Henry Fox, 1st Baron Holland
A prominent 18th-century politician who was the father of better-known Charles James Fox
Henry Fox was a prominent English politician during the late 18th century, although he never became Prime Minister (or First Lord of the Treasury, to give the function its proper title at the time).
Born in 1705, he was educated at Eton and Oxford. He followed a typical course for wealthy young men of that age, gambling heavily, taking the grand tour to Europe, and entering Parliament in 1735. He was a supporter of the Whig administration led by Sir Robert Walpole and was rewarded with the appointment of Surveyor-General, followed by that of a Lord of the Treasury in 1743. He was appointed Secretary of War by Henry Pelham in 1746, although the role did not really match his abilities.
On the personal side, in 1744 he married Lady Catherine Lennox after an elopement. The marriage was something of a scandal at the time, but it brought Henry Fox considerable happiness, aided by the considerable fortune that he had inherited. Their son, Charles James, would eventually become an even more celebrated politician than his father.
After the death of Henry Pelham in 1754, Fox sided temporarily with his rival and opposite, William Pitt. Pelham’s brother, the Duke of Newcastle, became…