Pelham, Henry (pĕl`əm), 1696–1754, British statesman; brother of Thomas Pelham-Holles, duke of Newcastle Newcastle, Thomas Pelham-Holles, duke of, 1693–1768, English politician, brother of Henry Pelham . He inherited (1711) the estates of his uncle, John Holles, duke of Newcastle, adopted his name, and received (1715) his title.
..... Click the link for more information. . He entered Parliament in 1717 and served Sir Robert Walpole as secretary for war (1724–30) and paymaster-general (1730–43). In 1743 he became head of a Whig ministry that was to last until 1754. His administration concluded the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748), ending the War of the Austrian Succession; it also reorganized and reduced the national debt and reformed (1752) the calendar.

Bibliography

See W. Coxe, Memoirs of the Administration of the Right Honourable Henry Pelham (1829, repr. 1971).

Pelham, Henry

(born 1696—died March 6, 1754, London, Eng.) British prime minister (1743–54). He was elected to Parliament in 1717 and, as a supporter of Robert Walpole, became secretary for war (1724) and paymaster of the forces (1730). He succeeded Walpole as prime minister and chancellor of the Exchequer in 1743 and led a stable Whig ministry with parliamentary assistance from his brother, Thomas Pelham-Holles, duke of Newcastle. Pelham resisted attempts to prolong the War of the Austrian Succession and signed the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748). After the war, he introduced financial reforms, including lower military expenditures, a reduced land tax, and a consolidation of the national debt.

Pelham, Henry (1749–1806) engraver; born in Boston, Mass. (son of Peter Pelham and half-brother of John Singleton Copley). A Loyalist, he studied engraving and painting, and joined John Singleton Copley in London (1776). He worked as an engineer and estate agent in Ireland, and is known for his historical line engraving, The Boston Massacre (1770).