William King-Noel, 1st Earl of Lovelace, FRS (21 February 1805 – 29 December 1893), styled the Honourable William King until 1833 and Lord King from 1833 to 1838, was an English nobleman and scientist.

Early life and background

Lovelace was the eldest son of

Peter King, 7th Baron King Peter King, 7th Baron King of Ockham, Surrey (1775–1833) was an English aristocrat, politician and economic writer. Life Born 31 August 1775, baptised 18 September 1789, he was eldest son of Peter King, 6th Baron King, by Charlotte, daughter ...

, and his wife, Lady Hester Fortescue, granddaughter of

George Grenville George Grenville (14 October 1712 – 13 November 1770) was a British Whig statesman who rose to the position of Prime Minister of Great Britain. Grenville was born into an influential political family and first entered Parliament in 1741 as an ...

. The politician the Hon.

Peter John Locke King Peter John Locke King (25 January 1811, Ockham, Surrey – 12 November 1885, Weybridge) was an English politician. King sat and held one of the two seats as Member of Parliament (MP) for East Surrey from 1847 to 1874. He won some fame as an ad ...

was his younger brother. Educated at Eton and Trinity, he entered the diplomatic service and became secretary to Lord Nugent. He succeeded in the barony in 1833 when his father died. He performed architectural work in his houses. He was created Viscount Ockham and Earl of Lovelace in 1838 (through his wife Ada), and appointed

Lord-Lieutenant of Surrey This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Surrey. Since 1737, all Lords Lieutenant have also been Custos Rotulorum of Surrey. Lord Lieutenants of Surrey *William Parr, 1st Marquess of Northampton 1551–1553? *William Howard ...

in 1840, a post he held until his death.''Burke's'': 'Lovelace'. On 25 November 1841, he was admitted a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemati ...

. He was appointed

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

of the

2nd Royal Surrey Militia The 2nd Royal Surrey Militia, later the 3rd Battalion, Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment) was an auxiliary regiment raised in Surrey in the Home counties of England. From its formal creation in 1797 the regiment served in home defence in all of ...

on 14 August 1852. He resigned this command on 11 April 1870, when he was appointed Honorary Colonel of the regiment (which became the 3rd Battalion, Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment), a position he held until his death. In 1860, he adopted the additional surname of "Noel".

Ben Damph Estate

In 1886, the Earl purchased Ben Damph Lodge and its surrounding 12,000 acre sporting estate at the east end of

Loch Torridon Loch Torridon ( gd, Loch Thoirbheartan) is a sea loch on the west coast of Scotland in the Northwest Highlands. The loch was created by glacial processes and is in total around 15 miles (25 km) long. It has two sections: Upper Loch Torridon ...

, in

Ross-shire Ross-shire (; gd, Siorrachd Rois) is a historic county in the Scottish Highlands. The county borders Sutherland to the north and Inverness-shire to the south, as well as having a complex border with Cromartyshire – a county consisting ...

, Scotland. In 1889, he became a promoter of the Aultbea Railway.Drummond, Andrew (2020), ''A Quite Impossible Proposal: How Not to Build a Railway'', Birlinn, pp. 161 & 162 William King Noel (H Hering NPG x197973)

William King Noel (H Hering NPG x197973)

Notes

References

* ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage,'' 100th Edn, London, 1953.
Capt John Davis, ''Historical Records of the Second Royal Surrey or Eleventh Regiment of Militia'', London: Marcus Ward, 1877.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lovelace, William King-Noel, 1st Earl 1805 births 1893 deaths

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 ...

Fellows of the Royal Society Lord Byron Lord-Lieutenants of Surrey Surrey Militia officers Peers of the United Kingdom created by Queen Victoria