William Pitt the Younger Biography

William Pitt the Younger was a British politician who became the youngest Prime Minister at the age of 24. He is best known for securing England through hard times. Born in Great Britain to the Earl of Chatham, Pitt was plagued from poor health since childhood. Despite his poor health, he was a bright child and completed his graduation from Cambridge University as a teenager. Subsequently, he was elected to the parliament at the age of 21 and later served as the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Following the battle between George III and the Charles Fox, when George III asked him to form a government, Pitt was elected the youngest man to become the British Prime Minister. His government worked to restore public finances which were severely strained after the American War of Independence, and also imposed new taxes for generating revenues. Pitt had long felt that union of England and Ireland was necessary and after French declared war on Britain, he brought in an Act of Union to merge both the countries. But he faced fierce royal opposition in his attempts to abolish restrictions on Catholicism in Ireland and was forced to resign in 1801. Three years later, with Napoleon threatening invasion, the king was forced to ask Pitt to form a government and thus he returned to Prime Minister’s office again in 1804. Later, the collapse of Third Coalition against France imposed a severe strain on Pitt's already weakened health which resulted in his death