Spencer, John Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl

▪ British statesman

also called  (until 1834) Viscount Althorp  

born May 30, 1782, London

died Oct. 1, 1845, near Clayworth, Nottinghamshire, Eng.

      statesman, leader of the British House of Commons and chancellor of the Exchequer from 1830 to 1834; he greatly aided Lord John Russell (Russell, John Russell, 1st Earl, Viscount Amberley Of Amberley And Of Ardsalla) (afterward 1st Earl Russell), chief author of the Reform Bill of 1832, in securing its passage in the Commons. Courageous, honest, and sensible though not brilliant, he successfully led an ill-assorted majority of Whigs, Radicals, and Irish against an opposition powerfully directed by Sir Robert Peel.

      As Viscount Althorp, he sat in the House of Commons for 30 years, from 1804. In 1827 he declined the leadership of the Whig opposition, but in November 1830 he accepted office in the new ministry of the 2nd Earl Grey. In addition to his work on the Reform Bill, he sponsored the Factory Act of 1833 (Althorp's Act), restricting the employment of children in textile mills. His opposition to a “coercion” bill against Irish nationalists led to Grey's resignation (1834). Althorp remained in office four more months, but when he inherited the Spencer earldom and left the House of Commons, King William IV took the opportunity to dismiss (November 15) the government of Grey's successor, the 2nd Viscount Melbourne. Spencer then retired from politics.

* * *