November 15 — William Pitt, Earl of Chatham Defender of America
The Colonists are... equally entitled with yourselves to all the natural rights of mankind, and the peculiar privileges of Englishmen.
William Pitt
He at once breathed his own lofty spirit into the Country he served, as he communicated something of his own grandeur to the men who served him.
“No man,” said a soldier of the time, “ever entered Mr. Pitt’s closet, who did not feel himself braver when he came out, than when he went in.”
John Richard Green
He stands in the annals of Europe, “an illustrious and venerable name,” admired by countrymen and strangers, by all to whom loftiness of moral principle and greatness of talent are objects of regard.
Thomas Carlyle
William Pitt was born in England, November 15, 1708
Created Earl of Chatham, 1766
He died May 11, 1778
He was known “as the Great Commoner,” while in the House of Commons; as “Chatham,” after he entered the House of Lords; and as “the Elder Pitt,” to distinguish him from his son William Pitt, called “the Younger,” who likewise was a great statesman.
There are American towns and cities named in honour of William Pitt, our Defender; among them, Pittsburgh, Penn.; Chatham, N. Y.; and Pittsfield, Mass.