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
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{{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