George Augustus, 3rd Viscount Howe, Half-Length, Wearing the Uniform of the 1st Guard

Earl Howe is a title that has been created twice in British history, for members of the Howe and Curzon-Howe family respectively. The first creation, in the

Peerage of Great Britain The Peerage of Great Britain comprises all extant peerages created in the Kingdom of Great Britain between the Acts of Union 1707 and the Acts of Union 1800. It replaced the Peerage of England and the Peerage of Scotland, but was itself re ...

, was in 1788 for

Richard Howe Admiral of the Fleet Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe, (8 March 1726 – 5 August 1799) was a British naval officer. After serving throughout the War of the Austrian Succession, he gained a reputation for his role in amphibious operations a ...

, but became extinct on his death in 1799. The second creation, in the

Peerage of the United Kingdom The Peerage of the United Kingdom is one of the five Peerages in the United Kingdom. It comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Acts of Union in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great ...

was in 1821 for Richard Curzon, and remains extant.

History

First creation (1788)

The Howe family descended from John Grobman Howe, of

Langar, Nottinghamshire Langar is an English village in the Vale of Belvoir, about four miles (6.4 km) south of Bingham, in the Rushcliffe borough of Nottinghamshire. The civil parish of Langar cum Barnstone had a population of 980 at the 2011 Census. This was estim ...

. He married Annabella, illegitimate daughter of

Emanuel Scrope, 1st Earl of Sunderland Emanuel Scrope, 1st Earl of Sunderland, 11th Baron Scrope of Bolton (1 August 1584 – 30 May 1630) was an English nobleman. He was Lord President of the King's Council in the North. Family He was the only child of Thomas Scrope, 10th Baron Scr ...

. Their son, Scrope Howe, sat as a

Knight of the Shire Knight of the shire ( la, milites comitatus) was the formal title for a member of parliament (MP) representing a county constituency in the British House of Commons, from its origins in the medieval Parliament of England until the Redistributio ...

for

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The trad ...

. In 1701 he was raised to the

Peerage of Ireland The Peerage of Ireland consists of those titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It is one of the five divisi ...

as Baron Glenawley and Viscount Howe. The second Viscount also represented Nottinghamshire in 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 ...

and served as

Governor of Barbados This article contains a list of viceroys in Barbados from its initial colonisation in 1627 by England until it achieved independence in 1966. From 1833 to 1885, Barbados was part of the colony of the Windward Islands, and the governor of Barbad ...

. He married Charlotte, Baroness von Kielmansegg, niece of

George I George I or 1 may refer to: People * Patriarch George I of Alexandria (fl. 621–631) * George I of Constantinople (d. 686) * George I of Antioch (d. 790) * George I of Abkhazia (ruled 872/3–878/9) * George I of Georgia (d. 1027) * Yuri Dolgor ...

. Her mother was the illegitimate half-sister of the King. Lord Howe was succeeded by his son, the third Viscount. He was a

Brigadier-General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed t ...

in the British Army and was killed during the

Battle of Carillon The Battle of Carillon, also known as the 1758 Battle of Ticonderoga, Chartrand (2000), p. 57 was fought on July 8, 1758, during the French and Indian War (which was part of the global Seven Years' War). It was fought near Fort Carillon (now ...

in 1758. He was succeeded by his younger brother,

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stro ...

, the fourth Viscount. He was a distinguished naval commander best known for his victory of the

Glorious First of June The Glorious First of June (1 June 1794), also known as the Fourth Battle of Ushant, (known in France as the or ) was the first and largest fleet action of the naval conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the First French Republic ...

in 1794. In 1782 Howe was created Viscount Howe, of

Langar Langar may refer to: Community eating *Langar (Sikhism) *Langar (Sufism) Places Afghanistan *Langar, Badakhshan, Afghanistan * Langar, Bamyan, Afghanistan * Langar, Faryab, Afghanistan * Langar, Herat, Afghanistan * Langar, Wardak, Afghanist ...

in the County of Nottingham, in the

, which entitled him to a seat in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminst ...

. In 1788 he was further honoured when he was made Baron Howe, of Langar in the County of Nottingham, with remainder to his daughters and the heirs male of their bodies, and Earl Howe, with normal remainder to heirs male of his body. These titles were also in the Peerage of Great Britain. Lord Howe had no male issue and on his death in 1799 the viscountcy of 1782 and earldom became extinct. He was succeeded in the barony of Howe according to the special remainder by his eldest daughter Sophia Charlotte (see below). The Irish titles passed to his younger brother,

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

, the fifth Viscount. He was a noted soldier and served as Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in North America during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. He had no surviving issue and on his death in 1814 the barony of Glenawly and viscounty of Howe became extinct.

Second creation (1821)

The aforementioned Lady Sophia Charlotte, who succeeded her father as second Baroness Howe in 1799, married the Hon. Penn Curzon, Member of Parliament for

Clitheroe Clitheroe () is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England; it is located north-west of Manchester. It is near the Forest of Bowland and is often used as a base for tourists visiting the area. In 2018, the Cl ...

. He was the only son of Assheton Curzon, second son of Sir Nathaniel Curzon, 4th Baronet, of Kedleston (ancestor of

George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, (11 January 1859 – 20 March 1925), styled Lord Curzon of Kedleston between 1898 and 1911 and then Earl Curzon of Kedleston between 1911 and 1921, was a British Conservative statesman ...

, and the Barons and Viscounts Scarsdale; see Viscount Scarsdale for earlier history of the family). Assheton Curzon represented Clitheroe in the House of Commons for twenty-seven years. In 1794 he was raised to the

as Baron Curzon, of Penn in the County of Buckingham, and in 1802 he was further honoured when he was made Viscount Curzon, of Penn in the County of Buckingham, in the

. Lord Curzon was succeeded by his grandson, the second Viscount. He was the only son of Penn Curzon and Lady Howe. In 1821 he assumed by Royal licence the additional surname of Howe and the same year the earldom held by his maternal grandfather was revived when he was created Earl Howe in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. In 1835 he also succeeded his mother as third Baron Howe. He was succeeded by his eldest son, the second Earl. He sat as

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

Member of Parliament for Leicestershire South. He died without male issue and was succeeded by his younger brother, the third Earl. He was a General in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

. His eldest son, the fourth Earl, was a Conservative politician and held minor office in the Conservative administration of 1895 to 1905. On his death in 1929 the title passed to his eldest son, the fifth Earl. He was a Conservative Member of Parliament and also involved in the world of motor racing. His only son, the sixth Earl, had four daughters but no sons and on his death in 1984 the line of the fourth Earl failed. The late Earl was succeeded by his second cousin, the seventh Earl. He is the only son of the actor George Curzon, son of the Hon. Frederick Graham Curzon-Howe, second son of the third Earl. Lord Howe held office from 1991 to 1997 in the Conservative administrations of

John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997, and as Member of Parliament (MP) for Huntingdon, formerly Hunting ...

and since 2015 has been Deputy Leader of the House of Lords and Minister of State for Defence. He is now one of the ninety elected hereditary peers that remain in the

after the passing of the

House of Lords Act 1999 The House of Lords Act 1999 (c. 34) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. The Act was given Royal Assent on 11 November 1999. For centuries, the House of Lords ...

. As a descendant of Sir Nathaniel Curzon, 4th Baronet, of Kedleston, he is also in remainder to this title, which is held by his kinsman the

Viscount Scarsdale Viscount Scarsdale, of Scarsdale in Derbyshire, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1911 for the prominent Conservative politician and former Viceroy of India George Curzon, 1st Baron Curzon of Kedleston, who w ...

. Several other members of the Curzon-Howe family have also gained distinction. The Hon. Frederick Howe (1823–1881), third son of the first Earl, was a

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 ...

in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

. The Hon. Ernest George Howe (1828–1885), sixth son of the first Earl, was a Colonel in the British Army. The Hon. Sir Leicester Smyth (1829–1891) (who assumed the surname of Smyth in 1866), seventh son of the first Earl, was a General in the British Army and served as

Governor of Gibraltar The governor of Gibraltar is the representative of the British monarch in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British government. The role of the governor is to act as the ...

. The Hon.

Montagu Curzon The Hon. Montagu Curzon (21 September 1846 – 1 September 1907) was a British soldier and Conservative politician. Early life Curzon was the eldest son of Richard Curzon-Howe, 1st Earl Howe, by his second wife Anne, daughter of Vice-Admiral ...

(1846–1907), eighth son of the first Earl (and eldest from his second marriage), was a Colonel in the

Rifle Brigade The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Ri ...

and

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

. The Hon. Sir Assheton Curzon-Howe, ninth son and youngest child of the first Earl, was a naval commander and served as Commander-in-Chief of the

Mediterranean Fleet The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between t ...

from 1908 to 1910. His eldest son Leicester Charles Assheton St John Curzon-Howe (1894–1941) was a Captain in the Royal Navy. Lady Mary Anna Curzon, only daughter of the second marriage of the first Earl, married

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 ...

. Their granddaughter Lady Cynthia Hamilton married

Albert Spencer, 7th Earl Spencer Albert Edward John Spencer, 7th Earl Spencer, (23 May 1892 – 9 June 1975), styled The Honourable Albert Spencer until 1910 and Viscount Althorp from 1910 to 1922, and known less formally as Jack Spencer, was a British peer. He was the pate ...

, and was the grandmother of

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...

. The aforementioned George Curzon, son of the Hon. Frederick Graham Curzon-Howe, second son of the third Earl, was an actor. The family seat is Penn House,

Penn Street Penn is a village and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of Beaconsfield and east of High Wycombe. The parish's cover Penn village and the hamlets of Penn Street, Knotty Green, Forty Green and Winchmore Hill. The pop ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-e ...

Earls Howe, first creation

Viscounts Howe (1701)

Scrope Howe, 1st Viscount Howe Scrope Howe, 1st Viscount Howe (November 1648 – 26 January 1713) of Langar Hall, Nottinghamshire was an English politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Nottinghamshire from 1673 to 1685 and January 1689 to 1691, and from 1710 to ...

(1648–1713) *

Emanuel Scrope Howe, 2nd Viscount Howe Emanuel Scrope Howe, 2nd Viscount Howe (c. 1700 – 29 March 1735) of Langar Hall, Nottinghamshire, was a British politician and colonial administrator. Life His father was Scrope Howe, a Whig Member of Parliament from whom he inherited the v ...

(c. 1700–1735) * George Augustus Howe, 3rd Viscount Howe (c. 1725–1758) * Richard Howe, 4th Viscount Howe (1726–1799) (created Baron Howe and Earl Howe in 1788)

Earls Howe (1788)

Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe Admiral of the Fleet Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe, (8 March 1726 – 5 August 1799) was a British naval officer. After serving throughout the War of the Austrian Succession, he gained a reputation for his role in amphibious operations aga ...

(1726–1799) (extinct)

Viscounts Howe (1701; reverted)

William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe, KB PC (10 August 172912 July 1814) was a British Army officer who rose to become Commander-in-Chief of British land forces in the Colonies during the American War of Independence. Howe was one of three brot ...

(1729–1814) (extinct)

Earls Howe, second creation

Barons Howe (1788)

* Richard Howe, 1st Baron Howe (1726–1799) *Sophia Charlotte Curzon, 2nd Baroness Howe (1762–1835) * Richard William Penn Curzon-Howe, 1st Earl Howe, 2nd Viscount Curzon, and 3rd Baron Howe (1796–1870) (had already been created Earl Howe in 1821; see below)

Viscounts Curzon (1802)

* Assheton Curzon, 1st Viscount Curzon (1730–1820) * Richard William Penn Curzon-Howe, 2nd Viscount Curzon (1796–1870) (created Earl Howe in 1821)

Earls Howe (1821)

* Richard William Penn Curzon-Howe, 1st Earl Howe (1796–1870) * George Augustus Frederick Louis Curzon-Howe, 2nd Earl Howe (1821–1876) * Richard William Penn Curzon-Howe, 3rd Earl Howe (1822–1900) * Richard George Penn Curzon, 4th Earl Howe (1861–1929) * Francis Richard Henry Penn Curzon, 5th Earl Howe (1884–1964) * Edward Richard Assheton Penn Curzon, 6th Earl Howe (1908–1984) * Frederick Richard Penn Curzon, 7th Earl Howe (b. 1951) The

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

is the present holder's only son, Thomas Edward Penn Curzon, Viscount Curzon (b. 1994).

Line of succession

* '' Assheton Curzon, 1st Viscount Curzon (1729/30–1820)'' ** ''Hon. Penn Assheton Curzon (d. 1797) *** '' Richard William Penn Curzon-Howe, 1st Earl Howe (1796–1870)'' **** '' George Augustus Frederick Louis Curzon-Howe, 2nd Earl Howe (1821–1876)'' **** '' General Richard William Penn Curzon-Howe, 3rd Earl Howe (1822–1900)'' ***** '' Richard George Penn Curzon, 4th Earl Howe (1861–1929)'' ****** '' Francis Richard Henry Penn Curzon, 5th Earl Howe (1884–1964)'' ******* '' Edward Richard Assheton Penn Curzon, 6th Earl Howe (1908–1984)'' ***** ''Hon. Frederick Graham Curzon (1868–1920)'' ****** '' Commander Chambré George William Penn Curzon (1898–1976)'' ******* Frederick Richard Penn Curzon, 7th Earl Howe (born 1951) ******** (1) Thomas Edward Penn Curzon, Viscount Curzon (b. 1994) **** ''Colonel Hon. Ernest George Curzon (1828–1885)'' ***** ''Major Ernest Charles Penn Curzon (1856–1938)'' ****** ''Charles Ernest Basset Lothian Curzon (1885–1952)'' ******* ''Captain James Quintin Penn Curzon (1923–1985)'' ******** (2) Charles Mark Penn Curzon (b. 1967) **** '' Hon. Sir Assheton Gore Curzon-Howe (1850–1911)'' ***** ''Lt-Col Assheton Penn Curzon-Howe-Herrick (1898–1959)'' ****** (3) Assheton Montagu Windsor Curzon-Howe-Herrick (b. 1939)

References

*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Howe Extinct earldoms in the Peerage of Great Britain Earldoms in the Peerage of the United Kingdom * Noble titles created in 1788 Noble titles created in 1821