William Gordon Cornwallis Eliot, 4th Earl of St Germans (14 December 1829 – 19 March 1881), known as Lord Eliot from 1864 to 1877, was a British diplomat and

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

politician. He was also a president of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

Society for the Maintenance of the Faith The Society for the Maintenance of the Faith is an Anglo-Catholic organization in the Church of England founded in 1873. As of 2022, it holds 94 advowsons or rights of patronage for church appointments. The group in 1995 supported the idea of life ...

Life and career

Eliot was born at

Port Eliot Port Eliot in the parish of St Germans, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, is the ancestral seat of the Eliot family, whose present head is Albert Eliot, 11th Earl of St Germans. Port Eliot comprises a stately home with its own church, which ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, the third but eldest surviving son of

Edward Granville Eliot, 3rd Earl of St Germans Edward Granville Eliot, 3rd Earl of St Germans (29 August 1798 – 7 October 1877; styled Lord Elliot from 1823 to 1845) was a British politician and diplomat. Background and education St Germans was born in Plymouth, Devon, the son of Willi ...

, and his wife Jemima (née Cornwallis). He was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

and then joined the

Diplomatic Service Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtains diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to o ...

. His assignments included: * Attaché at

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

from 1849 to 1853 * Attaché at

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

from 1851 to 1853 * 2nd Paid Attaché at

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

from 1853 to 1857 * 1st Paid Attaché at

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

from 1857 to 1858 * 1st Paid Attaché at

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

from 1858 to 1859 * Secretary of Legation at

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

in 1859 * Secretary of Legation at

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

from 1859 to 1861 * Secretary of Legation at Lisbon from 1860 to 1861 * Chargé d'Affaires at Rio de Janeiro from 1861 to 1863 * Acting Secretary of Legation at

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

from 1863 to 1864 He resigned in 1865 and was elected

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 of ...

for Devonport in 1866, a seat he held until 1868. In 1870 he was summoned to the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

through a

writ of acceleration A writ in acceleration, commonly called a writ of acceleration, is a type of writ of summons that enabled the eldest son and heir apparent of a peer with more than one peerage to attend the British or Irish House of Lords, using one of his father ...

in his father's junior title of Baron Eliot. Lord St Germans died unmarried in March 1881, aged 51 and is buried, near his mother, at

Kensal Green Cemetery Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in the Kensal Green area of Queens Park in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. Inspired by Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, it was founded by the barrister George Frederick ...

. He was succeeded by his younger brother,

Henry 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, ...

References

External links

* * * St Germans, William Gordon Cornwallis Eliot, 4th Earl of St Germans, William Gordon Cornwallis Eliot, 4th Earl of St Germans, William Gordon Cornwallis Eliot, 4th Earl St Germans, William Gordon Cornwallis Eliot, 4th Earl of Earls of St Germans William Gordon Eliot Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies People from St Germans, Cornwall UK MPs 1865–1868 Saint Germans, E4 {{England-Liberal-UK-MP-stub