Charles Cornwallis, 1st Earl Cornwallis (29 March 170023 June 1762), styled The Honourable Charles Cornwallis until 1722 and known as The Lord Cornwallis between 1722 and 1753, was a British peer.

Background

Cornwallis was the son of Charles Cornwallis, 4th Baron Cornwallis, by Lady Charlotte, daughter of

Richard Butler, 1st Earl of Arran Richard Butler, 1st Earl of Arran (1639–1686) was Lord Deputy of Ireland from 1682 to 1684 while James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde, his father, the Lord Lieutenant, was absent in England. He sat in the Irish House of Lords as Earl of Arran ...

Edward Cornwallis Edward Cornwallis ( – 14 January 1776) was a British career military officer and member of the aristocratic Cornwallis family, who reached the rank of Lieutenant General. After Cornwallis fought in Scotland, putting down the Jacobite r ...

and Frederick Cornwallis were his younger brothers. He was admitted to

Clare College, Cambridge Clare College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the Unive ...

in 1717.

Career

Cornwallis succeeded his father in the barony in 1722. In 1740 he was sworn of the Privy Council and appointed Lord-Lieutenant of the Tower Hamlets and

Constable of the Tower of London The Constable of the Tower is the most senior appointment at the Tower of London. In the Middle Ages a constable was the person in charge of a castle when the owner—the king or a nobleman—was not in residence. The Constable of the Tower had a ...

, posts he held until 1762. In 1753 he was created Viscount Brome, in the County of Suffolk, and

Earl Cornwallis Earl Cornwallis was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain created in 1753 for Charles Cornwallis, 5th Baron Cornwallis. The second Earl was created Marquess Cornwallis but this title became extinct upon the death of the second marquessate in ...

Family

Lord Cornwallis married the Honourable Elizabeth, daughter of

Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend, (; 18 April 167421 June 1738) was a British Whig statesman. From 1714 to 1717, and again from 1721 to 1730, he served as Secretary of State for the Northern Department . He directed British foreign po ...

, in 1722. They had seven children: * Lady Mary Cornwallis (6 June 1736 - 28 December 1770), married on 13 August 1769 Samuel Whitbread and had issue. * Gen.

Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis (31 December 1738 – 5 October 1805) was a British Army officer, Whig politician and colonial administrator. In the United States and United Kingdom, he is best known as one of the leading Britis ...

* Capt. Hon. Henry Cornwallis (10 September 1740 – 1761) * Bishop

James Cornwallis, 4th Earl Cornwallis James Cornwallis, 4th Earl Cornwallis (25 February 1743 – 20 January 1824) was a British clergyman and Peerage, peer. Life He was the third son of Charles Cornwallis, 1st Earl Cornwallis and his wife, Elizabeth, daughter of the Charles Townsh ...

* Adm. Sir William Cornwallis, RN (1744–1819) * Lady Elizabeth Cornwallis (d. 20 March 1796), married Bowen Southwell in July 1753 * Lady Charlotte Cornwallis (d. 11 March 1794), married 8 April 1756 Bishop Spencer Madan and had issue. He died in June 1762, aged 62, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Charles, who became a prominent military commander and was created Marquess Cornwallis in 1792. The Countess Cornwallis died on 17 December 1785. He was the grandson of Charles Cornwallis, 3rd Baron Cornwallis; the great-grandson of Charles Cornwallis, 2nd Baron Cornwallis; and the great-great-grandson of Frederick Cornwallis, 1st Baron Cornwallis. He was the grandfather of

Charles Cornwallis Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis (31 December 1738 – 5 October 1805) was a British Army officer, Whig politician and colonial administrator. In the United States and United Kingdom, he is best known as one of the leading Britis ...

; the great-grandfather of James Mann; the 2nd great-grandfather of Fiennes Cornwallis; the 3rd great-grandfather of Fiennes Cornwallis, 1st Baron Cornwallis; the 4th great-grandfather of Wykeham Cornwallis, 2nd Baron Cornwallis; and the 5th great-grandfather of Fiennes Cornwallis, 3rd Baron Cornwallis.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Cornwallis, Charles Cornwallis, 1st Earl 1700 births 1762 deaths Earls in the Peerage of Great Britain Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain Lord-lieutenants of the Tower Hamlets

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 ''* ...

Constables of the Tower of London Freemasons of the Premier Grand Lodge of England Barons Cornwallis