-one, he was appointed by Frederick North, the prime minister, as the Junior Lord of the Admiralty. In December of 1772 he became Lord of the Treasury. Leaving the office in 1774, he opposed North's policy towards America. He denounced the taxation of the Americans without their consent. When war started, he called for a negotiated peace. After 1780 he became a supporter of parliamentary reform. In March of 1782, he became Foreign Secretary in the government led by Rockingham, but left in July of 1782, on the death of the Marquis of Rockingham as he was unwilling to serve under the new prime minister, Lord Sherburne. When Lord Grenville became prime minister in 1806, he was appointed Foreign Secretary. Fox began negotiating with the French but was unable to bring an end to the war. After making a passionate speech in favor of the Abolition of the Slave Trade bill in the House of Commons on June 10, 1806, Fox was taken ill. His health deteriorated rapidly, and he died three months later in Chiswick. A staunch supporter of Britain's North American colonies, the town of Foxborough in Massachusetts was named in his honor. Though he wished to be laid to rest in Chertsey where he had lived, the nation demanded that he be buried in Westminster Abbey. Cenotaphs are located in Chertsey's St. Peters Church and in Farley's All Saint Church Cemetery.
British Politician. He was a leading Whig politician and Britain's first Foreign Secretary. He was educated at Eton and Oxford University and elected to represent Midhurst in the House of Commons when he was only nineteen. At the age of twenty-one, he was appointed by Frederick North, the prime minister, as the Junior Lord of the Admiralty. In December of 1772 he became Lord of the Treasury. Leaving the office in 1774, he opposed North's policy towards America. He denounced the taxation of the Americans without their consent. When war started, he called for a negotiated peace. After 1780 he became a supporter of parliamentary reform. In March of 1782, he became Foreign Secretary in the government led by Rockingham, but left in July of 1782, on the death of the Marquis of Rockingham as he was unwilling to serve under the new prime minister, Lord Sherburne. When Lord Grenville became prime minister in 1806, he was appointed Foreign Secretary. Fox began negotiating with the French but was unable to bring an end to the war. After making a passionate speech in favor of the Abolition of the Slave Trade bill in the House of Commons on June 10, 1806, Fox was taken ill. His health deteriorated rapidly, and he died three months later in Chiswick. A staunch supporter of Britain's North American colonies, the town of Foxborough in Massachusetts was named in his honor. Though he wished to be laid to rest in Chertsey where he had lived, the nation demanded that he be buried in Westminster Abbey. Cenotaphs are located in Chertsey's St. Peters Church and in Farley's All Saint Church Cemetery.
Family Members
Advertisement
See more Fox memorials in:
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
