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Cavendish, William, Duke of Newcastle 1592-1676
English soldier

The nephew of the first Earl of Devonshire, he was created Knight of the Bath by James VI and I in 1610 and Earl of Newcastle in 1628 by Charles I after munificent entertainment at the family seat at Welbeck. In 1638 he was appointed Governor to Charles's son, the future Charles II. His support for the King in the Civil War was generous. As general of all the forces north of the Trent, he had power to issue declarations, confer knighthoods, coin money and raise men; the last function he executed with great zeal. After Marston Moor (1644) he lived on the Continent, at times in great poverty, till the Restoration. In 1665 he was created Duke of Newcastle. He was the author of two works on horsemanship and of several plays.

Bibliography: Geoffrey Tease, Portrait of a Cavalier: William Cavendish, First Duke of Newcastle (1979)