John Petty, 1st Earl Of Shelburne

John Petty Fitzmaurice, 1st Earl of Shelburne (1706 – 14 May 1761), was an Anglo-Irish peer and politician. His career included service in both the Irish and British parliaments, and he was the father of William Petty FitzMaurice, who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1782 to 1783.

Born in 1706, John FitzMaurice was the second son of Thomas FitzMaurice, 1st Earl of Kerry, and his wife Anne, daughter of Sir William Petty (1623–1687). His familial connections included his elder brother William FitzMaurice, 2nd Earl of Kerry, as well as his uncles Charles Petty, 1st Baron Shelburne, and Henry Petty, 1st Earl of Shelburne. FitzMaurice received education at Westminster School and was called to the Bar at Middle Temple in 1727.

In 1751, upon the death of his uncle, the Earl of Shelburne, who died childless, FitzMaurice inherited his uncle's estates. Subsequently, he adopted the surname Petty by an Act of Parliament, changing from FitzMaurice to Petty. Later that year, he was elevated to the Peerage of Ireland as Baron Dunkeron and Viscount FitzMaurice. In 1753, the Irish peerage was further elevated when he was created Earl of Shelburne, in the County of Wexford.

In 1754, FitzMaurice purchased Bowood Park, an estate located between Chippenham and Calne in Wiltshire, where he also undertook rebuilding the mansion. His political roles included serving as High Sheriff of Kerry in 1732, representing County Kerry in the Irish House of Commons from 1743 until 1751, and serving as Governor of County Kerry in 1754. In the same year, he was elected to the British House of Commons as the Member of Parliament for Wycombe, a position he held until 1760.

FitzMaurice was sworn into the Irish Privy Council in 1754. That year, he was also granted a peerage in Great Britain as Lord Wycombe, Baron of Chipping Wycombe, in the County of Buckingham. This peerage entitled him to a seat in the British House of Lords.

In his personal life, Lord Shelburne married his first cousin, Mary FitzMaurice, daughter of the Hon. William FitzMaurice, in 1734. Their family included a younger son, the Hon. Thomas FitzMaurice, who married Mary O'Brien, later Countess of Orkney in her own right. Lord Shelburne died in May 1761 and was interred at Bowood, Wiltshire. His eldest son, William Petty FitzMaurice, succeeded him as Earl of Shelburne and later became Marquess of Lansdowne following his appointment as Prime Minister of Great Britain in 1782. The Countess of Shelburne died in 1780.