The Person

Abstract

This chapter is about the ways Henry Cavendish was principally known: as an aristocrat, and as a natural philosopher. His years were 1731–1810. He was the grandson of English dukes, the highest rank of the peerage: on his mother’s side, Henry de Grey, duke of Kent; on his father’s side, William Cavendish, second duke of Devonshire. His great grandfather, another William Cavendish, had been a principal actor in the Glorious Revolution of 1689–89, which deposed the Stuart King James II and replaced him with King William III (of Orange) – for his services, he was elevated from earl to duke of Devonshire – and which shifted the balance of power in the nation from the court to the aristocracy. His descendants remained politically active in support of the Revolutionary Settlement and generally of the Whig cause. Henry Cavendish’s father Lord Charles entered politics, as expected, but after representing three constituencies as a Member of Parliament, he left politics to devote his time and energy to several organizations, the most important of which was the national scientific society, the Royal Society of London. As an aristocrat, as a capable experimental natural philosopher, and as an able and willing administrator, he was highly valued within the Royal Society. His son Henry forewent a political career, for which he was ill-suited, but he otherwise followed in his father's footsteps, becoming a highly valued member of the Royal Society for the same reasons, and with regard to original scientific investigations he went beyond his father.