Biography of William Arthur Henry Cavendish-Bentinck, 7th Duke of Portland (1893-1977)
- [Hans] William Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland (1649-1709)
- [William] Henry Bentinck, 1st Duke of Portland (1682-1726)
- William Bentinck, 2nd Duke of Portland (1709-1762)
- Margaret Cavendish-Bentinck, Duchess of Portland (1715-1785)
- John Albert Bentinck (1737-1775; naval captain and M.P.)
- William Henry Cavendish Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland (1738-1809)
- William Henry Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck, 4th Duke of Portland (1768-1854)
- Lord William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck (1774-1839; M.P. and Governor General of India)
- William John Cavendish-Bentinck-Scott, 5th Duke of Portland (1800-1879)
- Lord [William] George Frederic Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck (1802-1848)
- Lord [William] Henry Cavendish-Bentinck (1804-1870)
- William John Arthur Charles James Cavendish-Bentinck, 6th Duke of Portland (1857-1943)
- Winifred Anna Cavendish-Bentinck, Duchess of Portland (1863-1954)
- William Arthur Henry Cavendish-Bentinck, 7th Duke of Portland (1893-1977)
- Ferdinand William Cavendish-Bentinck, 8th Duke of Portland (1888-1980)
- Victor Frederick William Cavendish-Bentinck, 9th Duke of Portland (1897-1990)
- Henry Noel Bentinck, 11th Earl of Portland (1919-1997)
- Timothy Charles Robert Noel Bentinck, 12th Earl of Portland (b 1953)
William was the son of the 6th Duke of Portland and, like his father, was educated at Eton. He then attended Sandhurst before embarking on a military career, serving in the Royal Horse Guards and seeing active service in France during the First World War.
In 1922 he entered politics, having been elected as Conservative M.P. for the Newark division of Nottinghamshire, a constituency which he continued to serve until he succeeded as Duke of Portland in 1943. He served as an assistant government whip between 1927 and 1928, and was a junior Lord of the Treasury between 1928 and 1929.
Other honours held by the 7th Duke included that of Lord Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire (1939-1962), Deputy Lieutenant of Caithness-shire and Chancellor of the University of Nottingham (1954-1971). It was the 7th Duke who deposited the Portland (Welbeck) Collection at the University in 1949.
Family
In 1915 he married Ivy Gordon-Lennox (1887-1982), daughter of Lord Algernon Gordon-Lennox, 2nd son of the 6th Duke of Richmond, and had:
- Alexandra Margaret Anne (b 1916), unmarried
Archive Collections
Published Sources
- There are apparently no publications relating to the 7th duke.