William Fox-Strangways, 4th Earl of Ilchester facts for kids

William Thomas Horner Fox-Strangways, the 4th Earl of Ilchester (born May 7, 1795 – died January 10, 1865), was an important British diplomat, politician, and art collector. Before 1858, he was known as The Honourable William Fox-Strangways. He worked for the government as the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs from 1835 to 1840. Later, he became a special representative for Britain in the German Confederation from 1840 to 1849. He was also a member of the Royal Society, which is a group for top scientists.

Early Life and School

William Fox-Strangways was born to Henry Thomas Fox-Strangways, the 2nd Earl of Ilchester, and his second wife, Maria Digby. His older half-brother was Henry Fox-Strangways, the 3rd Earl of Ilchester. His younger brother was John Fox-Strangways.

William went to Christ Church, Oxford, a famous college at Oxford University. He earned his first degree, a Bachelor of Arts (BA), in 1816. He then got a Master of Arts (MA) degree in 1820.

Career in Politics and Diplomacy

William Fox-Strangways had a long career helping Britain in other countries. He started as an attaché, which is a junior diplomat, at British embassies in several cities. These included St Petersburg (Russia), Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey), Naples (Italy), and The Hague (Netherlands).

Later, he became a Secretary of Legation in Florence (Italy) and Naples. He also served as Secretary of Embassy in Vienna (Austria).

In 1835, he was chosen for a big role: Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. This meant he helped manage Britain's relationships with other countries. He worked under Lord Melbourne, who was the Prime Minister at the time. William held this job until 1840.

After that, in 1840, he became the Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the German Confederation. This was a very important job, making him Britain's top representative to a group of German states. He stayed in this role until 1849.

In 1858, his half-brother passed away, and William became the 4th Earl of Ilchester. This meant he joined the House of Lords, which is part of the British Parliament. In 1821, he was also chosen to be a Fellow of the Royal Society because of his scientific interests.

Work in Geology

William Fox-Strangways was very interested in geology, which is the study of Earth's rocks and history. He joined the Geological Society of London in 1815 and was part of its council from 1820 to 1821.

While working as a diplomat in St Petersburg, Russia, he wrote about the geology of the area. His paper, "Geological sketch of the environs of Petersburg," was published in 1821. It included a colored map showing different rock types and views of riverbanks.

He later expanded his work in a paper called "An Outline of the Geology of Russia." This paper, published in 1821, had a map showing the different rock layers across European Russia. His early work and maps were some of the first detailed studies of Russian geology. They were later used by famous geologist R. I. Murchison for his book "Geology of Russia" in 1845. William's great-nephew, Charles Edward Fox-Strangways, also became a geologist.

Family Life and Art Collection

Lord Ilchester married Sophia Penelope Sheffield in 1857. They did not have any children. He passed away in January 1865 when he was 69 years old. His nephew, Henry Edward Fox-Strangways, became the next Earl.

William Fox-Strangways was also a passionate art collector. Between 1828 and 1834, he gave 37 early Italian paintings to Christ Church, Oxford. These paintings are still on display at the Christ Church Picture Gallery. He also left 41 more paintings to the Ashmolean Museum, including a famous painting by Paolo Ucello called The Hunt.

See also

• Ilchester Lectures

Images for kids

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  Arms of the Fox-Strangways family