Background
Fox-Strangways was the son of Henry Thomas Fox-Strangways, 2nd Earl of Ilchester, and his second wife Maria Digby, daughter of the Honourable William Digby.
- Photos
- Works
- Photos
- Works
William Thomas
Edit ProfileEducation
He was educated at Christ Church, Oxford, taking a Bachelor in 1816 and an Master of Arts in 1820.
Career
He served as Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs under Lord Melbourne from 1835 to 1840 and was Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the German Confederation from 1840 to 1849. Fox-Strangways served as an attaché at the British embassies in Street St. Petersburg, Constantinople, Naples and The Hague, as Secretary of Legation in Florence and Naples and as Secretary of Embassy in Vienna. The latter year he was appointed Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the German Confederation, which he remained until 1849.
In 1858 he succeeded his half-brother as fourth Earl of Ilchester and entered the House of Lords.
He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in March 1821. Lord Ilchester married Sophia Penelope Sheffield, daughter of Sir Robert Sheffield, 4th Baronet, in 1857.
They had no children. Between 1828 and 1834 Fox-Strangways donated 37 early Italian paintings to Christ Church.
There they are still shown at the Christ Church Picture Gallery.
"He also left a further 41 paintings to the Ashmolean, including Paolo Ucello"s magnificent The Hunt", to be admired there.
Membership
Royal Society; Linnean Society of London]
In 1835 he was appointed Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in the Whig administration of Lord Melbourne, a post he held until 1840 (however, he was not a Member of Parliament during this time).
-
Born
-
Died
January 10, 1865 (aged 69) -
Nationality
United Kingdom -
Political Party
Whigs