Stanley was MP for Preston and Lancaster from 1796 to 1832, when he moved to the House of Lords. In 1836 he succeeded his father as Earl of Derby and withdrew from politics, instead concentrating on his natural history collection at Knowsley Hall, near Liverpool. He had a large collection of living animals: at his death there were 1,272 birds and 345 mammals at Knowsley.
Stanley was also the patron of the writer Edward Lear.
Many of Stanley's collections are now housed in Liverpool museum.
| Preceded by: Edward Smith Stanley | Earl of Derby | Followed by: Edward Smith Stanley |