WILLIAM IV., King of Great Britain and Ireland, third son of George III., was. born on Aug. 21. 1765. Until 1771 he remained, along with the prince of Wales and prince Frederick, under the care of Dr. Majendie. He was then sent to Kew, where, with - prince Edward, afterward duke of Kent, lie was under the guardianship of col. Bude. On June 15, 1779, he entered the navy as midshipman on board the Prince George, 'then under rear-admiral Digby. The Prince George then joined admiral Rodney's squadron, on its way to Gibraltar. After seeing a considerable amouneof service, prince William was made a lieut. on June 17, 1783; and in the year following he received his com mission as rapt. In 1789 he was created duke of Clarence and St. Andrews. and earl of Munster, with an allowance from parliament of £12.000 a year. Subsequent to this, several acts of insubordination rendered an actual continuance of his professional career impossible. He was, however, formally promoted through the successive ranks until he was make admiral of the fleet in 1801. Meanwhile, however, he had been living. almost entirely ashore, along with Mrs. Jordan, a celebrated actress, with whom he had become connected in 1791. By her he had a family of five sons and five daughters, who
became known by the surname Fitzclarenee, and were raised to titular dignities. On July 11, 1818, he married Adelaide, eldest daughter of the duke of Saxe-Meiningen. The issue of this marriage was two daughters, both of whom died in infancy. By the death of the duke of York, in 1827, the duke of Clarence became heir-presumptive to the throne, to which he succeeded, on the death of his brother, George IV., on June 26, 1830.
The great event of the rein of William IV. was the passing of the reform bill. After a fierce and protracted struggle, the bill was read a third time i:1 the house of lords on June 4, 1832, and three days afterward it received the royal assent. The first reformed parliament met on Jan. 29, 1833. The abolition of colonial slavery. the reform the poor-laws, and of the Irish church, were the immediate results of the great constitutional change. King William died, after a short illness, on June 20,1837. He was succeeded_ by his niece, queen Victoria.