Ralph Francis Howard, 7th Earl of Wicklow (24 December 1877 – 11 October 1946) was an Irish aristocrat and politician.

Biography

Howard was the son of Cecil Howard, 6th Earl of Wicklow and Francesca Maria Chamberlayne. He succeeded as

Earl of Wicklow Earl of Wicklow was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1793 for Alice Howard, Dowager Viscountess Wicklow. Born Alice Forward, she was the daughter of William Forward, Member of the Irish House of Commons for the County Donegal, ...

on the death of his father in 1891. Lord Wicklow was commissioned a second-lieutenant in the

2nd Life Guards The 2nd Regiment of Life Guards was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry. It was formed in 1788 by the union of the 2nd Troop of Horse Guards and 2nd Troop of Horse Grenadier Guards. In 1922, it was amalgamated ...

on 16 February 1898, promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

on 26 April 1899, and saw active service in South Africa from 1899 to 1900 during the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

. A squadron from the 2nd Life Guards was attached to the Household Cavalry Regiment during the war, and Lord Wicklow served as Brigade Signalling Officer, and received the

Queen's South Africa Medal The Queen's South Africa Medal is a British campaign medal awarded to British and Colonial military personnel, and to civilians employed in an official capacity, who served in the Second Boer War in South Africa. Altogether twenty-six clasps wer ...

with three clasps. After his return to the United Kingdom, he was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

on 3 September 1902. In 1922, he was nominated by

W. T. Cosgrave William Thomas Cosgrave (5 June 1880 – 16 November 1965) was an Irish politician who served as the President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State from 1922 to 1932, Leader of the Opposition from 1932 to 1944, Leader of Fine Gael ...

to the

Seanad Éireann Seanad Éireann ( ; ; "Senate of Ireland") is the senate of the Oireachtas (the Irish legislature), which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann (defined as the house of representatives). It is commonly called the Seanad or ...

of the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State (6 December 192229 December 1937), also known by its Irish-language, Irish name ( , ), was a State (polity), state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-ye ...

on its formation. He served for six years until he was defeated at the 1928 Seanad election.

Family

Lord Wicklow married at St. Mark's Church, North Audley Street, London, on 14 January 1902, Lady Gladys Mary Hamilton (1880–1917), daughter of

James Hamilton, 2nd Duke of Abercorn James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince Ja ...

and Lady Mary Anna Curzon-Howe. As the couple were both prominent and visible members of Anglo-Irish society, the bride received valuable presents from several public bodies in Ireland, and the ceremony was performed by the

Archbishop of Armagh The Archbishop of Armagh is an Episcopal polity, archiepiscopal title which takes its name from the Episcopal see, see city of Armagh in Northern Ireland. Since the Reformation in Ireland, Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic success ...

(Primate of All Ireland). They had one son, who succeeded his father as Earl. Late in Lord Wicklow's life he remarried, in 1942, to Lady Beatrix Herbert, daughter of

Sidney Herbert, 14th Earl of Pembroke Sidney Herbert, 14th Earl of Pembroke, 11th Earl of Montgomery, (20 February 1853 – 30 March 1913), styled The Honourable Sidney Herbert between 1861 and 1895, was a British politician and peer. Background and education Herbert was born at ...

and Lady Beatrix Louisa Lambton.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wicklow, Ralph Howard, 7th Earl of 1877 births 1946 deaths Members of the 1922 Seanad Members of the 1925 Seanad Irish representative peers Irish unionists Members of the Senate of Southern Ireland

Ralph Ralph (pronounced or ) is a male name of English origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Old High German ''Radulf'', cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms are: * Ra ...

Independent members of Seanad Éireann 7