Thomas, of Suffolk, the second Englishman that sailed round the globe, was descended from a noble family in Devonshire. Having dissipated his fortune, he resolved to repair it at the expense of the Spaniards. He sailed from Plymouth with two small ships in July 1586; passed through the straits of Magellan; took many rich prizes along the coasts of Chili and Peru; and near California, possessed himself of the St Ann, an Acapulco ship, with a cargo of immense value. He completed the circumnavigation of the globe, returning home round the Cape of Good Hope, and reached Plymouth again in September 1588. On his arrival, it is said that his soldiers and sailors were clothed in silk, his sails were damask, and his top-mast was covered with cloth of gold. His acquired riches did not last long; he reduced himself, in 1591, to the expedient of another voyage; which was far from being so successful as the former; he went no farther than the straits of Magellan, where the weather obliging him to return, he died of grief on the coast of Brazil.

Sir William, descended of an ancient and honourable family, was born about the year 1505, the second son of Thomas Cavendish of Cavendish in Suffolk, clerk of the pipe in the reign of Henry VIII. Having had a liberal education, he was taken into the family of the great Cardinal Wolsey, whom he served in the capacity of gentleman-usher of the chamber, when that superb prelate maintained the dignity of a prince. In 1527, he attended his master on his splendid embassy to France, returned with him to England, and was one of the few who continued faithful to him in his disgrace. Mr Cavendish was with him when he died, and delayed going to court till he had performed the last duty of a faithful servant by seeing his body decently interred. The king was so far from disapproving of his conduct, that he immediately took him into his household, made him treasurer of his chamber, a privy councillor, and afterwards conferred on him the order of knighthood. He was also appointed one of the commissioners for taking the surrender of religious houses. In 1540, he was nominated one of the auditors of the court of augmentations, and soon after obtained a grant of several considerable lordships in Hertfordshire. In the reign of Edward VI, his estates were much increased by royal grants in seven different counties; and he appears to have continued in high favour at court during the reign of Queen Mary. He died in the year 1557. He was the founder of Chatsworth, and ancestor of the dukes of Devonshire. He wrote "The life and death of Cardinal Wolsey;" printed at London in 1627; reprinted in 1706, under the title of "Memoirs of the great favourite Cardinal Wolsey."

William, duke of Newcastle, grandson of Sir William Cavendish, was born in 1592. In 1610, he was made knight of the Bath; in 1620, raised to the dignity of a peer, by the title of Baron Ogle, Cavendish, Ogle, and Viscount Mansfield; and in the third year of King Charles I. created earl of Newcastle upon Tyne, and Baron Cavendish of Bolefever. He was after this made governor to the prince of Wales, afterwards Charles II. When the first troubles broke out in Scotland, and the king's treasury was but indifferently provided, he contributed ten thousand pounds, and also raised a troop of horse, consisting of about two hundred knights and gentlemen, who served at their own charge, were commanded by the earl, and honoured with the title of the prince's troop. He had after this the command of the northern counties; and was constituted general and commander in chief of all the forces that might be raised north of Trent, and of several counties south of that river. He afterwards raised an army of eight thousand horse, foot, and dragoons; with which he took some towns, and gained several important victories. On this he was advanced to the dignity of marquis of Newcastle; but his majesty's affairs being totally ruined by the ruffians of Prince Rupert, he, with a few of the principal officers of the army, went abroad, and stood for some time at Paris; where, notwithstanding the vast estate he had when the civil war broke out, his circumstances were now so bad, that himself and wife were reduced to the necessity of pawning their clothes for a dinner. He afterwards removed to Antwerp, that he might be nearer his own country; and there, though under great difficulties, resided for several years; but, notwithstanding his distresses, he was treated, during an exile of eighteen years, with extraordinary marks of distinction. On his return to England at the Restoration, he was advanced to the dignity of earl of Ogle, and duke of Newcastle. He spent his time in a country retirement, and was the patron of men of merit. His grace died in 1670, aged 84. He wrote a treatise on horsemanship, which is esteemed; and some comedies, which are not.

Mr Granger observes, that he was master of many accomplishments, and was much better qualified for a court than a camp; that he understood horsemanship, music, and poetry; but was a better horseman than musician, and a better musician than poet.

Cavendish, Margaret, duchess of Newcastle, famous for her voluminous productions, was born about the latter end of the reign of James I. and was the youngest sister of Lord Lucas of Colchester. She married the duke of Newcastle abroad in 1645; and on their return after the Restoration, spent the remainder of her life in writing plays, poems, with the life of her husband, to the amount of about a dozen of folios. "What gives the best idea of her unbounded passion for scribbling (says Mr Walpole), was her seldom revising the copies of her works, left, as she said, it should disturb her following conceptions. She died in 1673.

Cavendish, William, the first duke of Devonshire, and one of the most distinguished patriots in the British annals, was born in 1640. In 1677, being then member for Derby, he vigorously opposed the venal measures of the court; and, the following year, was one of the committee appointed to draw up articles of impeachment against the lord-treasurer Danby. In 1679, being re-elected to serve for Derby in a new parliament, Charles II. thought fit to make him a privy counsellor; but he soon withdrew from the board, with his friend Lord Ruffel, when he found that Popish interest prevailed. He carried up the articles of impeachment to the house of lords, against Lord-chief-justice Scroggs, for his arbitrary and illegal proceedings in the court of king's bench; and when the king declared his resolution not to sign the bill for excluding the duke of York (afterwards James II.) he moved the house of commons, that a bill might be brought in for the association of all his majesty's Protestant subjects. He also openly named the king's evil counsellors, and voted for an address to remove them from his presence and councils for ever. He nobly appeared at Lord Ruffel's trial, in defence of that great man, at a time when it was scarce more criminal to be an accomplice than a witness for him. The same fortitude, activity, and love of his country, animated this illustrious patriot to oppose the arbitrary proceedings of James II.; and when he saw there was no other method of saving the nation from impending slavery, he was the foremost in the association for inviting over the prince of Orange, and the first nobleman who appeared in arms to receive him at his landing. He was created duke of Devonshire in 1694, by William and Mary. His last public service was in the union with Scotland, for concluding of which he was appointed a commissioner by Queen Anne. He died in 1707, and ordered the following inscription to be put on his monument.

Williamus dux Devon, Bonorum Principum Fidelis Subditus, Inimicus et Inviolatus Tyrannis.

William Duke of Devonshire, Of good Princes the faithful Subject, The Enemy and Averilon of Tyrants.

Besides being thus estimable for public virtues, his grace was distinguished by his literary accomplishments. He had a poetical genius, which showed itself particularly in two pieces written with equal spirit, dignity, and delicacy: these are, an Ode on the Death of Queen Mary; and an Allusion to the Archbishop of Cambrey's Supplement to Homer. He had great knowledge in the languages, was a true judge in history, and a critic in poetry; he had a fine hand in music, an elegant taste in painting, and in architecture had a skill equal to any person of the age in which he lived. His predecessor, Sir John Cavendish, was the person who killed the famous Watt Tyler in 1381.