William Fitzwilliam, 3rd Earl Fitzwilliam (15 January 1719/1720 – 10 August 1756) was a British peer, nobleman, and politician.

Biography

William Fitzwilliam was the son of John Fitzwilliam, 2nd Earl Fitzwilliam by his wife Anne, daughter of John Stringer of Sutton cum Lound, Nottinghamshire. His sister Anne was the second wife of Francis Godolphin, 2nd Baron Godolphin. He succeeded his father as third Earl Fitzwilliam in the Peerage of Ireland on 28 August 1728. He was elected Member of Parliament for Peterborough on 4 May 1741, and sat until he was created Baron Fitzwilliam in the Peerage of Great Britain on 19 April 1742. He was made a Member of the Irish Privy Council on 6 June 1746, and further created Earl Fitzwilliam in the Peerage of Great Britain on 6 September 1746.

Marriage and issue

On 22 June 1744 at St George's, Hanover Square, Fitzwilliam married Lady Anne Watson-Wentworth, daughter of the Earl of Malton. Lord Malton was later created Marquess of Rockingham; Lady Anne's brother was the future Prime Minister Charles Watson-Wentworth. The Fitzwilliams had two sons and six daughters: Fitzwilliam died at Marholm at the age of thirty-six and was succeeded as Earl by his son William. His widow died on 29 August 1769.