Charles Somers Somers-Cocks, 3rd Earl Somers (14 July 1819 – 26 September 1883), styled the Hon. Charles Cocks from 1819 to 1841 and Viscount Eastnor from 1841 to 1852, was a British Conservative Party and then Liberal politician. Somers was the son of

John Somers-Cocks, 2nd Earl Somers John Somers Somers-Cocks, 2nd Earl Somers (19 March 1788 – 5 October 1852), styled Viscount Eastnor between 1821 and 1841, was a British peer and Conservative Party politician. Somers was the second son of John Cocks, 1st Earl Somers; his ...

, and his wife Lady Caroline Harriet, daughter of

Philip Yorke, 3rd Earl of Hardwicke Philip Yorke, 3rd Earl of Hardwicke (31 May 1757 – 18 November 1834), known as Philip Yorke until 1790, was a British politician. Background and education Born in Cambridge, England, he was the eldest son of Charles Yorke, Lord Chancello ...

. As a Conservative, he was elected to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

as the Member of Parliament (MP) for

Reigate Reigate ( ) is a town status in the United Kingdom, town in Surrey, England, around south of central London. The settlement is recorded in Domesday Book of 1086 as ''Cherchefelle'', and first appears with its modern name in the 1190s. The ea ...

at a by-election in February 1841 (succeeding his father), a seat he held until 1847. In 1852 he succeeded his father in the earldom and took his seat in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

. He served as a

Lord-in-waiting Lords-in-waiting (male) or baronesses-in-waiting (female) are peers who hold office in the Royal Household of the sovereign of the United Kingdom. In the official Court Circular they are styled "Lord in Waiting" or "Baroness in Waiting" (without ...

(government whip in the House of Lords) from 1853 to 1855 in

Lord Aberdeen George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen (28 January 178414 December 1860), styled Lord Haddo from 1791 to 1801, was a British statesman, diplomat and landowner, successively a Tory, Conservative and Peelite politician and specialist in fo ...

coalition government A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive. Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an ...

and from 1855 to 1857 in the Liberal administration of

Lord Palmerston Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston (20 October 1784 – 18 October 1865), known as Lord Palmerston, was a British statesman and politician who served as prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1855 to 1858 and from 1859 to 1865. A m ...

. Lord Somers married Virginia, daughter of James Pattle, in 1850; she was the sister of

Julia Margaret Cameron Julia Margaret Cameron (; 11 June 1815 – 26 January 1879) was an English photographer who is considered one of the most important portraitists of the 19th century. She is known for her Soft focus, soft-focus close-ups of famous Victorian era, ...

(née Pattle), a well-known Victorian-era photographer. Lord Somers and Virginia had three daughters, of whom one, Lady Virginia, died from

diphtheria Diphtheria is an infection caused by the bacteria, bacterium ''Corynebacterium diphtheriae''. Most infections are asymptomatic or have a mild Course (medicine), clinical course, but in some outbreaks, the mortality rate approaches 10%. Signs a ...

at an early age. The younger daughter, Lady Adeline Marie, married

George Russell, 10th Duke of Bedford George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Gior ...

,Adeline, Duchess of Bedford - A character study
1 May 1920, The Spectator, retrieved 22 April 2016 while the elder daughter, Lady Isabella Caroline, married

Lord Henry Somerset Lord Henry Richard Charles Somerset, PC, DL, JP (7 December 1849 – 10 October 1932) was a British Conservative politician and composer of popular music. He served as Comptroller of the Household under Benjamin Disraeli between 1874 and ...

. Lord Somers died in September 1883, aged 64, when the earldom and viscountcy of Eastnor became extinct. He was succeeded in his junior title of Baron Somers by his first cousin once removed, Philip Reginald Cocks. The Countess Somers died in 1910.

Notes

References

*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990, * *
History of the Somers-Cocks family

External links

* 1819 births 1883 deaths 3 Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1837–1841 UK MPs 1841–1847 Somers, E3 Liberal Party (UK) hereditary peers {{England-Conservative-UK-MP-1810s-stub