William Petty-FitzMaurice, 2nd Earl of Shelburne

William Petty-FitzMaurice, 1st Marquess of Lansdowne, KG, PC (1737–1805), held the title of 2nd Earl of Shelburne between 1761 and 1784, was a British Whig statesman who served as the Home Secretary in 1782 and then Prime Minister 1782 – 1783. As Home Secretary, Shelburne oversaw the end of the American Revolutionary War and the recognition of the United States.

Earl of Shelburne in Atlantis
In light of the defeat of British General Charles Cornwallis at the hands of Atlantean General Victor Radcliff, the Earl of Shelburne ascended to the office of Secretary of State in 1778, and immediately began the process of ending the Atlantean War of Independence and the recognition of the United States of Atlantis. To this end, he sent representative Richard Oswald to Croydon, Atlantis.

''See: Inconsistencies in Turtledove's Work