William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham

William Pitt was born 15 November 1708 and entered Parliament as a Whig who made his name attacking the government - Walpole's corruption in the 1730s, Hanoverian subsidies in the 1740s. From 1756 to 1761, with a brief interlude in 1757, he led the British cabinet through the Seven Years' War, including the French and Indian War in America, his brilliant rhetoric and single-minded devotion to victory over France solidifying Britain's dominance over world affairs. He finally accepted a title in 1766, becoming the 1st Earl of Chatham, and served as Prime Minister from 1766 to 1768, holding the official post of Lord Privy Seal. Out of power for most of his career, he kept attacking: peace with France in the 1760s, policy toward the American colonies in the 1770s, his support for the American position marking his final years. He died 11 May 1778, ranked highly by scholars not for family connections but for the extraordinary parliamentary skills that made him master of the Commons.