View source for Earl of Chatham

{{short description|Title in the Peerage of Great Britain}}
{{redirect|Lord Chatham|the holder of that title who served as British prime minister|William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham|the island in Ecuador|San Cristóbal Island}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
[[Image:William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham by William Hoare.jpg|thumb|200px|William Pitt (the Elder), 1st Earl of Chatham]]
'''Earl of Chatham''', of [[Chatham, Kent|Chatham]] in the County of [[Kent]], was a title in the [[Peerage of Great Britain]]. It was created in 1766 for [[William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham|William Pitt the Elder]] on his appointment as [[Lord Privy Seal]], along with the subsidiary title of '''Viscount Pitt''', of [[Burton Pynsent]] in the County of [[Somerset]], also in the Peerage of Great Britain.

The first earl's wife, the former [[Hester Pitt, Countess of Chatham|Lady Hester Grenville]], daughter of the [[Hester Grenville, 1st Countess Temple|1st Countess Temple]], had earlier been created the '''Baroness Chatham''', of [[Chatham, Kent|Chatham]] in the County of Kent, also in the Peerage of Great Britain, in 1761, as at that stage her husband had wished to remain a member of the [[British House of Commons|House of Commons]].

Their second son was [[William Pitt the Younger]], who became the country's youngest [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]] in 1783, at the age of 24.

Their eldest son, [[John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham|John Pitt]], inherited the earldom and viscountcy in 1778 and the barony in 1803. Upon his death in 1835, all three titles became extinct.

==Barons Chatham (1761)==
[[Image:Pitt family coat of arms.png|thumb|150px|Arms of William Pitt]]

The second creation of this title came in 1761 in favour of [[Hester Pitt, Countess of Chatham|Lady Hester Pitt]]; the first creation was for [[John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll]] and hence the [[Duke of Argyll]].

*[[Hester Pitt, Countess of Chatham|Hester Pitt, 1st Baroness Chatham]] (1720–1803)
*[[John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham|John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham, 2nd Baron Chatham]] (1756–1835)

==Earls of Chatham (1766)==
*[[William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham]] (1708–1778)
*[[John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham]] (1756–1835)

== Family tree ==
{{Viscount Cobham family tree}}

==Arms==
{{Emblem table
| image = Coat of arms of William Pitt the Elder. 1st Earl of Chatham.svg
| imagesize = 250px
| crest = A stork proper beaked and membered or, resting the dexter claw on an anchor erect cabled or.
| escutcheon =  Sable, a fess chequy argent and azure between three bezants.
| supporters = Dexter, A lion rampant guardant proper charged on the shoulder with an acorn or, slipped and leaved vert. Sinister, A buck proper attired, collared and chained or.
| motto =  ''Benigno numine'' (By Divine Providence).<ref>{{cite book |title=Burke's General Armory |year=1884 |pages=806 |URL=https://archive.org/details/generalarmoryofe00burk/page/806/mode/1up}}</ref>
}}
These arms form the basis for those of [[Flag of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania|Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania]], and the [[University of Pittsburgh]].

==See also==
*[[Earl of Londonderry|Earl of Londonderry (1726 creation)]]
*[[Baron Camelford]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Rayment|external links=y|date=February 2012}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chatham}}
[[Category:1766 establishments in Great Britain]]
[[Category:1835 disestablishments in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Extinct earldoms in the Peerage of Great Britain]]
[[Category:Noble titles created in 1766]]
[[Category:William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham]]
[[Category:Peerages created for prime ministers of the United Kingdom|Chatham]]