Rt. Hon. Charles James Fox
British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
In office March 27, 1782 – July 5, 1782
Prime Minister	The Marquess of Rockingham
Preceded by	The Viscount Stormont (Northern Secretary)
Succeeded by	The Lord Grantham
Constituency	Midhurst, West Sussex
Leader of the House of Commons
In office March 27, 1782 – July 5, 1782
Prime Minister	The Marquess of Rockingham
Preceded by	Lord North
Succeeded by	Thomas Townshend
British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
In office April 2, 1783 – December 19, 1783
Prime Minister	The Duke of Portland
Preceded by	The Lord Grantham
Succeeded by	The Earl Temple
British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
In office February 7, 1806 – September 13, 1806
Prime Minister	William Grenville
Preceded by	The Lord Mulgrave
Succeeded by	Viscount Howick
Born	January 24, 1749
Died	September 13, 1806 Chiswick, England
Political party	British Whig Party
Spouse	Elizabeth Armistead
Profession	Statesman, abolitionist

Charles James Fox (24 January 1749 – 13 September 1806) was a prominent British Whig statesman whose parliamentary career spanned thirty-eight years of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries and who was particularly noted for being the arch-rival of William Pitt the Younger. The Right Honourable (abbreviated as The Rt Hon) is an Honorific prefix that is traditionally applied to certain The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, commonly referred to as the Foreign Secretary, is a member of the United Kingdom Government heading the Events 196 BC - Ptolemy V ascends to the throne of Egypt. 1309 - Pope Clement V excommunicates Year 1782 ( MDCCLXXXII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 1295 - Scotland and France form an alliance the beginnings of the Auld Alliance, against England. Year 1782 ( MDCCLXXXII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Charles Watson-Wentworth 2nd Marquess of Rockingham KG, PC (13 May 1730 &ndash 1 July 1782 styled The Hon David Murray 2nd Earl of Mansfield PC KT ( 9 October 1727 - 1 September 1796) known from 1748 to 1793 as the Viscount The Secretary of State for the Northern Department was a position in the Cabinet of the government of the Kingdom of Great Britain up to 1782 Thomas Robinson 2nd Baron Grantham, PC, ( Vienna, 30 November 1738 &ndash 20 July 1786) British politician and statesman Midhurst is a Market town and Civil parish in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England Settlements Most settlements in West Sussex are either along the south coast or are situated in the M23 corridor The Leader of the House of Commons is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom who is responsible for arranging government business in the House of Commons Events 196 BC - Ptolemy V ascends to the throne of Egypt. 1309 - Pope Clement V excommunicates Year 1782 ( MDCCLXXXII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 1295 - Scotland and France form an alliance the beginnings of the Auld Alliance, against England. Year 1782 ( MDCCLXXXII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Charles Watson-Wentworth 2nd Marquess of Rockingham KG, PC (13 May 1730 &ndash 1 July 1782 styled The Hon Frederick North 2nd Earl of Guilford, KG, PC (13 April 1732 &ndash 5 August 1792 more often known by his courtesy title Lord North, which he used from Thomas Townshend 1st Viscount Sydney ( 24 February 1732 - 30 June 1800) was a British politician who held several important Cabinet posts in The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, commonly referred to as the Foreign Secretary, is a member of the United Kingdom Government heading the Events 68 - Galba, Governor of Hispania, names himself legatus senatus populique Romani, breaking the line of Year 1783 ( MDCCLXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or Events 324 - Licinius abdicates his position as Roman Emperor. Year 1783 ( MDCCLXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or William Henry Cavendish Cavendish-Bentinck 3rd Duke of Portland PC (14 April 1738 &ndash 30 October 1809 was a British Whig and Tory Thomas Robinson 2nd Baron Grantham, PC, ( Vienna, 30 November 1738 &ndash 20 July 1786) British politician and statesman George Nugent-Temple-Grenville 1st Marquess of Buckingham ( 17 June 1753 &ndash 11 February 1813) was a British statesman he The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, commonly referred to as the Foreign Secretary, is a member of the United Kingdom Government heading the Events 457 - Leo I becomes emperor of the Byzantine Empire. 1074 - Battle of Montesarchio in which the Prince Year 1806 ( MDCCCVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 509 BC - The Temple of Jupiter on Rome 's Capitoline Hill is dedicated on the ides of September Year 1806 ( MDCCCVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common William Wyndham Grenville 1st Baron Grenville PC (25 October 1759 &ndash 12 January 1834 was a British Whig Statesman and Prime Minister Henry Phipps 1st Earl of Mulgrave ( 14 February 1755 &ndash 7 April 1831) was a British politician Charles Grey 2nd Earl Grey, KG, PC (13 March 1764 &ndash 17 July 1845 known as Viscount Howick between 1806 and 1807 was a British Events 41 - Gaius Caesar (Caligula, known for his eccentricity and cruel Despotism, is Assassinated by his disgruntled Year 1749 ( MDCCXLIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Events 509 BC - The Temple of Jupiter on Rome 's Capitoline Hill is dedicated on the ides of September Year 1806 ( MDCCCVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Chiswick ( IPA /ˈtʃɪzɪk/ is an area of West London, located west of Charing Cross, which covers the eastern part of the London Borough of Hounslow England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland The Whigs (with the Tories) are often described as one of two political parties in England and later the United Kingdom from the late 17th to Elizabeth Armistead ( 11 July 1750 &ndash 8 July 1842) was a Courtesan and later the wife of Statesman and Politician A statesman or stateswoman or statesperson is usually a Politician or other notable figure of State who has had a long and respected career in Abolitionism was a political movement of the 18th and 19th century which sought to make Slavery illegal particularly in the United States and British West Indies Events 41 - Gaius Caesar (Caligula, known for his eccentricity and cruel Despotism, is Assassinated by his disgruntled Year 1749 ( MDCCXLIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Events 509 BC - The Temple of Jupiter on Rome 's Capitoline Hill is dedicated on the ides of September Year 1806 ( MDCCCVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common The Kingdom of Great Britain, also known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain, was a State in northwest Europe, in existence from 1707 to 1800 The Whigs (with the Tories) are often described as one of two political parties in England and later the United Kingdom from the late 17th to A statesman or stateswoman or statesperson is usually a Politician or other notable figure of State who has had a long and respected career in The 18th century lasted from 1701 to 1800 in the Gregorian calendar, in accordance with the Anno Domini / Common Era numbering system The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar William Pitt the Younger (28 May 1759 &ndash 23 January 1806 was a British politician of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The son of an old, indulgent Whig father, Fox rose to prominence in the House of Commons as a forceful and eloquent speaker with a notorious and colourful private life, though his opinions were rather conservative and conventional. The House of Commons' is the Lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords However, with the coming of the American Revolution and the influence of the Whig Edmund Burke, Fox's opinions evolved into some of the most radical ever to be aired in the Parliament of his era. In this article the inhabitants of the thirteen colonies that supported the American Revolution are primarily referred to as "Americans" with occasional references to "Patriots" Edmund Burke ( 12 January, 1729 9 July, 1797) was an Irish statesman author orator Political theorist, and The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories He came from a family with radical and revoluntionary tendencies and his first cousin and friend Lord Edward Fitzgerald was a prominent member of the Society of United Irishmen who was arrested just prior to the Irish Rebellion of 1798 and died of wounds received as he was arrested. Lord Edward FitzGerald (15 October 1763 &ndash 4 June 1798 was an Irish aristocrat and revolutionary The Society of United Irishmen was founded as a Liberal political organisation in eighteenth century Ireland that sought Parliamentary reform The Irish Rebellion of 1798 (Éirí Amach 1798 Turn Oot 1798 or 1798 rebellion as it is known locally was an uprising in 1798 lasting several months against the

Fox became a prominent and staunch opponent of George III, whom he regarded as an aspiring tyrant, and a supporter of the revolutionaries across the Atlantic, taking up the habit of dressing in the colours of George Washington's army. George III (George William Frederick 4 June 1738 George III's long reign was marked by a series of military conflicts involving his kingdom much of the rest of Europe and places George Washington (February 22 1732 December 14 1799 served as the first President of the United States of America (1789&ndash1797 and led the Fox served briefly as Britain's first Foreign Secretary in the ministry of the Marquess of Rockingham in 1782, and returned to the post in a coalition government with his old enemy Lord North in 1783. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, commonly referred to as the Foreign Secretary, is a member of the United Kingdom Government heading the Charles Watson-Wentworth 2nd Marquess of Rockingham KG, PC (13 May 1730 &ndash 1 July 1782 styled The Hon Year 1782 ( MDCCLXXXII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common The Fox-North Coalition was a government in Great Britain that held office during 1783. Frederick North 2nd Earl of Guilford, KG, PC (13 April 1732 &ndash 5 August 1792 more often known by his courtesy title Lord North, which he used from Year 1783 ( MDCCLXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or However, the King forced Fox and North out of government before the end of the year, replacing them with the twenty-four-year-old Pitt the Younger, and Fox spent the following twenty-two years facing Pitt and the government benches from across the Commons. William Pitt the Younger (28 May 1759 &ndash 23 January 1806 was a British politician of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.

Though Fox had little interest in the actual exercise of power^[1] and spent almost the entirety of his political career in opposition, he became noted as an anti-slavery campaigner, a supporter of the French Revolution, and a leading parliamentary advocate of religious tolerance and individual liberty. Abolitionism was a political movement of the 18th and 19th century which sought to make Slavery illegal particularly in the United States and British West Indies The French Revolution (1789–1799 was a period of political and social upheaval in the History of France, during which the French governmental structure previously an His friendship with his mentor Burke and his parliamentary credibility were both casualties of Fox's support for France during the Revolutionary Wars, but he went on to attack Pitt's repressive wartime legislation and to defend the liberty of religious minorities and political radicals. The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts from 1792 until 1802 fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states After Pitt's death in January 1806, Fox briefly became Foreign Secretary in the 'Ministry of All the Talents' of William Grenville, before dying himself on 13 September 1806, aged fifty-seven. Year 1806 ( MDCCCVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common The Ministry of All the Talents was formed by William Wyndham Grenville 1st Baron Grenville on his appointment as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on William Wyndham Grenville 1st Baron Grenville PC (25 October 1759 &ndash 12 January 1834 was a British Whig Statesman and Prime Minister Events 509 BC - The Temple of Jupiter on Rome 's Capitoline Hill is dedicated on the ides of September Year 1806 ( MDCCCVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common

Contents 1 1749-1758: Early life 2 1758-1768: Education 3 1768-1774: Early political career 4 1774-1782: The American Revolution 5 1782-1784: Constitutional crisis 6 1784-1788: His Majesty’s Loyal Opposition 7 1788-1789: The Regency Crisis 8 1789-1791: The French Revolution 9 1791-1797: "Pitt's Terror" 10 1797-1806: Political wilderness 11 1806: Final year 12 Death 13 Private life 14 Legacy 15 Ancestry 16 Notes 17 Bibliography 17.1 Primary sources 18 External links

1749-1758: Early life

Fox was born at 9 Conduit Street^[2], London, the second surviving son of Henry Fox, 1st Baron Holland - a disciple of Robert Walpole and rival of Pitt the Elder, who had amassed a considerable fortune by exploiting his position as Paymaster General of the forces - and Lady Caroline Lennox - a daughter of Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond and a direct descendant of Charles II. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Henry Fox 1st Baron Holland, PC ( 28 September 1705 &ndash 1 July 1774 in Holland House) was an English Robert Walpole 1st Earl of Orford, KG, KB, PC (26 August 1676 &ndash 18 March 1745 known before 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole, was a William Pitt 1st Earl of Chatham PC (15 November 1708 &ndash 11 May 1778 was a British Whig Statesman who achieved his greatest fame as The Paymaster of the Forces was a British government position Georgiana Caroline Fox 1st Baroness Holland of Holland ( 27 March 1723 &ndash 24 July 1774) born as Lady Georgiana Caroline Lennox Charles Lennox 2nd Duke of Richmond and 2nd Duke of Lennox, KG, KCB, PC, FRS ( 18 May 1701 at Goodwood, Charles II (Charles Stuart 29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685 was the King of England, Scotland, and Ireland. ^[3] His elder brother, Stephen, later 2nd Baron Holland, was a minor politician until his early death in 1774, and his younger brother, Henry, had a distinguished military career. Stephen Fox 2nd and 2nd Baron Holland ( 20 February 1745 &ndash 26 December 1774) was briefly a British peer ^[4]

Fox's two elder brothers had been seriously ill in infancy, the second mortally so, and his father acquired an immense emotional attachment to his third son. He found Charles "infinitely engaging & clever & pretty" and, from the time that his son was three years old, apparently preferred his company at meals to that of anyone else. ^[5] The stories of Charles's over-indulgence by his doting father are legendary. It was said that Charles once expressed a great desire to break his father's watch and was not restrained or punished when he duly smashed it on the floor. On another occasion, when Henry had promised his son that he could watch the demolition of a wall on his estate and found that it had already been destroyed, he ordered the workmen to rebuild the wall and demolish it again, with Charles watching. ^[6]

1758-1768: Education

Given carte blanche to choose his own education, in 1758 Fox attended a fashionable Wandsworth school run by a Monsieur Pampellonne, followed by Eton College, where Fox began to develop his life-long love of classical literature. This article refers only to the town of Wandsworth For the wider area generally referred to as Wandsworth see the separate article on London Borough of Wandsworth. Eton College, or just Eton, is a world-famous British Independent school for boys founded in 1440 by King Henry VI. In later life he was said always to have carried a copy of Horace in his coat pocket. Quintus Horatius Flaccus, ( Venosa, December 8, 65 BC - Rome, November 27, 8 BC known in the English-speaking world as Horace He was taken out of school by his father in 1761 to attend the coronation of George III, who would later go on to become one of his most bitter enemies, and once more in 1763 to visit the Continent; to Paris and Spa. Year 1761 ( MDCCLXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a George III (George William Frederick 4 June 1738 George III's long reign was marked by a series of military conflicts involving his kingdom much of the rest of Europe and places Year 1763 ( MDCCLXIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Continental Europe, also referred to as mainland Europe or simply the Continent, is the Continent of Europe, explicitly excluding European Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city Spa is a Municipality of Belgium. It lies in the country's Walloon Region and Province of Liège. On this trip, Charles was given a substantial amount of money with which to learn to gamble by his father, who also arranged for him to lose his virginity, aged fourteen, to a Madame de Quallens. ^[4] Fox returned to Eton later that year, "attired in red-heeled shoes and Paris cut-velvet, adorned with a pigeon-wing hair style tinted with blue powder, and a newly acquired French accent", and was duly flogged by Dr. Barnard, the headmaster. ^[7] These three pursuits – gambling, womanising and the love of things and fashions foreign – would become, once inculcated in his adolescence, notorious habits of Fox’s later life.

Fox entered Hertford College, Oxford in October 1764, although he would later leave without taking a degree, rather contemptuous of its "nonsenses". Hertford College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. ^[8] He went on several further expeditions to Europe, becoming well-known in the great Parisian salons, meeting influential figures such as Voltaire, Edward Gibbon, the duc d'Orléans and the marquis de Lafayette, and becoming the co-owner of a number of racehorses with the duc de Lauzun. François-Marie Arouet ( 21 November 1694 30 May 1778) better known by the Pen name Voltaire, was a French Edward Gibbon ( April 27, 1737 January 16, 1794) was an English historian and Member of Parliament. Louis Philippe II Joseph Duke of Orléans ( 13 April 1747 at Château de Saint Cloud, Saint-Cloud, France &ndash 6 November Armand Louis de Gontaut, Duc de Lauzun, later duc de Biron, and usually referred to by historians of the French Revolution simply as Biron ^[4]

1768-1774: Early political career

For the 1768 general election, Henry Fox bought his son the West Sussex constituency of Midhurst, though Charles was still nineteen and technically ineligible for Parliament. Year 1768 ( MDCCLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Settlements Most settlements in West Sussex are either along the south coast or are situated in the M23 corridor Midhurst is a Market town and Civil parish in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England Fox was to address the House of Commons some 254 times between 1768 and 1774^[4] and rapidly gathered a reputation as a superb orator, but he had not yet developed the radical opinions for which he would become famous. The House of Commons' is the Lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords Thus he spent much of his early years unwittingly manufacturing ammunition for his later critics and their accusations of hypocrisy. A supporter of the Grafton and North ministries, Fox was prominent in the campaign to punish the radical John Wilkes for challenging the Commons. Augustus Henry FitzRoy 3rd Duke of Grafton, KG, PC (28 September 1735 &ndash 14 March 1811 styled Earl of Euston between 1747 and 1757 was a British Frederick North 2nd Earl of Guilford, KG, PC (13 April 1732 &ndash 5 August 1792 more often known by his courtesy title Lord North, which he used from John Wilkes ( 17 October 1725 – 26 December 1797) was an English radical, journalist and politician "He thus opened his career by speaking in behalf of the Commons against the people and their elected representative. "^[9] Consequently, both Fox and his brother, Stephen, were insulted and pelted with mud in the street by the pro-Wilkes London crowds. ^[10]

However, between 1770 and 1774, Fox's seemingly promising career in the political establishment was spoiled. In February 1770, Fox was appointed to the board of the Admiralty by Lord North, but on the 15th of the same month he resigned due to his enthusiastic opposition to the government's Royal Marriages Act, the provisions of which – incidentally – cast doubt on the legitimacy of his parents' marriage. The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the United Kingdom responsible for the command of the Royal Navy. The Royal Marriages Act of 1772 is an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain (12 Geo III c ^[4] On 28 December 1772, North appointed Fox to the board of the Treasury and again he surrendered his post, in February 1774, over the Government's allegedly feeble response to the contemptuous printing and public distribution of copies of parliamentary debates. HM Treasury, in full Her Majesty's Treasury, informally The Treasury, is the United Kingdom government department responsible for developing and executing Behind these incidents lay his family's resentment towards Lord North for refusing to elevate the Holland barony to an earldom. Baron Holland, of Holland in the County of Lincoln and Baron Holland, of Foxley in the County of Wiltshire were two titles in the Peerage of Great Britain. Earl was the Anglo-Saxon form and jarl the Scandinavian form of a title meaning " Chieftain " and referring especially to chieftains ^[4] But the fact that such a young man could seemingly treat ministerial office so lightly was noted at court. George III, also observing Fox's infamously licentious private behaviour, took it to be presumption and judged that Fox could not be trusted to take anything seriously. ^[4]

1774-1782: The American Revolution

After 1774, Fox began to reconsider his political position under the influence of Edmund Burke - who had sought out the promising young Whig and would become his mentor - and the unfolding events in America. John Trumbull 's Declaration of Independence is a 12-by 18- foot oil-on-canvas in the United States Capitol Rotunda John Trumbull ( June 6, 1756 &ndash November 10, 1843) was an American artist during the period of the American Revolutionary Edmund Burke ( 12 January, 1729 9 July, 1797) was an Irish statesman author orator Political theorist, and In this article the inhabitants of the thirteen colonies that supported the American Revolution are primarily referred to as "Americans" with occasional references to "Patriots" He drifted from his rather unideological family-orientated politics into the orbit of the Rockingham Whig party. The Rockingham Whigs or Rockinghamite Whigs in 18th century British politics were a faction of the Whigs led by Charles Watson-Wentworth 2nd Marquess of Rockingham

During this period, Fox became possibly the most prominent and vituperative parliamentary critic of Lord North and the conduct of the American war. In this article the inhabitants of the thirteen colonies that supported the American Revolution are primarily referred to as "Americans" with occasional references to "Patriots" In 1775, he denounced North in the Commons as

“

the blundering pilot who had brought the nation into its present difficulties . . . Lord Chatham, the King of Prussia, nay, Alexander the Great, never gained more in one campaign than the noble lord has lost—he has lost a whole continent. William Pitt 1st Earl of Chatham PC (15 November 1708 &ndash 11 May 1778 was a British Whig Statesman who achieved his greatest fame as Frederick II (Friedrich II January 24 1712 August 17 1786) was a King of Prussia (1740&ndash1786 from the Alexander the Great ( or, Mégas Aléxandros; July 20 356 BC June 10 or June 11 323 BC also known as Alexander III of Macedon (el Ἀλέξανδρος Γ' [4]

”

Fox, who occasionally corresponded with Thomas Jefferson and had met Benjamin Franklin in Paris,^[4] predicted that Britain had little practical hope of subduing the colonies, and interpreted the American cause approvingly as a struggle for liberty against the oppressive policies of a despotic and unaccountable executive. Thomas Jefferson (April 13 1743 – July 4 1826 was the third President of the United States (1801–1809 the principal author of the Declaration of Independence Benjamin Franklin ( April 17 1790 was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America. ^[4] It was at this time that Fox and his supporters took up the habit of dressing in buff and blue: the colours of the uniforms in Washington’s army. For other uses of the term see Buff Buff (colour Buff is a pale Yellow - Brown colour that got its name from the George Washington (February 22 1732 December 14 1799 served as the first President of the United States of America (1789&ndash1797 and led the Fox's friend, the Earl of Carlisle, observed that any setback for the British Government in America was "a great cause of amusement to Charles. Frederick Howard 5th Earl of Carlisle, KG, KT, PC ( May 28, 1748 – September 4, 1825) was an English "^[11] Even after the American defeat at Long Island in 1776, Fox stated that

“

I hope that it will be a point of honour among us all to support the American pretensions in adversity as much as we did in their prosperity, and that we shall never desert those who have acted unsuccessfully upon Whig principles. Background On March 17 1776 the British fleet retreated to Halifax Nova Scotia to refit after the end of the year-long Siege of Boston. [12]

”

On 31 October of the same year, Fox responded to the King's address to Parliament with "one of his finest and most animated orations, and with severity to the answered person", so much so that, when he sat down, no member of the Government would attempt to reply. ^[13]

Also crucial to any understanding of Fox's political career from this point was his mutual antipathy with George III – probably the most enthusiastic prosecutor of the American war. George III (George William Frederick 4 June 1738 George III's long reign was marked by a series of military conflicts involving his kingdom much of the rest of Europe and places Allan Ramsay (13 October 1713 &ndash 10 August 1784 was a Scottish portrait- painter. George III (George William Frederick 4 June 1738 George III's long reign was marked by a series of military conflicts involving his kingdom much of the rest of Europe and places Fox became convinced that the King was determined to challenge the authority of Parliament and the balance of the constitution established in 1688, and to achieve Continental-style tyranny. The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, was the overthrow of King James II of England (VII of Scotland in 1688 by a union George in return thought that Fox had "cast off every principle of common honour and honesty … [a man who is] as contemptible as he is odious … [and has an] aversion to all restraints. "^[2] It is difficult to find two figures in history more greatly contrasted in temperament than Fox and George: the former a notorious gambler and rake; the latter famous for his virtues of frugality and family. On 6 April, 1780, John Dunning's motion that "The influence of the Crown has increased, is increasing, and ought to be diminished. John Dunning 1st Baron Ashburton (1731 - 1783 was an English Lawyer and Politician. " passed the Commons by a vote of 233 to 215. ^[14] Fox thought it "glorious", saying on 24 April that

“

the question now was … whether that beautiful fabric [i. e. the constitution] … was to be maintained in that freedom . . . for which blood had been spilt; or whether we were to submit to that system of despotism, which had so many advocates in this country. [4]

”

Fox, however, had not been present in the House for the beginning of the Dunning debate, as he had been occupied in the adjoining eleventh-century Westminster Hall, serving as chairman of a mass public meeting before a large banner that read "Annual Parliaments and Equal Representation". ^[15] This was the period when Fox, hardening against the influence of the Crown, was embraced by the radical movement of the late eighteenth century. When the shocking Gordon riots exploded in London in June 1780, Fox – though deploring the violence of the crowd – declared that he would "much rather be governed by a mob than a standing army. The Gordon Riots refers to a number of events in a predominantly Protestant religious uprising in London, England, in 1780, aimed against the "^[16] Later, in July, Fox was returned for the populous and prestigious constituency of Westminster, with around 12,000 electors, and acquired the title "Man of the People". Westminster was a former parliamentary constituency in the Parliament of England to 1707 the Parliament of Great Britain 1707-1800 and the Parliament of ^[4]

1782-1784: Constitutional crisis

When North finally resigned under the strains of office and the disastrous American war in March 1782 and was gingerly replaced with the new ministry of the Marquess of Rockingham, Fox was appointed Foreign Secretary. Charles Watson-Wentworth 2nd Marquess of Rockingham KG, PC (13 May 1730 &ndash 1 July 1782 styled The Hon The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, commonly referred to as the Foreign Secretary, is a member of the United Kingdom Government heading the But Rockingham, after finally acknowledging the independence of the former Thirteen Colonies, died unexpectedly on 1 July. The Thirteen Colonies were part of what became known as British America, a name that was used by Great Britain until the Treaty of Paris (1783 recognized the Fox refused to serve in the successor administration of the Earl of Shelburne, splitting the Whig party; Fox's father had been convinced that Shelburne - a supporter of the elder Pitt - had thwarted his ministerial ambitions at the time of the 1763 peace. William Petty-FitzMaurice 1st Marquess of Lansdowne, KG, PC (2 May 1737 &ndash 7 May 1805 known as The Earl of Shelburne between 1761 and 1784 by which The Treaty of Paris, often called the Peace of Paris, or the Treaty of 1763, was signed on February 10, 1763, by the kingdoms of Great Britain ^[17] Fox now found himself in common opposition to Shelburne with his old and bitter enemy, Lord North. Based on this single conjunction of interests and the fading memory of the happy co-operation of the early 1770s, the two men who had vilified one another throughout the American war together formed a coalition and forced their Government, with an overwhelming majority composed of North's Tories and Fox's opposition Whigs, on to the King.

The Fox-North Coalition came to power on 2 April 1783, in spite of the King's resistance. Sir Joshua Reynolds RA FRS FRSA (16 July 1723 &ndash 23 February 1792 was the most important and influential of 18th century English painters The Fox-North Coalition was a government in Great Britain that held office during 1783. Year 1783 ( MDCCLXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or It was the first time that George had been allowed no role in determining who should hold government office. ^[4] On one occasion, Fox, who returned enthusiastically to the post of Foreign Secretary, ended an epistle to the King: "Whenever Your Majesty will be graciously pleased to condescend even to hint your inclinations upon any subject, that it will be the study of Your Majesty's Ministers to show how truly sensible they are of Your Majesty's goodness. " The King replied: "No answer. "^[18] George III seriously thought of abdicating at this time, after the comprehensive defeat of his American policy and the imposition of Fox and North^[19], but refrained from doing so, mainly because of the thought of his succession by his son, George Augustus Frederick: the notoriously extravagant womaniser, gambler and associate of Fox, who could swear in three languages. ^[20] Indeed, in many ways the King considered Fox his son's tutor in debauchery. "George III let it be widely broadcast that he held Fox principally responsible for the Prince’s many failings, not least a tendency to vomit in public. "^[21]

Happily for George, however, the unpopular coalition would not outlast the year. William Pitt the Younger (28 May 1759 &ndash 23 January 1806 was a British politician of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Thomas Gainsborough (christened 14 May 1727 &ndash died 2 August 1788 was one of the most famous portrait and landscape painters of 18th century Britain. Fox proposed an East India Bill to place the government of the ailing and oppressive British East India Company, at that time in control of a considerable expanse of India, on a sounder footing with a board of governors responsible to Parliament and more resistant to Crown patronage. The Fox-North Coalition was a government in Great Britain that held office during 1783. The Honourable East India Company ( HEIC) referred to most commonly as the East India Company, also historically and colloquially as John Company, or It passed the Commons by 153 to 80, but, when the King made it clear that any peer who voted in favour of the bill would be considered a personal enemy of the Crown, the Lords divided against Fox by 95 to 76. ^[22] George now felt justified in dismissing Fox and North from government, and nominating William Pitt in their place; at twenty-four years of age, the youngest Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in history was appointed to office, apparently on the authority of the votes of 19 peers. William Pitt the Younger (28 May 1759 &ndash 23 January 1806 was a British politician of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the political leader of the United Kingdom Fox used his parliamentary majority to oppose Pitt's nomination, and every subsequent measure that he put before the House, until March, 1784, when the King dissolved Parliament and, in the following general election, Pitt was returned with a substantial majority. Background In December 1783 George III engineered the dismissal of the Fox-North Coalition, which he hated and appointed William Pitt the Younger

In Fox's own constituency of Westminster the contest was particularly fierce. An energetic campaign in his favour was run by Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, allegedly a lover of Fox's who was said to have won at least one vote for him by kissing a shoemaker with a rather romantic idea of what constituted a bribe. Georgiana Cavendish Duchess of Devonshire ( June 7, 1757 – March 30, 1806) born Georgiana Spencer, was the first wife of In the end Fox was re-elected by a very slender margin, but legal challenges (encouraged, to an extent, by Pitt and the King)^[23] prevented a final declaration of the result for over a year. In the meantime, Fox sat for the Scottish pocket borough of Tain or Northern Burghs, for which he was qualified by being made an unlikely burgess of Kirkwall in Orkney (which was one of the Burghs in the district). The term "rotten" or "decayed" borough referred to a parliamentary borough or Constituency in Great Britain and Ireland Tain Burghs, was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1708 to 1801 and of the Parliament of the United Kirkwall is the largest town and capital of the Orkney Islands, off the coast of northern mainland Scotland. Orkney (also known as the Orkney Islands or incorrectly the Orkneys) is an Archipelago in northern Scotland, situated 10 miles (16 km north The Act of Union 1707 and Pre-Union Scottish legislation provided for 14 Members of Parliament (MPs from Scotland to be elected from districts of The experience of these years was crucial in Fox's political formation. His suspicions had been confirmed: it seemed to him that George III had personally scuppered both the Rockingham-Shelburne and Fox-North governments, interfered in the legislative process and now dissolved Parliament when its composition inconvenienced him. Pitt – a man of little property and no party – seemed to Fox a blatant tool of the Crown. ^[24] However, the King and Pitt had great popular support, and many in the press and general population saw Fox as the trouble-maker challenging the composition of the constitution and the King's remaining powers. He was often caricatured as Oliver Cromwell and Guy Fawkes during this period, as well as Satan, "Carlo Khan" (see James Sayers) and Machiavelli. Oliver Cromwell (25 April 1599 Old Style &ndash 3 September 1658 Old Style) was an English military and political leader best known Guy Fawkes ( 13 April 1570 – 31 January 1606) sometimes known as Guido Fawkes, was a member of a group of English Satan, ( Standard Hebrew Satan'el, English accuser) is a term that originates from the Abrahamic faiths, being traditionally James Sayers (or Sayer) ( 1748 - April 20, 1823) was an English Caricaturist. ^[25]

1784-1788: His Majesty’s Loyal Opposition

One of Pitt’s first major actions as Prime Minister was, in 1785, to put a scheme of parliamentary reform before the Commons, proposing to rationalize somewhat the existing, decidedly unrepresentative, electoral system by eliminating thirty-six rotten boroughs and redistributing seats to represent London and the larger counties. Year 1785 ( MDCCLXXXV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common The term "rotten" or "decayed" borough referred to a parliamentary borough or Constituency in Great Britain and Ireland Fox supported Pitt’s reforms, despite apparent political expediency, but they were defeated by 248 to 174. ^[26] Reform would not be considered seriously by Parliament for another decade.

In 1787, the most dramatic political event of the decade came to pass in the form of the impeachment of Warren Hastings, the Governor of Bengal until 1785, on charges of corruption and extortion. St Stephen's Chapel was a chapel in the old Palace of Westminster. Year 1787 ( MDCCLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Warren Hastings ( December 6 1732 - August 22 1818) was the first Governor-General of Bengal, from 1773 to 1785 From 1690 a governor represented the British East India Company in Bengal which had been granted the right to establish a trading post by the local rulers the nawabs of Murshidabad who were Year 1785 ( MDCCLXXXV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Fifteen of the eighteen Managers appointed to the trial were Foxites, one of them being Fox himself. ^[27] Although the matter was really Burke’s area of expertise, Fox was, at first, enthusiastic. If the trial could demonstrate the misrule of British India by Hastings and the East India Company more widely, then Fox’s India Bill of 1784 – the point on which the Fox-North Coalition had been dismissed by the King – would be vindicated. For usage see British rule in India British Raj ( rāj, lit "reign" in Hindustani) primarily refers to the British The Honourable East India Company ( HEIC) referred to most commonly as the East India Company, also historically and colloquially as John Company, or Year 1784 ( MDCCLXXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year The Fox-North Coalition was a government in Great Britain that held office during 1783. ^[28] The trial was also expedient for Fox in that it placed Pitt in an uncomfortable political position. The premier was forced to equivocate over the Hastings trial, because to oppose Hastings would been to endanger the support of the King and the East India Company, while to openly support him would have alienated country gentlemen and principled supporters like Wilberforce. William Wilberforce (24 August 1759 – 29 July 1833 was a British Politician, a Philanthropist ^[29] However, as the trial’s intricacies dragged on (it would be 1795 before Hastings was finally acquitted), Fox’s interest waned and the burden of managing the trial devolved increasingly on Burke. Year 1795 ( MDCCXCV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a

Fox was also reputed to be the anonymous author of An Essay Upon Wind; with Curious Anecdotes of Eminent Peteurs. Humbly Dedicated to the Lord Chancellor in 1787. Year 1787 ( MDCCLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common

1788-1789: The Regency Crisis

In late October, 1788, George III descended into a bout of insanity, probably caused by an attack of the hereditary disease porphyria. James Gillray, sometimes spelled Gilray (born August 13, 1757 in Chelsea; died June 1, 1815) was a British Year 1788 ( MDCCLXXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap Porphyrias are a group of inherited or acquired disorders of certain Enzymes in the Heme biosynthetic pathway (also called Porphyrin pathway He had begun to address oak trees as though they were the King of Prussia, and - more worryingly - had declared that Pitt was "a rascal" and Fox "his Friend". ^[30] The King was placed under restraint and a rumour went round that Fox had poisoned him. ^[31] Thus the opportunity revealed itself for the establishment of a regency under Fox’s friend and ally, the Prince of Wales, which would take the reins of government out of the hands of the incapacitated George III and allow the replacement of his 'minion', Pitt, with a Foxite ministry.

Fox, however, was out of contact in Italy as the crisis broke; he had resolved not to read any newspapers while he was abroad, except the racing reports. ^[32] Three weeks passed before he returned to Britain on 25 November 1788 and then he was taken seriously ill (partly due to the stress of his rapid journey across Europe) and would not recover entirely until December 1789. Year 1788 ( MDCCLXXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap Year 1789 ( MDCCLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common He again absented himself to Bath from 27 January to 21 February 1789. Bath is a city in Somerset in the south west of England It is situated west of London and south-east of Bristol. Year 1789 ( MDCCLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common ^[33] When Fox did make it into Parliament, he seemed to make a serious political error. In the Commons on 10 December, he declared that it was the right of the Prince of Wales to install himself as regent immediately. It is said that Pitt, upon hearing this, slapped his thigh in an uncharacteristic display of emotion and declared that he would "unwhig" Fox for the rest of his life. Fox's argument did indeed seem to contradict his life-long championing of Parliament's rights over the Crown. Pitt pointed out that the Prince of Wales had no more right to the throne than any other Briton, though he may well have - as the King's firstborn - a better claim to it. It was Parliament’s constitutional right to decide. However, there was more than naked thirst for power in Fox's seemingly hypocritical Tory assertion. Fox believed that the King's illness was permanent, and therefore that George III was, constitutionally speaking, dead. To challenge the Prince of Wales's right to succeed him would be to challenge fundamental contemporary assumptions about property rights and primogeniture. Primogeniture is the Common law right of the Firstborn son to inherit the entire estate, to the exclusion of younger siblings Pitt, on the other hand, considered the King's madness temporary (or, at least, hoped that it would be), and thus saw the throne as temporarily unoccupied rather than vacant. ^[34]

While Fox drew up lists for his proposed Cabinet under the new Prince Regent, Pitt spun out the legalistic debates over the constitutionality of and precedents for instituting a regency, as well as the actual process of drawing up a Regency Bill and navigating it through Parliament. He negotiated a number of restrictions on the powers of the Prince of Wales as regent (which would later provide the basis of the Regency of 1811), but the bill finally passed the Commons on 12 February. Artistic trends Regency architecture Regency fashions Regency dance Regency novels As the Lords too prepared to pass it, they learned that the King’s health was improving and decided to postpone further action. The King soon regained lucidity in time to prevent the establishment of his son’s regency and the elevation of Fox to the premiership, and, on 23 April, a service of thanksgiving was conducted at St Paul’s in honour of George III’s return to health. A premier is a title for the Head of government in some countries St Paul's Cathedral, is the Anglican Cathedral on Ludgate Hill, in the City of London, and the seat of the Bishop of London. ^[35] Fox’s opportunity had passed.

1789-1791: The French Revolution

Fox welcomed the French Revolution of 1789, interpreting it as a late Continental imitation of Britain's Glorious Revolution of 1688. The Storming of the Bastille in Paris occurred on 14 July 1789. Year 1789 ( MDCCLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common The French Revolution (1789–1799 was a period of political and social upheaval in the History of France, during which the French governmental structure previously an Year 1789 ( MDCCLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, was the overthrow of King James II of England (VII of Scotland in 1688 by a union In response to the Storming of the Bastille on 14 July, he famously declared, "How much the greatest event it is that ever happened in the world! and how much the best!"^[4] In April 1791, Fox told the Commons that he "admired the new constitution of France, considered altogether, as the most stupendous and glorious edifice of liberty, which had been erected on the foundation of human integrity in any time or country. The Storming of the Bastille in Paris occurred on 14 July 1789. Year 1791 ( MDCCXCI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common "^[36] He was thus somewhat bemused by his old Whig friend, Burke's, reaction to the dramatic events across the Channel. Edmund Burke ( 12 January, 1729 9 July, 1797) was an Irish statesman author orator Political theorist, and In his Reflections on the Revolution in France, Burke warned that the revolution was a violent rebellion against tradition and proper authority, motivated by utopian, abstract ideas disconnected from reality, which would lead to anarchy and eventual dictatorship. Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790 by Edmund Burke, is one of the best-known intellectual attacks against the (then-infant French Revolution Fox read the book and found it "in very bad taste" and "favouring Tory principles"^[37], but avoided pressing the matter for a while to preserve his relationship with Burke. The more radical Whigs, like Sheridan, broke with Burke more readily at this point. Richard Brinsley Sheridan (30 October 1751 &ndash 7 July 1816 was an Irish playwright and Whig Statesman.

Fox instead turned his attention - despite the politically volatile situation - to repealing the Test and Corporation Acts, which restricted the liberties of English Dissenters. The Test Acts were a series of English Penal laws that served as a Religious test for public office and imposed various civil disabilities on Roman The Corporation Act of 1661 is an Act of the Parliament of England (13 Cha English Dissenters were Christians who separated from the Church of England. On 2 March, 1790, Fox gave a long and eloquent speech to a packed House of Commons. Year 1790 ( MDCCXC) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year

“

Persecution always says, 'I know the consequences of your opinion better than you know them yourselves. James Gillray, sometimes spelled Gilray (born August 13, 1757 in Chelsea; died June 1, 1815) was a British The Storming of the Bastille in Paris occurred on 14 July 1789. Joseph Priestley (13 March 1733 ( Old ' But the language of toleration was always amicable, liberal, and just : it confessed its doubts, and acknowledged its ignorance … Persecution had always reasoned from cause to effect, from opinion to action, [that such an opinion would invariably lead to but one action], which proved generally erroneous; while toleration led us invariably to form just conclusions, by judging from actions and not from opinions. [38]

”

Pitt, in turn, came to the defence of the Church, defending the Acts as adopted

“

by the wisdom of our ancestors to serve as a bulwark to the Church, whose constituency was so intimately connected with that of the state, that the safety of the one was always liable to be affected by any danger which might threaten the other. The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican [39]

”

Burke, with fear of the radical upheaval in France foremost in his mind, took Pitt's side in the debate, dismissing Nonconformists as "men of factious and dangerous principles. Nonconformism is the refusal to conform to common standards conventions rules customs traditions norms or laws " Fox answered that Burke's "strange dereliction from his former principles … filled him with grief and shame," and Fox's motion was defeated by 294 votes to 105. ^[40] Later, Fox successfully supported the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1791, extending the rights of British Catholics. The Roman Catholic Relief Act 1791 is an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain passed in 1791 (31 George III He explained his stance to his Catholic friend Charles Butler, declaring:

“

the best ground, and the only ground to be defended in all points is, that action, not principle is the object of law and legislation; with a person's principles no government has any right to interfere. Charles Butler KC ( 14 August 1750 &ndash 2 June 1832) was an English Roman Catholic Lawyer and miscellaneous Edmund Burke ( 12 January, 1729 9 July, 1797) was an Irish statesman author orator Political theorist, and [41]

”

On the world stage of 1791, war threatened more with Spain and Russia than revolutionary France. Year 1791 ( MDCCXCI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common The Age of Enlightenment (in Spanish Ilustración) came to Spain in the eighteenth century with the French Bourbon dynasty, after the decay The Russian Empire ( Pre-reform Russian: Pоссійская Имперія Modern Russian: Российская Империя translit: Rossiyskaya The French Revolution (1789–1799 was a period of political and social upheaval in the History of France, during which the French governmental structure previously an Fox opposed the bellicose stances of Pitt's ministry in the Nootka Sound crisis, and over the Russian occupation of the Turkish port of Ochakiv on the Black Sea. For other uses of the word Nootka see Nootka (disambiguation. The Ottoman Empire (1299–1923 ( Old Ottoman Turkish: دولتْ علیّه عثمانیّه Devlet-i Âliye-yi Osmâniyye, Late Ottoman and Modern Turkish This article is about the city of Ochakiv in Mykolaiv Oblast, Ukraine. The Black Sea is an inland Sea bounded by southeastern Europe, the Caucasus and the Anatolian peninsula ( Turkey Fox contributed to the peaceful resolution of these entanglements, and gained a new admirer in Catherine the Great, who bought a bust of Fox and placed it between Cicero and Demosthenes in her collection. Catherine II, called Catherine the Great (Екатерина II Великая Yekaterina II Velikaya;) reigned as Empress of Russia for 34 years Marcus Tullius Cicero ( Classical Latin ˈkikeroː usually ˈsɪsərəʊ in English January 3, 106 BC &ndash December 7, 43 BC was a Roman For the Athenian general see Demosthenes (general. For the ancient physician see Demosthenes Philalethes. ^[4] On April 18, Fox spoke in the Commons - together with William Wilberforce, Pitt and Burke - in favour of a measure to abolish the slave trade, but – despite their combined rhetorical talents – the vote went against them by a majority of 75. William Wilberforce (24 August 1759 – 29 July 1833 was a British Politician, a Philanthropist Abolitionism was a political movement of the 18th and 19th century which sought to make Slavery illegal particularly in the United States and British West Indies ^[42]

On 6 May, 1791, a tearful confrontation on the floor of the Commons (officially, and rather irrelevantly, during a debate on the particulars of a bill for the government of Canada) finally shattered the quarter-century friendship of Fox and Burke, as the latter dramatically crossed the floor of the House to sit down next to Pitt, taking the support of a good deal of the more conservative Whigs with him. Year 1791 ( MDCCXCI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page ^[43] Later, on his deathbed in 1797, Burke would have his wife turn Fox away rather than allow a final reconciliation. Year 1797 ( MDCCXCVII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common

1791-1797: "Pitt's Terror"

Fox continued to defend the French Revolution, even as its fruits began to collapse into war, repression and the Reign of Terror. Saint justjpg|thumbnail|200px| Louis Antoine Léon de Saint-Just]] The Reign of Terror' (5 September 1793 &ndash 28 July 1794 or simply The Terror (la Terreur was Though there were few developments in France after 1792 that Fox could positively favour^[44] (the guillotine claimed the life of his old friend, the duc de Biron, among many others) Fox maintained that the old monarchical system still proved a greater threat to liberty than the new, degenerating experiment in France. Year 1792 ( MDCCXCII) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year The guillotine ( pronounced /ˈgijətin/ or /ˈgɪlətin/ in English in French was a device used for carrying out executions by Decapitation. Armand Louis de Gontaut, Duc de Lauzun, later duc de Biron, and usually referred to by historians of the French Revolution simply as Biron Fox thought of revolutionary France as the lesser of two evils, and emphasised the role of traditional despots in perverting the course of the revolution: he argued that Louis XVI and the French aristocracy had brought their fates upon themselves by abusing the constitution of 1791 and that the coalition of European autocrats, which was currently dispatching its armies against France's borders, had driven the revolutionary government to desperate and bloody measures by exciting a profound national crisis. Louis XVI ( 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) Louis-Auguste de France, ruled as King of France and Navarre The short-lived French Constitution of 1791 was the first written Constitution of France. The First Coalition ( 1792 – 1797) was the first major concerted effort of multiple European powers to contain Revolutionary France. Fox was not surprised when Pitt and the King brought Britain into the war as well, and would afterwards blame the pair and their prodigal European subsidies for the long-drawn-out continuation of the French Revolutionary Wars. The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts from 1792 until 1802 fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states In 1795, he wrote to his nephew, Lord Holland:

“

Peace is the wish of the French of Italy Spain Germany and all the world, and Great Britain alone the cause of preventing its accomplishment, and this not for any point of honour or even interest, but merely lest there should be an example in the modern world of a great powerful Republic. [45]

”

Rather ironically, while Fox was being denounced by many in Britain as a Jacobin traitor, across the Channel he featured on a 1798 list of the Britons to be transported after a successful French invasion of Britain. Year 1798 ( MDCCXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a According to the document, Fox was a "false patriot; having often insulted the French nation in his speeches, and particularly in 1786. Year 1786 ( MDCCLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common "^[46]

But Fox's radical position soon became too extreme for many of his followers, particularly old Whig friends like the Duke of Portland, Earl Fitzwilliam and the Earl of Carlisle. William Henry Cavendish Cavendish-Bentinck 3rd Duke of Portland PC (14 April 1738 &ndash 30 October 1809 was a British Whig and Tory William Wentworth-FitzWilliam 2nd and 4th Earl FitzWilliam ( 30 May 1748 – 8 February 1833) was a British Whig Statesman Frederick Howard 5th Earl of Carlisle, KG, KT, PC ( May 28, 1748 – September 4, 1825) was an English Around July 1794 their fear of France outgrew their resentment towards Pitt for his actions in 1784, and they crossed the floor of the Commons to the Government benches. Year 1794 ( MDCCXCIV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Year 1784 ( MDCCLXXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year In Politics, crossing the floor is to vote against party lines especially where this is considered unusual or controversial Fox could not believe that they "would disgrace" themselves in such a way. ^[4] After these defections, the Foxites could no longer constitute a credible parliamentary opposition, reduced, as they were, to some fifty MPs. ^[47]

Fox, however, still insisted on challenging the repressive wartime legislation introduced by Pitt in the 1790s that would become known (rather exaggeratedly) as "Pitt's Terror". In 1792, Fox had seen through the only piece of substantial legislation in his career, the Libel Act 1792, which restored to juries the right to decide what was and was not libellous, in addition to whether a defendant was guilty. Year 1792 ( MDCCXCII) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year The Libel Act 1792 was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain (32 Geo E.P. Thompson thought it "Fox's greatest service to the common people, passed at the eleventh hour before the tide turned toward repression. Edward Palmer Thompson ( February 3, 1924, Oxford &ndash August 28, 1993, Worcester) was an English historian "^[48] Indeed, the act was passed by Parliament on 21 May, the same day as a royal proclamation against seditious writings was issued, and more libel cases would be brought by the government in the following two years than had been in all the preceding years of the eighteenth century. ^[2]

Fox spoke in opposition to the King's Speech on 13 December 1793, but was defeated in the subsequent division by 290 to 50. Year 1793 ( MDCCXCIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common ^[49] He argued against war measures like the stationing of Hessian troops in Britain, the employment of royalist French émigrés in the British army and, most of all, Pitt's suspension of habeas corpus in 1794. Habeas corpus (ˈheɪbiəs ˈkɔɹpəs ( Latin: command that you have the body is the name of a legal action or Writ, through which a person can seek relief Year 1794 ( MDCCXCIV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a He told the Commons that:

“

We had no invasion to fear but an invasion of the constitution. [50]

”

In 1795, the King's carriage was assaulted in the street, providing an excuse for Pitt to introduce the infamous Two Acts: the Seditious Meetings Act 1795, which prohibited unlicensed gatherings of over fifty people, and the Treasonable Practices Act, which greatly widened the legal definition of treason, making any assault on the constitution punishable by seven years' transportation. Year 1795 ( MDCCXCV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a The Seditious Meetings Act, approved by the British Parliament in November 1795 was the second of the well known "Two acts" (also known as the "Gagging Acts" The Treasonable Practices' Act was one of two acts introduced by the government in the wake of the stoning of King George III on his way to open parliament in 1795 the other being the Seditious In Law, treason is the Crime that covers some of the more serious acts of disloyalty to one's sovereign or Nation. Fox spoke ten times in the debate on the acts. ^[51] He argued that, according to the principles of the proposed legislation, Pitt should have been transported a decade before in 1785, when he had beeing advocating parliamentary reform. Year 1785 ( MDCCLXXXV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common ^[52] Fox warned the Commons that

“

"if you silence remonstrance and stifle complaint, you then leave no other alternative but force and violence. "[53]

”

He argued that "the best security for the due maintenance of the constitution was in the strict and incessant vigilance of the people over parliament itself. Meetings of the people, therefore, for the discussion of public objects were not merely legal, but laudable. "^[2]

Parliament passed the acts. But Fox enjoyed a swell of extra-parliamentary support during the course of the controversy. A substantial petitioning movement arose in support of him, and on 16 November, 1795, he addressed a public meeting of between two- and thirty-thousand people on the subject. Year 1795 ( MDCCXCV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a ^[54] However, this came to nothing in the long run. The Foxites were becoming disenchanted with the Commons, overwhelmingly dominated by Pitt, and began to denounce it to one another as unrepresentative. ^[55]

1797-1806: Political wilderness

By May 1797, an overwhelming majority – both in and outside of Parliament – had formed in support of Pitt's war against France. Year 1797 ( MDCCXCVII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Fox's following in Parliament had shrivelled to about 25, compared with around 55 in 1794 and at least 90 during the 1780s. Year 1794 ( MDCCXCIV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Many of the Foxites purposefully seceded from Parliament in 1797; Fox himself retired for lengthy periods to his wife's house in Surrey. Year 1797 ( MDCCXCVII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. ^[56] The distance from the stress and noise of Westminster was an enormous psychological and spiritual relief to Fox,^[57] but still he defended his earlier principles: "It is a great comfort to me to reflect how steadily I have opposed this war, for the miseries it seems likely to produce are without end. "^[2]

After the Peace of Amiens (which he welcomed wholeheartedly) Fox joined the thousands of English tourists flocking across the Channel to see the sights of the revolution. The Treaty of Amiens temporarily ended the hostilities between France and the United Kingdom during the French Revolutionary Wars. Fox and his retinue were kept under surveillance by officials from the British embassy during their trip of 20 July to 17 November. ^[4] In Paris, he presented his wife, Elizabeth Armistead, for the first time in seven years of marriage, creating yet another stir back at court in London, and had three interviews with Napoleon, who – though he tried to flatter his most prominent British sympathiser – had to spend most of the time arguing about the freedom of the press and the perniciousness of a standing army. Elizabeth Armistead ( 11 July 1750 &ndash 8 July 1842) was a Courtesan and later the wife of Statesman and Politician Napoleon Bonaparte (15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821 was a French military and political leader who had a significant impact on the History of Europe. ^[4] Fox thought the coup d'état that brought Napoleon to power "a very bad beginning … the manner of the thing [was] quite odious",^[58] but he was convinced that the French leader sincerely desired peace in order to consolidate his rule and rebuild his shattered country. Upon hearing of the spectacular French victories at Ulm and Austerlitz later in 1805, Fox commented

“

These are wonders indeed but they are not much more than I expected. The Battle of Ulm ( October 16 - 19, 1805) was a series of minor skirmishes at the end of Napoleon Bonaparte's Ulm Campaign, culminating The Battle of Austerlitz (Bitva u Slavkova also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of Napoleon's greatest victories effectively destroying the Year 1805 ( MDCCCV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or [59]

”

1806: Final year

After Pitt’s resignation in February 1801, Fox had undertaken a partial return to politics. Joseph Nollekens ( August 11, 1737 - April 23, 1823) was a sculptor from London generally considered to be the finest British Year 1801 ( MDCCCI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting on Tuesday Having opposed the Addington ministry (though he approved of its negotiation of the Peace of Amiens) as a Pitt-style tool of the King, Fox gravitated towards the Grenvillite faction, which shared his support for Catholic emancipation and composed the only parliamentary alternative to a coalition with the Pittites. Henry Addington 1st Viscount Sidmouth, PC (30 May 1757 &ndash 15 February 1844 was a British statesman and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from The Treaty of Amiens temporarily ended the hostilities between France and the United Kingdom during the French Revolutionary Wars. William Wyndham Grenville 1st Baron Grenville PC (25 October 1759 &ndash 12 January 1834 was a British Whig Statesman and Prime Minister Catholic Emancipation (Fuascailt na gCaitliceach or Catholic Relief, was a process in Great Britain and Ireland in the late 18th century and early 19th Thus, when Pitt (who had replaced Addington in 1804 to become Prime Minister once more) died on 23 January, 1806, Fox was the last remaining great political figure of the era, and could no longer be denied a place in government. Year 1804 ( MDCCCIV) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a ^[2] When Grenville formed a "Ministry of All the Talents" out of his supporters, the followers of Addington and the Foxites, Fox was once again offered the post of Foreign Secretary, which he accepted. The Ministry of All the Talents was formed by William Wyndham Grenville 1st Baron Grenville on his appointment as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on Though the administration failed to achieve either Catholic emancipation or peace with France, Fox’s last great achievement would be the abolition of the slave trade in 1807. See also Atlantic slave trade, Abolitionism The Slave Trade Act (citation 47 Geo III Sess Year 1807 ( MDCCCVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Though Fox would die before abolition was formalized, he oversaw a Foreign Slave Trade Bill in spring 1806 that prohibited British subjects from contributing to the trading of slaves with the colonies of Britain’s wartime enemies, thus eliminating two-thirds of the slave trade passing through British ports. Year 1806 ( MDCCCVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common

On 10 June, 1806, Fox offered a resolution for total abolition to Parliament: "this House, conceiving the African slave trade to be contrary to the principles of justice, humanity, and sound policy, will, with all practicable expedition, proceed to take effectual measures for abolishing the said trade…" The House of Commons voted 114 to 15 in favour and the Lords approved the motion on 25 June. Year 1806 ( MDCCCVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common ^[2] Fox said that:

“

So fully am I impressed with the vast importance and necessity of attaining what will be the object of my motion this night, that if, during the almost forty years that I have had the honour of a seat in parliament, I had been so fortunate as to accomplish that, and that only, I should think I had done enough, and could retire from public life with comfort, and the conscious satisfaction, that I had done my duty. [4]

”

Death

Fox died – still in office – at Chiswick House, west of London, in 1806, not eight months after the younger Pitt. Chiswick House is a neo- Palladian Villa in Burlington Lane Chiswick, in the London Borough of Hounslow. Year 1806 ( MDCCCVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common An autopsy revealed a hardened liver, thirty-five gallstones, and around seven pints of transparent fluid in his abdomen. In Medicine, gallstones (choleliths are Crystalline bodies formed within the body by accretion or concretion of normal or abnormal Bile component ^[4] Fox also left £10,000-worth of debts,^[60] though this was only a quarter of the £40,000 that the charitable public had to raise to pay off Pitt's arrears. ^[4] Although Fox had wanted to be buried near his home in Chertsey, his funeral took place in Westminster Abbey on 10 October 1806, the anniversary of his initial election for Westminster in 1780. Chertsey is a town in Surrey, England, on the River Thames and its tributary rivers such as the River Bourne. The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, which is almost always referred to by its original name of Westminster Abbey, is a large mainly Gothic church Unlike Pitt's, Fox's funeral was a private affair, but still the crowds who turned out to pay their respects were at least as large as those at his rival's service. ^[4]

Private life

Fox's private life (as far as it was private) was notorious, even in an age noted for the licentiousness of its upper classes. Fox was famed for his rakishness and his drinking; vices which were both indulged frequently and immoderately. Fox was also an infamous gambler, once claiming that winning was the greatest pleasure in the world, and losing the second greatest. Between 1772 and 1774, Fox's father had – shortly before dying – had to pay off £120,000 of Charles' debts; the equivalent of around £11 million at today's prices. Year 1772 ( MDCCLXXII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Year 1774 ( MDCCLXXIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Fox was twice bankrupted between 1781 and 1784^[4], and at one point his creditors confiscated his furniture. Year 1781 ( MDCCLXXXI) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Year 1784 ( MDCCLXXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year ^[2] Fox's finances were often "more the subject of conversation than any other topic. "^[61]

In appearance, Fox was dark, corpulent and hairy, to the extent that when he was born his father compared him to a monkey. ^[4] His round face was dominated by his luxuriant eyebrows, with the result that he was known among the Whigs as 'the Eyebrow. ' Though he became increasingly dishevelled and fat in middle age, the young Fox had been a very fashionable figure; in particular, he had been the leader of the 'Maccaroni' set of extravagant young followers of Continental fashions. Fox enjoyed riding and cricket but, in the latter case, the combination of his impulsive nature and considerable weight led to his often being run out between wickets. ^[4]

Fox was also probably the most ridiculed figure of the 18th century – most famously by Gillray, for whom he served as a stock Jacobin villain. James Gillray, sometimes spelled Gilray (born August 13, 1757 in Chelsea; died June 1, 1815) was a British The King regarded Fox as beyond morality and the corruptor of his own eldest son, and the swelling late eighteenth-century movements of Christian evangelism and middle-class 'respectability' also frowned on his excesses. However, Fox was apparently not greatly bothered by these criticisms, and indeed kept a collection of his caricatures. ^[4] His friend, Frederick Howard, 5th Earl of Carlisle, said of him that, since "the respect of the world was not easily retrievable, he became so callous to what was said of him, as never to repress a single thought, or even temper a single expression when he was before the public. Frederick Howard 5th Earl of Carlisle, KG, KT, PC ( May 28, 1748 – September 4, 1825) was an English "^[62] Indeed, particularly after 1794, Fox could be considered at fault for rarely consulting the opinions of anyone outside of his own circle of friends and supporters. Year 1794 ( MDCCXCIV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a ^[4]

Fox was also regarded as a notorious womaniser in a period when a mistress was a practical necessity for a London gentleman. Notably, between 1783 and 1784 he probably conducted an affair with Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire. Year 1783 ( MDCCLXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or Year 1784 ( MDCCLXXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Georgiana Cavendish Duchess of Devonshire ( June 7, 1757 – March 30, 1806) born Georgiana Spencer, was the first wife of ^[4] However, in 1784 or 1785, Fox met and fell in love with Elizabeth Armistead, a former courtesan and mistress of the Prince of Wales who had little interest in politics or Parliament. Year 1784 ( MDCCLXXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Year 1785 ( MDCCLXXXV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Elizabeth Armistead ( 11 July 1750 &ndash 8 July 1842) was a Courtesan and later the wife of Statesman and Politician ^[63] He married her in a private ceremony at Wyton in Huntingdonshire on 28 September, 1795, but did not make the fact public until October 1802, and Elizabeth was never really accepted at court. Wyton may refer to the following places in England Wyton Cambridgeshire Wyton East Riding of Yorkshire Wyton History The earliest English settlers in the district were the Gyrwas, an East Anglian tribe who early in the 6th century worked their way up the Ouse and the Cam Year 1795 ( MDCCXCV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Year 1802 ( MDCCCII) was a Common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar or a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Fox would increasingly spend time away from Parliament at Armistead's rural villa, St. Anne's Hill, near Chertsey in Surrey, where Armistead's influence gradually moderated Fox's wilder behaviour and together they would read, garden, explore the countryside and entertain friends. Chertsey is a town in Surrey, England, on the River Thames and its tributary rivers such as the River Bourne. Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. In his last days, the sceptical Fox allowed scriptural readings at his bedside in order to please his religious wife. She would survive him by some thirty-six years, dying on 8 July, 1842, at the age of ninety-one. Year 1842 ( MDCCCXLII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common ^[4]

Despite his celebrated flaws, history records Fox as an amiable figure. The Tory wit George Selwyn wrote that, "I have passed two evenings with him, and never was anybody so agreeable, and the more so from his having no pretensions to it. George Augustus Selwyn ( 11 August, 1719 &ndash 25 January, 1791) was a Member of Parliament (MP in the Parliament of Great " Edward Gibbon remarked that "Perhaps no human being was ever more perfectly exempt from the taint of malevolence, vanity, or falsehood. Edward Gibbon ( April 27, 1737 January 16, 1794) was an English historian and Member of Parliament. "^[2] Central to understanding Fox's life was his view that "friendship was the only real happiness in the world. "^[64] For Fox, politics was the extension of his activities at Newmarket and Brooks's to Westminster. Brooks's is a London Gentlemen's club, founded in 1764 by 27 men including four Dukes At an early date it was the meeting place for Whigs of the highest ^[4] "Fox had little or no interest in the exercise of power. "^[65] The details of policy – particularly of economics – bored him, in contrast with the intensity of Burke’s legal pursuit of Warren Hastings, and of Pitt’s prosecution of the war against France. Moreover, the Foxites were the "the witty and wicked" satellites of their leader, as much friends as political allies. ^[66] Indeed, Fox's generous nature (helped by his earlier over-indulgence by his father) made him a rather hopeless political party-leader, often seeming quite unwilling to cajole or discipline his unruly supporters, especially in the case of the young, who were disproportionately represented among the Foxites. Perhaps one great testament to Fox's character is that subscriptions to the old Whig club of Brooks's would decline on the rare occasions when he was called away to government office, because one of the prime entertainments would no longer be available. Brooks's is a London Gentlemen's club, founded in 1764 by 27 men including four Dukes At an early date it was the meeting place for Whigs of the highest ^[4]

Legacy

Although in modern times Fox is a less well remembered historical and political figure, especially when compared with his rival Pitt, he had been a quasi-deified presence in the Whiggism of the early nineteenth century, which kindly tended to gloss over his unwholesome habits and equivocation over parliamentary reform. Chertsey is a town in Surrey, England, on the River Thames and its tributary rivers such as the River Bourne. William Pitt the Younger (28 May 1759 &ndash 23 January 1806 was a British politician of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar ^[4] Strikingly, particularly after 1794, the word 'Whig' gave way to the word 'Foxite' as the self-description of the members of the opposition to Pitt. Year 1794 ( MDCCXCIV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a In many ways, the Pittite-Foxite division of Parliament after the French Revolution established the basis for the ideological Conservative-Liberal divide of the nineteenth century. The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative and Unionist Party) is a Political party in the United Kingdom. The Liberal Party was one of the two major British political parties from the early 19th century until the rise of the Labour Party in the 1920s and a third party Fox and Pitt went down in parliamentary history as legendary political and oratorical opponents who would not be equalled until the days of Gladstone and Disraeli more than half a century later. Benjamin Disraeli 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, KG, PC, FRS (born Benjamin D'Israeli; 21 December 1804 &ndash 19 April 1881 was Even Fox’s great rival was willing to acknowledge the old Whig’s talents. When, in 1790, the comte de Mirabeau disparaged Fox in Pitt's presence, Pitt stopped him, saying, "You have never seen the wizard within the magic circle. Honoré Gabriel Riqueti Comte de Mirabeau ( March 9, 1749 &ndash April 2, 1791) was a French writer popular orator and statesman "^[67]

As Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey asked a Newcastle-upon-Tyne Fox dinner in 1819: "What subject is there, whether of foreign or domestic interest, or that in the smallest degree affects our Constitution which does not immediately associate itself with the memory of Mr Fox?"^[4] Fox's name was invoked numerous times in debates by supporters of Catholic Emancipation and the Great Reform Act in the early nineteenth century. Bloomsbury Square is a garden square in Bloomsbury, Camden, London. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Charles Grey 2nd Earl Grey, KG, PC (13 March 1764 &ndash 17 July 1845 known as Viscount Howick between 1806 and 1807 was a British Newcastle upon Tyne ( (often shortened to Newcastle) is a city and Metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, England Year 1819 ( MDCCCXIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar in the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common year Catholic Emancipation (Fuascailt na gCaitliceach or Catholic Relief, was a process in Great Britain and Ireland in the late 18th century and early 19th The Representation of the People Act 1832, commonly known as the Reform Act 1832, was an Act of Parliament that introduced wide-ranging changes to the electoral system John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford kept a bust of Fox in his pantheon of Whig grandees at Woburn Abbey and erected a statue of him in Bloomsbury Square. John Russell 6th Duke of Bedford KG PC LLD FSA ( 6 July 1766 &ndash 20 October 1839) was a younger Bloomsbury Square is a garden square in Bloomsbury, Camden, London. Sarah Siddons kept a portrait of Fox in her dressing room. Sarah Siddons ( 5 July 1755 &ndash 8 June 1831) was a British actress, the best-known Tragedienne of the In 1811, the Prince of Wales took the oaths of office as regent with a bust of Fox at his side. Year 1811 ( MDCCCXI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Whig households would collect locks of Fox's hair, books of his conflated speeches and busts in his likeness. The Fox Club was established in London in 1790 and held the first of its Fox dinners - annual events celebrating Fox's birthday - in 1808; the last recorded dinner taking place at Brooks's in 1907. The Fox Club is a traditional Gentlemen's club housed in the former London home of Charles James Fox, a British whig. Year 1790 ( MDCCXC) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Year 1808 ( MDCCCVIII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Brooks's is a London Gentlemen's club, founded in 1764 by 27 men including four Dukes At an early date it was the meeting place for Whigs of the highest Year 1907 ( MCMVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year ^[4]

In addition, the town of Foxborough in Massachusetts was named in honour of the staunch supporter of American independence. Foxborough is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, approximately 22 miles (35 km southwest of Boston and 18 miles (29 km The Commonwealth of Massachusetts ( is a state located in the New England region of the northeastern United States. In this article the inhabitants of the thirteen colonies that supported the American Revolution are primarily referred to as "Americans" with occasional references to "Patriots" Fox is remembered in his home town of Chertsey by a bust on a high plinth (pictured right), erected in 2006 in a new development by the railway station. Chertsey railway station serves the town of Chertsey in the Runnymede District of Surrey, England. Fox is also commemorated in a termly dinner held in his honour at his alma mater, Hertford College, Oxford, by students of English, history and the romance languages. Hertford College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England.

Fox featured as a character in the 1994 movie The Madness of King George, portrayed by Jim Carter, and in the 2007 movie Amazing Grace, played by Michael Gambon. Year 1994 ( MCMXCIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar) This article is about the 1994 film For the play by Alan Bennett see The Madness of George III (play and for a 2004 political satire see The Madness of King George Jim Carter (born 1948 is an English actor His film credits include Shakespeare in Love, Richard III, and The Madness Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century.

Ancestry

Charles James Fox's ancestors in three generations

Charles James Fox	Father Henry Fox, 1st Baron Holland	Father's father Sir Stephen Fox	Father's father's father William Fox
			Father's father's mother Elizabeth Pavey
		Father's mother Christiana Hope	Father's mother's father Rev. Henry Fox 1st Baron Holland, PC ( 28 September 1705 &ndash 1 July 1774 in Holland House) was an English Sir Stephen Fox ( March 27, 1627 – October 28, 1716) was an English Politician. Francis Hope
			Father's mother's mother Christian Palfreyman
	Mother Lady Caroline Lennox	Mother's father Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond	Mother's father's father Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond and Lennox
			Mother's father's mother Anne Brudenell
		Mother's mother Lady Sarah Cadogan	Mother's mother's father William Cadogan, 1st Earl Cadogan
			Mother's mother's mother Margaret Cecilia Munter

Notes

Bibliography

• Mitchell, Leslie, Charles James Fox (1992)
• Mitchell, Leslie, 'Fox, Charles James (1749–1806)' in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (2004); online edn, Oct 2007 [1], accessed 8 March 2008
• Pares, Richard, King George III and the Politicians (1953) online edition
• Powell, Jim, 'Charles James Fox, Valiant Voice for Liberty' in The Freeman: Ideas on Liberty, Vol. The Dictionary of National Biography ( DNB) is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history published from 1885 46 No. 9 (September 1996) [2]
• Reid, Loren, Charles James Fox: A Man for the People (1969)
• Rudé, George, Wilkes & Liberty (1962)
• Thompson, E.P., The Making of the English Working Class (1963)
• Trevelyan, George Otto. Edward Palmer Thompson ( February 3, 1924, Oxford &ndash August 28, 1993, Worcester) was an English historian Trevelyan is a rare Cornish surname (and less commonly a first name George the Third and Charles Fox: The Concluding Part of the American Revolution. (1912) 2 vol online edition vol 1, online edition v2
• Trevelyan, George Otto. The Early History of Charles James Fox (1880) online edition
• Watson, J. Steven, The Reign of George III, 1760-1815 (1960) online edition

Primary sources

• Charles James Fox. The Speeches of the Right Honourable Charles James Fox in the House of Commons (1853); 862 pages; online edition

External links

• Works by Charles James Fox at Project Gutenberg
  • History of the Early Part of the Reign of James the Second, available at Project Gutenberg. Project Gutenberg, abbreviated as PG, is a volunteer effort to Digitize, archive and distribute Cultural works Project Gutenberg, abbreviated as PG, is a volunteer effort to Digitize, archive and distribute Cultural works
• Guardian article on Fox as the 200th anniversary of his death approaches
• BBC article

Political offices
Preceded by New Office	Foreign Secretary 1782	Succeeded by The Lord Grantham
Preceded by Lord North	Leader of the House of Commons 1782	Succeeded by Thomas Townshend
Preceded by The Lord Grantham	Foreign Secretary 1783	Succeeded by The Earl Temple
Preceded by Thomas Townshend	Leader of the House of Commons jointly with Lord North 1783	Succeeded by William Pitt
Preceded by The Lord Mulgrave	Foreign Secretary 1806	Succeeded by Viscount Howick
Preceded by William Pitt	Leader of the House of Commons 1806

The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, commonly referred to as the Foreign Secretary, is a member of the United Kingdom Government heading the Thomas Robinson 2nd Baron Grantham, PC, ( Vienna, 30 November 1738 &ndash 20 July 1786) British politician and statesman Frederick North 2nd Earl of Guilford, KG, PC (13 April 1732 &ndash 5 August 1792 more often known by his courtesy title Lord North, which he used from The Leader of the House of Commons is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom who is responsible for arranging government business in the House of Commons Thomas Townshend 1st Viscount Sydney ( 24 February 1732 - 30 June 1800) was a British politician who held several important Cabinet posts in Thomas Robinson 2nd Baron Grantham, PC, ( Vienna, 30 November 1738 &ndash 20 July 1786) British politician and statesman The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, commonly referred to as the Foreign Secretary, is a member of the United Kingdom Government heading the George Nugent-Temple-Grenville 1st Marquess of Buckingham ( 17 June 1753 &ndash 11 February 1813) was a British statesman he Thomas Townshend 1st Viscount Sydney ( 24 February 1732 - 30 June 1800) was a British politician who held several important Cabinet posts in The Leader of the House of Commons is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom who is responsible for arranging government business in the House of Commons Frederick North 2nd Earl of Guilford, KG, PC (13 April 1732 &ndash 5 August 1792 more often known by his courtesy title Lord North, which he used from William Pitt the Younger (28 May 1759 &ndash 23 January 1806 was a British politician of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Henry Phipps 1st Earl of Mulgrave ( 14 February 1755 &ndash 7 April 1831) was a British politician The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, commonly referred to as the Foreign Secretary, is a member of the United Kingdom Government heading the Charles Grey 2nd Earl Grey, KG, PC (13 March 1764 &ndash 17 July 1845 known as Viscount Howick between 1806 and 1807 was a British William Pitt the Younger (28 May 1759 &ndash 23 January 1806 was a British politician of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The Leader of the House of Commons is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom who is responsible for arranging government business in the House of Commons

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