William Cavendish, 1st Earl of Devonshire

William Cavendish was the second son of Sir William Cavendish and Bess of Hardwick. Following his father's death and his mother's remarriage to Sir William St Loe he and his elder brother Henry were sent to Eton. He then entered Clare College, Cambridge in 1567, around the time of his mother's marriage to George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, and was admitted to Gray's Inn in 1572 to complete his education. Shrewsbury had promised considerable sums to Cavendish and his younger brother Charles, when they reached 21. In lieu of this Shrewsbury agreed in 1572 that William and Charles should inherit the lands that Bess had brought to the marriage. ==Career==

By 1584 his mother had purchased land for him worth £15,900 and his standing as a justice of the peace in Derbyshire meant that he was named of the quorum. He was appointed High Sheriff of Derbyshire for 1595. He also invested in the Russia Company, Somers Island Company, and North-West Passage Company, and very heavily but successfully in the East India Company. he was reported to have paid £10,000 for the title. ==Death and legacy==

He died on 3 March 1626, and was buried at St Peter's Church, Edensor. The 1st Earl of Devonshire and his brother Henry (died 1616) are commemorated through the Cavendish Memorial inside the church, a magnificent early-17th-century church monument. ==Family==

His first wife was Anne Kighley or Keighley, daughter of Henry Kighley of Keighley, Yorkshire, circa 21 March 1580. ==References==