William Pitt

“The Great Commoner”

By:Chris Naylon
 Early Life

 Born in London, England on November 15, 1708

 Son of Robert Pitt and Harriet Villiers
 Father was wealthy from being governor in India
 Educated at Eton and Oxford
 Suffered from Gout during life
 Took the Grand Tour
as a child
 Early Political Life
 Elected governor of Old Sarum in 1735
 Became assistant to Prince of Wales in 1738
 Sat on Committee of Enquiry, against the monetary uses of Walpole in
England
 In 1746, became Paymaster General
 In 1754, married Hester Granville, had 3 sons and 2 daughters, including
William Pitt the Younger
 Seven Years War
 Appointed secretary of state in 1756
 In charge of war and foreign affairs
 Believed Great Britain could dominate New World
 Allied with colonists and sent 40,000 troops to the New World
 Gave colonists cash reimbursements for military expenses, gained popularity
 Captured Montreal, Quebec, and Fort Duquense
 Believed in exhausting treasury for war
 Captured West Indies and French domains in New World for Great Britain
 American Revolution
 When King George came to power, Pitt resigned from office in 1761
 Against Stamp Act in Americas
 Pitt became Earl of Chatham
 Served as Prime Minister from 1766 to 1768
 End of “Great Commoner”
 Argued for peace in American colonies
 Sympathetic towards colonists
 Collapsed in House of Lords
 Death/Legacy of William Pitt
 Pitt died on May 11, 1778 at age of 69 following collapse in House of
Lords
 Great leader during the Seven Years War
 Genius Military strategist
 Very popular with American colonists
 Bibliography
 Smith, Goldwin. A History of England. New York City: Charles Scribners
Sons, 1974. Print.

 William Pitt, the Elder." US History. Web. 8 Nov 2009. <www.u-s-

history.com/pages/h1182.html>.

 William Pitt the Elder, First Earl of Chatham." Web of English History. 25,
September, 2009. Web. 8 Nov 2009. <www.historyhome.co.uk/pms/pitt-
e.htm>.