page_title: William Frederick Windham
hierarchical_section_title: William Frederick Windham
caption_attribution_description: English: William Frederick Windham
context_page_description: William Frederick Windham was the son of William Howe Windham and the heir to Felbrigg Hall in the county of Norfolk, England. In 1861–62, he was the subject of a "lunacy" case after he married a woman of whom his uncle did not approve, causing his family to claim that he was incapable of managing his affairs. Windham won the case in a ruling that characterised him as eccentric rather than a lunatic.
  The case was described in the British Journal of Psychiatry as "a significant event in psychiatric history" in the transition from "legal management in psychiatric illness and towards medical management".
  A spendthrift, Windham frittered away his considerable fortune and, facing legal fees of £20,000 from the case, was forced to declare bankruptcy and sell Felbrigg Hall. He moved into a local hotel but continued his dissolute lifestyle and worked as a coach driver before dying at the age of 25.
context_section_description: William Frederick Windham (9 August 1840 – 2 February 1866) was the son of William Howe Windham and the heir to Felbrigg Hall in the county of Norfolk, England. In 1861–62, he was the subject of a "lunacy" case after he married a woman of whom his uncle did not approve, causing his family to claim that he was incapable of managing his affairs. Windham won the case in a ruling that characterised him as eccentric rather than a lunatic.
  The case was described in the British Journal of Psychiatry as "a significant event in psychiatric history" in the transition from "legal management in psychiatric illness and towards medical management".
  A spendthrift, Windham frittered away his considerable fortune and, facing legal fees of £20,000 from the case, was forced to declare bankruptcy and sell Felbrigg Hall. He moved into a local hotel but continued his dissolute lifestyle and worked as a coach driver before dying at the age of 25.
caption: William Windham in 1861[1]
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "W.F. Windham. 19th Century portrait of the English aristocrat W.F. Windham, during what became known as the Windham Trial. This was an enquiry held in London in 1861, into the state of mind of William Frederick Windham, heir to the Felbrigg Estate. Published in 'The Windham Trial' (1861).", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image Copyright": "Science Photo Library", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "508", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "6643"}