Charles Compton, 1st Marquess of Northampton (24 March 1760 – 24 May 1828), known as Lord Compton from 1763 to 1796 and as the 9th Earl of Northampton from 1796 to 1812, was a British peer and politician.

Early life

Northampton was the son of

Spencer Compton, 8th Earl of Northampton Spencer Compton, 8th Earl of Northampton (16 August 1738 – 7 April 1796) was a British Peerage, peer and Member of Parliament. Northampton was the younger son of the Hon. Charles Compton, third son of George Compton, 4th Earl of Northampton an ...

, and his wife Jane (née Lawton). He was educated at

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

, Ealing School and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

(1776–1779).

Career

On 18 February 1793, he was appointed a deputy lieutenant of Northamptonshire by his father. He was elected to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...

for

Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...

in 1784, a seat he held until 7 April 1796, when he succeeded his father in the earldom and entered the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

. His cousin

Spencer Perceval Spencer Perceval (1 November 1762 – 11 May 1812) was a British statesman and barrister who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from October 1809 until his assassination in May 1812. He is the only British prime minister to have been as ...

, later Prime Minister, replaced him as Member of Parliament for Northampton. Lord Northampton also served as Lord Lieutenant of Northamptonshire. In 1812, he was created Baron Wilmington, of Wilmington in the County of Sussex, Earl Compton, of Compton in the County of Warwick, and Marquess of Northampton.

Personal life

Lord Northampton married Maria, daughter of Joshua Smith of Erlestoke, Wiltshire, on 18 August 1787. He died in May 1828, aged 68, at Dresden and was buried at

Castle Ashby Castle Ashby is a village and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire unitary authority area of Northamptonshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the parish (including Chadstone) was 111. Historically, the village was set u ...

, one of the family seats. He was succeeded in his titles by his son Spencer. Lady Northampton died in 1843.

Notes

References

*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990, * {{DEFAULTSORT:Northampton, Charles Compton, 1st Marquess of 1760 births 1828 deaths British MPs 1784–1790 British MPs 1790–1796

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

Deputy lieutenants of Northamptonshire Lord-lieutenants of Northamptonshire Marquesses of Northampton (1812 creation) Compton, Charles Compton, Lord Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge