John Bligh, 3rd Earl of Darnley (1 October 1719 – 31 July 1781), styled ''

The Hon. ''The Honourable'' (Commonwealth English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of cert ...

John Bligh'' between 1721 and 1747,

lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the Peerage o ...

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 parliamentarian.

Background

Bligh was the son of John Bligh, 1st Earl of Darnley and Lady Theodosia Hyde, later Baroness Clifton (in her own right). He was born in 1719, 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, opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Roche ...

, Kent, and at the age of eight was sent to

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

. He matriculated at

Merton College Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, chancellor ...

on 13 May 1735 and was created MA on 13 July 1738.

Political career

Bligh served as Member of Parliament (MP) for

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, l ...

from 1741 to 1747 and for

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. It is around 15 km west of Navan and 50 km north-west of Dublin. T ...

in the

Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until the end of 1800. The upper house was the Irish House of Lords, House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, ...

from 1739 to 1747.

Family

Lord Darnley married Mary Stoyte on 11 September 1766. They had seven children: * John Bligh, 4th Earl of Darnley (30 June 1767 – 17 March 1831) *General Hon. Edward Bligh (19 September 1769 – 2 November 1840) *Lady Mary Bligh (d. 4 March 1796), married

Sir Lawrence Palk, 2nd Baronet Lawrence Palk (?1766–1813), was an English Member of Parliament. He was a Member (MP) of the Parliament of Great Britain for Ashburton 12 March 1787 – 1796 and for Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremon ...

on 7 August 1789, without issue *Lady Theodosia Bligh (February 1771 – 21 January 1840), married Thomas Cherburgh Bligh, her second cousin once removed, and had issue *Lady Sarah Bligh (10 February 1772 – April 1797) *Lady Catherine Bligh (1775 – 11 February 1812), married

Charles Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry Charles William Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry, (born Charles William Stewart; 1778–1854), was an Anglo-Irish people, Anglo-Irish nobleman, a British soldier and a politician. He served in the French Revolutionary Wars, in the suppressi ...

in 1804 and had issue *Colonel Hon. William Bligh (25 September 1775 – 8 August 1845), married Lady Sophia Stewart, daughter of John Stewart, 7th Earl of Galloway, and had one daughter Sophia who married Henry William Parnell in 1835 whose father

Henry Parnell, 1st Baron Congleton Henry Brooke Parnell, 1st Baron Congleton PC (3 July 1776 – 8 June 1842), known as Sir Henry Parnell, Bt, from 1812 to 1841, was an Irish writer and Whig politician. He was a member of the Whig administrations headed by Lord Grey and Lord ...

was a great-uncle of

Charles Stewart Parnell Charles Stewart Parnell (27 June 1846 – 6 October 1891) was an Irish nationalist politician who served as a Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom from 1875 to 1891, Leader of the Home Rule Leag ...

External links

Portrait of Lord Darnley by Nathaniel Dauce Holland at www.thepeerage.com

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Darnley, John Bligh, 3rd Earl 1719 births 1781 deaths John 03 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1741–1747 Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Meath constituencies Irish MPs 1727–1760 Alumni of Merton College, Oxford John 03 Barons Clifton