William Clavering-Cowper, 2nd Earl Cowper (13 August 1709 – 18 September 1764), styled Viscount Fordwich between 1718 and 1723, was a British peer and courtier. Born William Cowper, he was the eldest son of

William Cowper, 1st Earl Cowper William Cowper, 1st Earl Cowper, ( ; 10 October 1723) was an English politician who became the first Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain. Cowper was the son of Sir William Cowper, 2nd Baronet, of Ratling Court, Kent, a Whig member of parlia ...

, by Mary, daughter of John Clavering, of

Chopwell Chopwell is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England, west of Rowlands Gill and north of Hamsterley. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 9,395. In 1150, Bishop Pudsey granted the Manor of Chopwell ...

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

. He later assumed the additional surname of Clavering on the death of his maternal uncle. He succeeded his father in the earldom in October 1723, aged 14.thepeerage.com William Clavering-Cowper, 2nd Earl Cowper
/ref> In 1744 he was appointed Lord-Lieutenant of Hertfordshire, a post he held until his death. He was also a

Lord of the Bedchamber Gentleman of the Bedchamber was a title in the royal household of the Kingdom of England from the 11th century, later used also in the Kingdom of Great Britain. A Lord of the Bedchamber was a courtier in the Royal Household; the term being fir ...

George II George II or 2 may refer to: People * George II of Antioch (seventh century AD) * George II of Armenia (late ninth century) * George II of Abkhazia (916–960) * Patriarch George II of Alexandria (1021–1051) * George II of Georgia (1072–1089) * ...

. Lord Cowper was twice married. He married firstly Lady Henrietta, daughter of

Henry de Nassau d'Auverquerque, 1st Earl of Grantham Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

, in 1732. After her death in September 1747 he married secondly Lady Georgiana Caroline, daughter of

John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville, 7th Seigneur of Sark, (; 22 April 16902 January 1763), commonly known by his earlier title Lord Carteret, was a British statesman and Lord President of the Council from 1751 to 1763; he worked extremely close ...

, and widow of John Spencer, in 1750. He died in September 1764, aged 55, and was succeeded in the earldom by his son from his first marriage,

George Clavering-Cowper, 3rd Earl Cowper George Nassau Clavering-Cowper, 3rd Earl Cowper (1738 – 22 December 1789) was an English peer who went on the Grand Tour as a young man, but actually emigrated. Despite becoming a member of parliament and later inheriting lands and the title ...

. The Countess Cowper died in August 1780.L. G. Pine, The New Extinct Peerage 1884-1971: Containing Extinct, Abeyant, Dormant and Suspended Peerages With Genealogies and Arms (London, U.K.: Heraldry Today, 1972), page 87.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Cowper, William Clavering-Cowper, 2nd Earl 1709 births 1764 deaths Earls Cowper Lord-Lieutenants of Hertfordshire