Spencer Perceval

Spencer Perceval
Posthumous portrait by G. F. Joseph, 1812
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
In office
4 October 1809 – 11 May 1812
MonarchGeorge III
RegentGeorge, Prince Regent (1811–12)
Preceded byThe Duke of Portland
Succeeded byThe Earl of Liverpool
Chancellor of the Exchequer
In office
26 March 1807 – 11 May 1812
Prime Minister
  • The Duke of Portland
  • Himself
Preceded byLord Henry Petty
Succeeded byNicholas Vansittart
Leader of the House of Commons
In office
April 1807 – 11 May 1812
Prime Minister
  • The Duke of Portland
  • Himself
Preceded byThe Viscount Howick
Succeeded byThe Viscount Castlereagh
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
In office
30 March 1807 – 11 May 1812
Prime Minister
  • The Duke of Portland
  • Himself
Preceded byThe Earl of Derby
Succeeded byThe Earl of Buckinghamshire
Attorney General for England and Wales
In office
15 April 1802 – 12 February 1806
Prime Minister
Preceded bySir Edward Law
Succeeded byArthur Piggott
Solicitor General for England and Wales
In office
1801–1802
Prime MinisterHenry Addington
Preceded bySir William Grant
Succeeded byThomas Manners-Sutton
Member of Parliament
for Northampton
In office
9 May 1796 – 11 May 1812
Preceded byCharles Compton
Succeeded bySpencer Compton
Personal details
Born(1762-11-01)1 November 1762
Mayfair, Middlesex, England
Died11 May 1812(1812-05-11) (aged 49)
Westminster, Middlesex, England
Manner of deathAssassination
Resting placeSt Luke's Church, Charlton
Political partyTory
Spouse
(m. 1790)
Children13, including Spencer and John Thomas
Parent
Alma materTrinity College, Cambridge
SignatureCursive signature in ink

Spencer Perceval KC (1 November 1762 – 11 May 1812) was a British statesman and barrister who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from October 1809 until his assassination in May 1812. He is the only British prime minister to have been assassinated, and the only solicitor-general or attorney-general to have become prime minister.

The younger son of an Anglo-Irish earl, Perceval was educated at Harrow School and Trinity College, Cambridge. He studied law at Lincoln's Inn, practised as a barrister on the Midland circuit, and in 1796 became a King's Counsel. He entered politics at age 33 as a member of Parliament (MP) for Northampton. A follower of William Pitt the Younger, Perceval always described himself as a "friend of Mr. Pitt", rather than a Tory. He was opposed to Catholic emancipation and reform of Parliament; he supported the war against Napoleon and the abolition of the Atlantic slave trade.

After a late entry into politics, his rise to power was rapid; he was appointed as Solicitor General and then Attorney General for England and Wales in the Addington ministry, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Leader of the House of Commons in the second Portland ministry, and then became prime minister in 1809. At the head of a weak government, Perceval faced a number of crises during his term in office, including an inquiry into the Walcheren expedition, the mental illness and incapacity of King George III, economic depression, and Luddite riots. He overcame those crises, successfully pursued the Peninsular War in the face of opposition defeatism, and won the support of the Prince Regent. His position was stronger by early 1812, when, in the lobby of the House of Commons, he was assassinated by John Bellingham, a merchant with a grievance against his government. Bellingham was hanged one week later.

Perceval had four older brothers who survived to adulthood. Through expiry of their male-line, male heirs, the earldom of Egmont passed to one of his great-grandsons in the early 20th century and became extinct in 2011.