Description: Duke of Devonshire on his way to the Mayor's Parlour after unveiling Boer War memorials in the Parish church and Ashgate Drill Hall, 13th June 1906. This photo accompanied the article about the unveiling in the Derbyshire Times that week.
Victor Christian William Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire, (May 31, 1868 - May 6, 1938), previously Marquess of Hartington (1891-1908), was a Liberal Unionist Member of Parliament for West Derbyshire (1891-1908), Governor General of Canada (1916-1921), and Colonial Secretary (1922-1924). Beginning his education at Eton, he carried on his studies at Trinity College, Cambridge prior to beginning a career in politics in 1891. He married Lady Evelyn Emily Mary Fitzmaurice, eldest daughter of Lord Lansdowne (Canada's fifth Governor General), on July 30, 1892. Together, they had two sons and five daughters. Two of their daughters married ADC's to their father while he was Governor General: Lady Maud Cavendish married Captain Angus Mackintosh in 1917, and Lady Dorothy Cavendish married Captain Harold MacMillan, who later became Prime Minister of Britain, in 1920. Their youngest son, Charles Arthur Francis, married Adele Astaire, the sister of Fred Astaire, in 1932. On the death of his father in 1891, who represented West Derbyshire, he succeeded his father unopposed, becoming the youngest member of the House of Commons. He remained elected to that seat until 1908. He also acted as Treasurer to His Majesty's Household from 1900 to 1903, then Financial Secretary to the Treasury from 1903 to 1905. He was Mayor of Eastbourne from 1909-10 and of Chesterfield from 1911-12, and a Civil Lord of the British Admiralty between 1915 to 1916. He was appointed Governor General of Canada in 1916. On returning to England after his term in Canada, he worked for the League of Nations and was then Secretary of State for the Colonies until 1924. On his retirement from political life, he lived on his estate in Derbyshire until his death in 1938. Lady Evelyn died in 1960.