Ralph Francis Howard, 7th Earl of Wicklow (24 December 1877 – 11 October 1946) was an Irish aristocrat and politician.

Biography

Howard was the son of

Cecil Howard, 6th Earl of Wicklow Cecil Ralph Howard, 6th Earl of Wicklow (26 April 1842 – 24 July 1891) was an Anglo-Irish British Army officer and peer. He was a younger son of Rev. Hon. Francis Howard, Vicar of Swords, Dublin, the son of William Howard, 3rd Earl of Wicklow, ...

and Francesca Maria Chamberlayne. He succeeded as

Earl of Wicklow Earl of Wicklow was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1793 for Alice Howard, Dowager Viscountess Wicklow. Born Alice Forward, she was the daughter of William Forward, Member of the Irish House of Commons for the County Donegal ...

on the death of his father in 1891. Lord Wicklow was commissioned a

second-lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in the

2nd Life Guards The 2nd Regiment of Life Guards was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry. It was formed in 1788 by the union of the 2nd Troop of Horse Guards and 2nd Troop of Horse Grenadier Guards. In 1922, it was amalgamated ...

on 16 February 1898, promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

on 26 April 1899, and saw active service in South Africa from 1899 to 1900 during the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

. A squadron from the 2nd Life Guards was attached to the Household Cavalry Regiment during the war, and Lord Wicklow served as Brigade Signalling Officer, and received the

Queen's South Africa Medal The Queen's South Africa Medal is a British campaign medal awarded to British and Colonial military personnel, and to civilians employed in an official capacity, who served in the Second Boer War in South Africa. Altogether twenty-six clasps wer ...

with three clasps. After his return to the United Kingdom, he was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

on 3 September 1902. In 1922, he was nominated by

W. T. Cosgrave William Thomas Cosgrave (5 June 1880 – 16 November 1965) was an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as the president of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State from 1922 to 1932, leader of the Opposition in both the Free State and Ire ...

to the

Seanad Éireann Seanad Éireann (, ; "Senate of Ireland") is the upper house of the Oireachtas (the Irish legislature), which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann (the lower house). It is commonly called the Seanad or Senate and its memb ...

of the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between th ...

on its formation. He served for six years until he was defeated at the 1928 Seanad election.

Family

Lord Wicklow married at St. Mark's Church, North Audley Street, London, on 14 January 1902, Lady Gladys Mary Hamilton (1880–1917), daughter of

James Hamilton, 2nd Duke of Abercorn James Hamilton, 2nd Duke of Abercorn (24 August 1838 – 3 January 1913), styled Viscount Hamilton until 1868 and Marquess of Hamilton from 1868 to 1885, was a British nobleman, groom of the stool, and diplomat. He was the son of James Hamilton ...

and Lady Mary Anna Curzon-Howe. As the couple were both prominent and visible members of Anglo-Irish society, the bride received valuable presents from several public bodies in Ireland, and the ceremony was performed by the

Archbishop of Armagh In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdio ...

(Primate of All Ireland). They had one son, who succeeded his father as Earl. Late in Lord Wicklow's life he remarried, in 1942, to Lady Beatrix Herbert, daughter of

Sidney Herbert, 14th Earl of Pembroke Sidney Herbert, 14th Earl of Pembroke, 11th Earl of Montgomery, (20 February 1853 – 30 March 1913), styled The Honourable Sidney Herbert between 1861 and 1895, was a British politician and peer. Background and education Herbert was born at ...

and Lady Beatrix Louisa Lambton.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wicklow, Ralph Howard, 7th Earl of 1877 births 1946 deaths Members of the 1922 Seanad Members of the 1925 Seanad Irish representative peers Irish unionists Members of the Senate of Southern Ireland

Ralph Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms ...

Independent members of Seanad Éireann 7