Spencer Perceval

The Right Honourable Spencer Perceval KC
Posthumous portrait by G. F. Joseph, 1812
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
In office 4 October 1809 – 11 May 1812
Monarch	George III
Regent	George, Prince Regent (1811–12)
Preceded by	The Duke of Portland
Succeeded by	The Earl of Liverpool
Chancellor of the Exchequer
In office 26 March 1807 – 11 May 1812
Prime Minister	The Duke of Portland Himself
Preceded by	Lord Henry Petty
Succeeded by	Nicholas Vansittart
Leader of the House of Commons
In office April 1807 – 11 May 1812
Prime Minister	The Duke of Portland Himself
Preceded by	The Viscount Howick
Succeeded by	The Viscount Castlereagh
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
In office 30 March 1807 – 11 May 1812
Prime Minister	The Duke of Portland Himself
Preceded by	The Earl of Derby
Succeeded by	The Earl of Buckinghamshire
Attorney General for England and Wales
In office 15 April 1802 – 12 February 1806
Prime Minister	Henry Addington William Pitt the Younger
Preceded by	Sir Edward Law
Succeeded by	Arthur Piggott
Solicitor General for England and Wales
In office 1801–1802
Prime Minister	Henry Addington
Preceded by	Sir William Grant
Succeeded by	Thomas Manners-Sutton
Member of Parliament for Northampton
In office 9 May 1796 – 11 May 1812
Preceded by	Charles Compton
Succeeded by	Spencer Compton
Personal details
Born	(1762-11-01)1 November 1762 Mayfair, Middlesex, England
Died	11 May 1812(1812-05-11) (aged 49) Westminster, Middlesex, England
Manner of death	Assassination
Resting place	St Luke's Church, Charlton
Political party	Tory
Spouse	Jane Wilson ​ (m. 1790)​
Children	13, including Spencer and John Thomas
Parent	2nd Earl of Egmont (father)
Alma mater	Trinity College, Cambridge
Signature

Spencer Perceval KC (1 November 1762 – 11 May 1812) was a British statesman and barrister who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from October 1809 until his assassination in May 1812. He is the only British prime minister to have been assassinated, and the only solicitor-general or attorney-general to have become prime minister.

The younger son of an Anglo-Irish earl, Perceval was educated at Harrow School and Trinity College, Cambridge. He studied law at Lincoln's Inn, practised as a barrister on the Midland circuit, and in 1796 became a King's Counsel. He entered politics at age 33 as a member of Parliament (MP) for Northampton. A follower of William Pitt the Younger, Perceval always described himself as a "friend of Mr. Pitt", rather than a Tory. Perceval was opposed to Catholic emancipation and reform of Parliament; he supported the war against Napoleon and the abolition of the Atlantic slave trade. He was opposed to hunting, gambling and adultery; he did not drink as much as most MPs at the time, gave generously to charity, and enjoyed spending time with his thirteen children.

After a late entry into politics, his rise to power was rapid; he was appointed as Solicitor General and then Attorney General for England and Wales in the Addington ministry, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Leader of the House of Commons in the second Portland ministry, and then became prime minister in 1809. At the head of a weak government, Perceval faced a number of crises during his term in office, including an inquiry into the Walcheren expedition, the mental illness and incapacity of King George III, economic depression, and Luddite riots. He overcame those crises, successfully pursued the Peninsular War in the face of opposition defeatism, and won the support of the Prince Regent. His position was stronger by early 1812, when, in the lobby of the House of Commons, he was assassinated by John Bellingham, a merchant with a grievance against Perceval’s government. Bellingham was hanged one week later.

Perceval had four older brothers who survived to adulthood. Through expiry of their male-line, male heirs, the earldom of Egmont passed to one of his great-grandsons in the early 20th century and became extinct in 2011.