Victor Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire

The Duke of Devonshire
11th Governor General of Canada
In office
11 November 1916 – 2 August 1921
MonarchGeorge V
Prime MinisterCanadian
 • Robert Borden
 • Arthur Meighen
British
 • H. H. Asquith
 • David Lloyd George
Preceded byPrince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn
Succeeded byThe Lord Byng of Vimy
Secretary of State for the Colonies
In office
24 October 1922 – 22 January 1924
MonarchGeorge V
Prime MinisterBonar Law
Stanley Baldwin
Preceded byWinston Churchill
Succeeded byJames Henry Thomas
Civil Lord of the Admiralty
In office
25 May 1915 – 26 Jul 1916
MonarchGeorge V
Prime MinisterH. H. Asquith
Preceded byGeorge Lambert
Succeeded byThe Earl of Lytton
Financial Secretary to the Treasury
In office
9 October 1903 – 5 December 1905
MonarchEdward VII
Prime MinisterArthur Balfour
Preceded byArthur Elliot
Succeeded byReginald McKenna
Treasurer of the Household
In office
4 December 1900 – 13 October 1903
MonarchsVictoria
Edward VII
Prime MinisterThe Marquess of Salisbury
Arthur Balfour
Preceded byThe Earl Howe
Succeeded byMarquess of Hamilton
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
In office
24 March 1908 – 6 May 1938
Hereditary Peerage
Preceded byThe 8th Duke of Devonshire
Succeeded byThe 10th Duke of Devonshire
Member of Parliament
for West Derbyshire
In office
2 June 1891 – 24 March 1908
Preceded byLord Edward Cavendish
Succeeded byEarl of Kerry
Personal details
Born(1868-05-31)31 May 1868
Mayfair, London, England
Died6 May 1938(1938-05-06) (aged 69)
Chatsworth House, Derbyshire, England
Political partyLiberal Unionist
Spouse
(m. 1892)
Children
Parents
EducationEton College
Alma materTrinity College, Cambridge
ProfessionPolitician
Military service
Allegiance United Kingdom
Branch/service British Army
Years of service1890–1911
RankSecond Lieutenant
Major
UnitDerbyshire Yeomanry
Garter-encircled shield of arms of Victor Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire, KG, as displayed on his Order of the Garter stall plate in St. George's Chapel.

Victor Christian William Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire KG, GCMG, GCVO, TD, PC, JP, FRS[1] (31 May 1868 – 6 May 1938), known as Victor Cavendish until 1908, was a British peer and politician who served as Governor General of Canada.

A member of the Cavendish family, he was educated at Eton College and the University of Cambridge. After the death of his father in 1891, he entered politics, winning his father's constituency unopposed. He held that seat until he inherited his uncle's dukedom in 1908. Thereafter, he took his place in the House of Lords, while, for a period at the same time, acting as mayor of Eastbourne and Chesterfield. He held various government posts both prior to and after his rise to the peerage. In 1916 he was appointed governor general of Canada by King George V, on the recommendation of Prime Minister H. H. Asquith, to replace Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, as viceroy. He occupied that post until succeeded by Lord Byng of Vimy in 1921. The appointment was initially controversial but, by the time of his return to England, the Duke had earned praise for the way in which he carried out his official duties.

Following his tenure as governor general, he returned to political and diplomatic life, serving as Secretary of State for the Colonies between 1922 and 1924, before retiring to his estate in Derbyshire, where he died on 6 May 1938. He was the last Duke to ever hold a cabinet post.

  1. ^ Whiddington, R. (1939). "Victor Christian William Cavendish, the Duke of Devonshire. 1868-1938". Obituary Notices of Fellows of the Royal Society. 2 (7): 557–559. doi:10.1098/rsbm.1939.0016.