William Pitt the Younger

William Pitt the Younger became Prime Minister on December 19, 1783, at the age of 24, the youngest in British history. He formed a government after the fall of the Fox-North Coalition, winning a general election in 1784 that gave him a strong parliamentary majority.

Pitt's India Act established dual control of British India by the British government and the East India Company. It created a Board of Control in London to oversee political and military affairs, while leaving commercial operations to the Company. This reformed colonial administration.

Pitt led Britain into the French Revolutionary Wars in 1793 and continued as prime minister during the early Napoleonic Wars. He organized coalitions against France, secured naval victories, and managed domestic unrest, but resigned in 1801 after military setbacks and the Act of Union with Ireland.

Pitt secured the passage of the Act of Union in 1800, which united Great Britain and Ireland into the United Kingdom on January 1, 1801. He intended to follow this with Catholic emancipation, but King George III's opposition led to Pitt's resignation in 1801.

Pitt returned as Prime Minister in May 1804, but his health declined. He died on January 23, 1806, shortly after hearing news of Napoleon's victory at Austerlitz. His last words were reported as 'Oh, my country!' His death marked the end of an era in British politics.