Lord North

Lord North (1732-92), British statesman. Frederick North, 2^nd Earl of Guilford, was born in London and educated at Eton College and the University of Oxford. In 1754 he was elected a member of the House of Commons, where he served for almost 40 years. He was appointed to the Privy Council in 1766 and became chancellor of the Exchequer in 1767; three years later he became prime minister of Great Britain. In the latter post he was subservient to the wishes of King George III, carrying out measures for the taxation of the American colonies that he personally believed unwise. At the outbreak of the American Revolution in 1776, he advocated arranging an early peace; by 1779 he no longer believed in the possibility of a British victory over the Americans, but was persuaded by the king to continue supporting the war. In 1782, after the surrender of the British forces in America, he resigned. In the following year North formed a coalition with Charles James Fox, who had formerly led the Whig opposition to North's administration, and with whom he succeeded in overthrowing the ministry of William Petty, 2nd earl of Shelburne. Thereafter, North was a member of the opposition to the ministry of William Pitt, the Younger. He was created earl of Guilford in 1790.