William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, (15 November 1708 – 11 May 1778) was a British statesman of the Whig group who led the government of Great Britain twice in the middle of the 18th century. Historians call him Pitt of Chatham, or William Pitt the Elder, to distinguish him from his son, William Pitt the Younger, who also was a prime minister. Pitt was also known as The Great Commoner, because of his long-standing refusal to accept a title until 1766. Pitt was a member of the British cabinet and its informal leader
Hester Pitt, Countess of Chatham Hester Pitt, Countess of Chatham Hester Pitt, Countess of Chatham, 1st Baroness Chatham (; 8 November 1720 – 9 April 1803), who was Baroness Chatham in her own right, was the wife of William Pitt (the Elder), 1st Earl of Chatham, who was Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1766 to 1768. The sister of George Grenville, who was Prime Minister from 1763 to 1765, she was also the mother of Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger and a niece of the noted Whig politician Richard Temple, 1st Viscount Cobham, who had served as her husband's mentor. Chatham and Elizabeth