General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

John Thomas de Burgh, 13th Earl of Clanricarde, PC (Ire) ( ; 22 September 1744 – 27 July 1808), styled The Honourable John Thomas de Burgh until 1797, was a

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer and politician who served as the

governor of Kingston-upon-Hull Below is a list of those who have held the office of Governor of Kingston upon Hull: Governors of Kingston upon Hull *1536: John Hallam *1546–1552: Sir Michael Stanhope (beheaded, 1552) *?-1639: Sir John Hotham, 1st Baronet *1639–1641: Sir ...

from 1801 to 1808.

Career

Military career

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 de Burgh, as he then was, raised the 88th Regiment of Foot, later renamed the

Connaught Rangers The Connaught Rangers ("The Devil's Own") was an Ireland, Irish line infantry regiment of the British Army formed by the amalgamation of the 88th Regiment of Foot (Connaught Rangers) (which formed the ''1st Battalion'') and the 94th Regiment of Fo ...

, in 1793. Having commanded this regiment, he became Colonel of the

66th (Berkshire) Regiment of Foot The 66th (Berkshire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1756. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 49th (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) (Hertfordshire) Regiment of Foot to form the Princess Cha ...

(1794–1808) and later

Governor of Hull Below is a list of those who have held the office of Governor of Kingston upon Hull: Governors of Kingston upon Hull *1536: John Hallam *1546–1552: Sir Michael Stanhope (beheaded, 1552) *?-1639: Sir John Hotham, 1st Baronet *1639–1641: Sir ...

(1801–1808). In 1796, he was in command in

Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...

under Sir Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound as Viceroy of the

Anglo-Corsican Kingdom The Anglo-Corsican Kingdom (; or ), also known officially as the Kingdom of Corsica (; ), was a client state of the Kingdom of Great Britain that existed on the island of Corsica between 1794 and 1796, during the French Revolutionary Wars. Bac ...

and, with Commodore Horatio Nelson, planned an attack to re-take Leghorn (Livorno) in

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

. He subsequently removed the remaining military detachments from Corsica to

Elba Elba (, ; ) is a Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino on the Italian mainland, and the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago. It is also part of the Arcipelago Toscano National Park, a ...

and evacuated the latter island in January 1797. He was promoted to full

of the Army in 1803.

Political career

After the death of his elder brother, Henry, 1st Marquess and 12th Earl of Clanricarde, in December 1797, John inherited only the Earldom (of the first creation of 1543), not the Marquessate. In 1800, he was made

Earl of Clanricarde Earl of Clanricarde ( ; ) is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of Ireland, first in 1543 and again in 1800. The former creation became extinct in 1916 while the 1800 creation is extant and held by the Marquess of Sligo since 19 ...

(by a second creation) in the

Peerage of Ireland The peerage of Ireland consists of those Peerage, titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lordship of Ireland, Lord or Monarchy of Ireland, King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great B ...

, with a remainder, failing male issue of his own, to his daughters Lady Hester Catherine de Burgh (wife of the 2nd Marquess of Sligo) and Lady Emily de Burgh, and the heirs male of their bodies according to priority of birth. Lord Clanricarde, as he was from December 1797, was elected as one of the 28 original

Irish representative peers In the United Kingdom, representative peers were those peers elected by the members of the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of Ireland to sit in the British House of Lords. Until 1999, all members of the Peerage of England held the right to ...

in 1800, and became a Privy Councillor in 1801. He was made Governor and ''Custos Rotulorum'' (1798–1808) of

County Galway County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...

Cricket

De Burgh was also a keen cricketer. He played for

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

in 1773 but was possibly a guest player as his name only occurs a handful of times in match reports. His contribution to the sport was as a

Hambledon Club The Hambledon Club was a social club that is famous for its organisation of 18th century cricket matches. By the late 1770s it was the foremost cricket club in England. Foundation The origin of the club, based near Hambledon in rural Hampshire, ...

member. He joined prior to June 1772 when the club's minutes began; and was President of the club in 1784.

Family

Lord Clanricarde married Elizabeth (1764–1854), a daughter of Sir Thomas Burke, 1st Baronet, of Marble Hill, County Galway, on 17 March 1799. He was succeeded by his son, Ulick John. The couple also had two daughters, Lady Hester, Marchioness of Sligo, and Lady Emily, Countess of Howth. General Lord Clanricarde was a member of the

Anglican Church Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

, while his wife was a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Honours and arms

Honours

Arms

Ancestry

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Clanricarde, John de Burgh, 13th Earl of 1744 births 1808 deaths Christian clergy from County Galway Military personnel from County Galway 18th-century Anglo-Irish people 19th-century Anglo-Irish people Irish Anglicans British Army generals 88th Regiment of Foot (Connaught Rangers) officers Royal Berkshire Regiment officers Members of the Irish House of Lords Irish representative peers Members of the Privy Council of Ireland English cricketers Surrey cricketers English cricketers of 1701 to 1786 Hambledon cricketers

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

Earls of Clanricarde