John Bligh, 4th Earl of Darnley (30 June 1767 – 17 March 1831), styled Lord Clifton until 1781,

lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or ar ...

of the

Manor of Cobham, Kent Manor may refer to: Land ownership *Manorialism or "manor system", the method of land ownership (or "tenure") in parts of medieval Europe, notably England *Lord of the manor, the owner of an agreed area of land (or "manor") under manorialism *Man ...

, was a British peer and cricketer. He was the son of

John Bligh, 3rd Earl of Darnley John Bligh, 3rd Earl of Darnley (1 October 1719 – 31 July 1781), styled '' The Hon. John Bligh'' between 1721 and 1747, lord of the Manor of Cobham, Kent, was a British parliamentarian. Background Bligh was the son of John Bligh, 1st Earl ...

, and succeeded his father as earl on the latter's death in 1781. He matriculated at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

on 16 November 1784. On 3 July 1793, he was made a DCL. He resided at

Cobham Hall Cobham Hall is an English country house in the county of Kent, England. The grade I listed building is one of the largest and most important houses in Kent, re-built as an Elizabethan prodigy house by William Brooke, 10th Baron Cobham (1527 ...

, near

Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames and opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Ro ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, and was commissioned as

Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

Commandant of the Chatham and Dartford Regiment of Local Militia in 1809. John Bligh was a noted amateur

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er who made 27 known appearances in

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

matches between 1789 and 1796. He and his brother, the Honourable (later General) Edward Bligh, were staunch supporters of Kent cricket.

Arthur Haygarth Arthur Haygarth (4 August 1825 – 1 May 1903) was a noted amateur cricketer who became one of cricket's most significant historians. He played first-class cricket for the Marylebone Cricket Club and Sussex between 1844 and 1861, as well as num ...

, ''Scores & Biographies'', Volume 1 (1744–1826), Lillywhite, 1862 The Bligh brothers, who originated from

Athboy Athboy () is a small agricultural town located in County Meath. The town is located on the ''Yellow Ford River'', in wooded country near the County Westmeath border. Local Clubs are Clann Na nGael and Athboy Celtic. History In medieval tim ...

County Meath County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the sou ...

, have been called "the first Irish first-class cricketers". On 26 August 1791, he married Elizabeth Brownlow (d. 22 December 1831), daughter of William Brownlow and his second wife Catherine Hall, by whom he had seven children: *Lady Catherine Bligh (18 June 1792 – 10 January 1812) *John Bligh, Lord Clifton (22 May 1793 – 3 June 1793) *

Edward Bligh, 5th Earl of Darnley Edward Bligh, 5th Earl of Darnley, FRS (25 February 1795 – 12 February 1835), styled Lord Clifton until 1831, lord of the Manor of Cobham, Kent, was a British peer and politician. Background Darnley was the second but eldest surviving son of ...

(1795–1835) *Lady Mary Bligh (31 May 1796 – 18 June 1823), married her half-first cousin,

Charles Brownlow, 1st Baron Lurgan Charles Brownlow, 1st Baron Lurgan PC (17 April 1795 – 30 April 1847), was an Anglo-Irish politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1818 to 1832 and was raised to the peerage in 1839. Life Brownlow was the son of Lieutenant-Colonel Charl ...

on 1 June 1822 and had issue *Hon. William Bligh (17 May 1797 – 18 October 1807) *Hon. Sir

John Duncan Bligh Hon. Sir John Duncan Bligh KCB, DL (11 October 1798 – 8 May 1872) was a British diplomat. Background Born in London, he was the second son of John Bligh, 4th Earl of Darnley and his wife, Elizabeth, the third daughter of William Brownlow. H ...

(1798–1872), a diplomat in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

and

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 ...

*Lady Elizabeth Bligh (d. 13 November 1872), married her first cousin Rev. John Brownlow on 19 July 1833 and had issue

Darnley Bay Darnley Bay is a large inlet in the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is a southern arm of the Amundsen Gulf. The bay measures long, and wide at its mouth. The Parry Peninsula is to the west and Halcro Point is to the east. The Canadian Shiel ...

in the

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...

, Canada was named for him by John Richardson.Gazetteer of the Northwest Territories

References

External sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Darnley, John Bligh, 4th Earl of 1767 births 1831 deaths John 04 Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Kent Militia officers English cricketers English cricketers of 1787 to 1825 Kent cricketers People educated at Eton College Irish cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Fellows of the Royal Society Gentlemen of Kent cricketers Old Etonians cricketers Non-international England cricketers John 04 Barons Clifton Hampshire and Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers