William Pakenham, 4th Earl of Longford


William Lygon Pakenham, 4th Earl of Longford , styled The Honourable William Pakenham before 1860, was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Conservative politician.

Early life and education

Pakenham was the second son of Thomas Pakenham, 2nd Earl of Longford, by Lady Georgiana Emma Charlotte Lygon, daughter of William Lygon, 1st Earl Beauchamp. He was educated at Winchester College and entered the army in 1837.

Military career

After service in both the Crimean War and the Indian Rebellion, Pakenham became Adjutant-General in India in November 1858. He was also colonel of the Northumberland Fusiliers from 1878 to his death.

Public life

He succeeded in the earldom in 1860 on the death of his elder brother, the third Earl and was created KCB in 1861. He sat on the Conservative benches in the House of Lords and served as Under-Secretary of State for War from 1866 to 1868 under first the Earl of Derby and later Benjamin Disraeli. In February 1870 he was voted chairman of the Central Protestant Defence Association which was established in response to the Irish Church Act 1869. He also served as Lord Lieutenant of Longford from 1874 to 1887. In Dublin, he was a member of the Kildare Street Club.
He was created KCB in the 1861 Birthday Honours and GCB in the 1881 Birthday Honours.

Family

Lord Longford married the Honourable Selina Rice-Trevor, daughter of George Rice-Trevor, 4th Baron Dynevor, in 1862. They had four surviving children: Thomas, Lord Pakenham, the Hon. Edward Michael, Lady Georgiana Frances Henrietta and Lady Catherine Louisa. Lord Longford died in April 1887, aged 68, and was succeeded in the earldom by his second but eldest surviving son. His grandson Frank Pakenham, 7th Earl of Longford, became a prominent Labour politician. The Countess of Longford survived her husband by over thirty years and died in January 1918, aged 81.