George Augustus Frederick Cowper, 6th Earl Cowper (26 June 1806 – 15 April 1856), styled Viscount Fordwich until 1837, was a British Whig politician. He served briefly as

Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs is a vacant junior position in the British government, subordinate to both the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and since 1945 also to the Minister of State for Foreign Affa ...

under his uncle

Lord Melbourne William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, (15 March 177924 November 1848), in some sources called Henry William Lamb, was a British Whig politician who served as Home Secretary (1830–1834) and Prime Minister (1834 and 1835–1841). His first pre ...

in 1834.

Background

Cowper was the eldest son of Peter Clavering-Cowper, 5th Earl Cowper, and his wife

Emily Lamb Emily Temple, Viscountess Palmerston (née Lamb, later Clavering-Cowper; 1787–1869), styled The Honourable Emily Lamb from 1787 to 1805 and Countess Cowper from 1805 to 1839, was a leading figure of the Almack's social set, sister to Prime M ...

, daughter of

Peniston Lamb, 1st Viscount Melbourne Peniston Lamb, 1st Viscount Melbourne (29 January 1745 – 22 July 1828), known as Sir Peniston Lamb, 2nd Baronet, from 1768 to 1770, was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1768 to 1793. He was the father of Prime Minister ...

, sister of Prime Minister

William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, (15 March 177924 November 1848), in some sources called Henry William Lamb, was a British Whig politician who served as Home Secretary (1830–1834) and Prime Minister (1834 and 1835–1841). His first prem ...

, and a leading figure in Regency society.

William Cowper-Temple, 1st Baron Mount Temple William Francis Cowper-Temple, 1st Baron Mount Temple, PC (13 December 1811 – 16 October 1888), known as William Cowper (pronounced "Cooper") before 1869 and as William Cowper-Temple between 1869 and 1880, was a British Liberal statesman. ...

, was his younger brother. His mother married as her second husband the future Prime Minister Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, in 1839.

Military career

He was commissioned a cornet in the Royal Horse Guards on 28 April 1827. On 27 February 1830, he purchased a lieutenancy in the regiment. He retired on the half-pay of the New South Wales Veteran Companies in March 1831, but exchanged into a lieutenancy in the 31st Regiment of Foot on 13 February 1835. He retired from the

Regular army A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the following: * a standin ...

on 6 March 1835. However, in 1833 he had accepted command of a

Troop A troop is a military sub-subunit, originally a small formation of cavalry, subordinate to a squadron. In many armies a troop is the equivalent element to the infantry section or platoon. Exceptions are the US Cavalry and the King's Tr ...

in the part-time

South Hertfordshire Yeomanry Cavalry The Hertfordshire Yeomanry was a Yeomanry Cavalry regiment of the British Army that could trace its formation to the late 18th century. First seeing mounted service in the Second Boer War and World War I, it subsequently converted to artillery. Th ...

with the rank of captain, which he held until his resignation in April 1832.

Political career

Cowper entered the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the 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 parliament. T ...

for

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...

in the 1830 general election, and served briefly under his uncle Lord Melbourne as

between November and December 1834. He lost his seat in Parliament in the 1835 general election. Two years later he succeeded his father in the earldom. Between 1846 and 1856 he served as Lord-Lieutenant of Kent.

Family

Lord Cowper married Lady Anne Florence de Grey (who after her husband's death succeeded as sixth Baroness Lucas of Crudwell), daughter of

Thomas de Grey, 2nd Earl de Grey Thomas Philip de Grey, 2nd Earl de Grey, 3rd Baron Grantham, 6th Baron Lucas, KG, PC, FRS (born Robinson, later Weddell; 8 December 178114 November 1859), styled as The Hon. Thomas Robinson until 1786 and as Lord Grantham from 1786 to 1833, of ...

, in 1833. They had two sons and four daughters; *Lady Henrietta Emily Mary Cowper (d.1853) * Francis Thomas de Grey Cowper, 7th Earl Cowper (1834–1905) * The Honourable Henry Frederick Cowper (1836–1887) *Lady Florence Amabel Cowper (1837–1886), married the Honourable Auberon Herbert in 1871. *Lady Adine Eliza Anne Cowper (1840–1868), married the Honourable Julian Fane in 1866. * Lady Amabel Frederica Henrietta Cowper (1846–1906), married Lord Walter Kerr in 1873. Lord Cowper died in April 1856, aged 49, and was succeeded in the earldom by his eldest son Francis. Lady Cowper died in 1880.

Arms

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cowper, George Cowper, 6th Earl 1806 births 1856 deaths Earls Cowper

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...

Princes of the Holy Roman Empire East Surrey Regiment officers Lord-Lieutenants of Kent Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Royal Horse Guards officers Hertfordshire Yeomanry officers UK MPs 1830–1831 UK MPs 1831–1832 UK MPs 1832–1835 UK MPs who inherited peerages Whig (British political party) MPs