Cavendish, Lucy, Lady, 1841-1925

Born Lucy Caroline Lyttelton on 5 September 1841, the second daughter of George William, 4th Lord Lyttelton, and his first wife, Mary nee Glynne. She became a Maid of Honour to Queen Victoria in 1863. She married Lord Frederick Cavendish, the second son of the Duke of Devonshire in 1864. Lord Frederick, MP, was appointed Chief Secretary for Ireland in 1882. Tragically, within a few weeks of taking up this appointment, he was assassinated in Phoenix Park, Dublin. After his death Lucy Caroline Cavendish pursued her interest in education for women, becoming President of the Yorkshire Ladies Council of Education from 1885-1912. In 1894 she became a member of the Royal Commission on Secondary Education. She also became a member of the Girls Public Day School Trust, founded by her father. In 1904 she received the first Honorary Degree bestowed by Leeds University. She died on 22 April 1925. Further information about Lucy Cavendish is available in Sheila Fletcher (1997) Victorian Girls: Lord Lyttelton's Daughters

From the guide to the Papers relating to the Cavendish Family, 1847-1925, (University of Cambridge, Lucy Cavendish College)