William Wickham (civil servant)
William Wickham | |
|---|---|
Portrait of William Wickham | |
| Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department | |
| In office 1798–1801 | |
| Monarch | George III |
| Prime Minister | William Pitt the Younger |
| Preceded by | Charles Greville |
| Succeeded by | Edward Finch Hatton |
| Chief Secretary for Ireland | |
| In office 1802–1804 | |
| Monarch | George III |
| Prime Minister | Henry Addington |
| Preceded by | Charles Abbot |
| Succeeded by | Sir Evan Nepean, Bt |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 11 November 1761 Cottingley |
| Died | 22 October 1840 (aged 78) |
| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | Christ Church, Oxford |
William Wickham PC PC (Ire) (11 November 1761 – 22 October 1840) was a British spymaster and a director of internal security services during the French Revolutionary Wars. He was credited with disrupting radical conspiracies in England but, appointed Chief Secretary for Ireland, failed in 1803 to anticipate a republican insurrection in Dublin. He ended his career in government service in 1804, resigning his post in Ireland where, privately, he denounced government policy as unjust and oppressive.