ABSTRACT
The Younger William Pitt died almost two centuries ago. Inevitably, memories of a long-dead political leader – even one so eminent and important as Pitt – have faded from popular consciousness. No major leader was so steeped in politics from his earliest years as the younger Pitt. He is, of course, ‘Pitt the Younger’ because of ‘Pitt the Elder’. This Pitt, also a William, was Prime Minister when his second son was born on 28 May 1759, the greatest year of his prime ministership, since a string of impressive military and naval victories vindicated his bold strategy during the so-called Seven Years’ War. Pitt did reside in Lincoln’s Inn for a time in 1780 but it was always clear that his passion was politics. Pitt’s early parliamentary speeches made an immediate impact. His first, on 26 February 1781, was generously applauded both by the Prime Minister, Lord North, and by North’s most eloquent critic, Charles James Fox.
