Randal Thomas Mowbray Berkeley, 8th Earl of Berkeley (31 January 1865 – 15 January 1942) was a British peer, physical chemist, and landowner.

Birth and ancestry

Berkeley was born in

Ixelles (French language, French, ) or (Dutch language, Dutch, ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located to the south-east of Pentagon (Brussels), Brusse ...

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, the third son (but only legitimate son) of George Lennox Rawdon Berkeley (1827–1888) by his wife, Cécile (died 1914), daughter of Edward Drummond, count of Melfort and divorced wife of Admiral Sir Fleetwood B. R. Pellew. In 1882, his father inherited the titles of

Earl of Berkeley The title Baron Berkeley originated as a feudal title and was subsequently created twice in the Peerage of England by writ. It was first granted by writ to Thomas de Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley (1245–1321), 6th feudal Baron Berkeley, in 12 ...

and Viscount Dursley from his cousin, Thomas Moreton Fitzhardinge Berkeley, 6th Earl of Berkeley and 14th Baron Berkeley (who did not use the earldom by family arrangement) while the barony of Berkeley descended to a female line; Randal Berkeley then assumed the courtesy title of Viscount Dursley. On the death of his father in 1888 he assumed the title of Earl of Berkeley, and he established his right to the peerage in 1891.

Life

Berkeley lived with his parents abroad, and was educated in France before returning to England to prepare for entrance into the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

, being crammed at Dr. Burney's Academy for the purpose. He entered HMS ''Britannia'' in 1878, and served on various ships from 1880 to 1887, including a period of service on the

China Station The Commander-in-Chief, China, was the admiral in command of what was usually known as the China Station, at once both a British Royal Navy naval formation and its admiral in command. It was created in 1865 and deactivated in 1941. From 1831 to 1 ...

. He also attended the

Royal Naval College, Greenwich The Royal Naval College, Greenwich, was a Royal Navy training establishment between 1873 and 1998, providing courses for naval officers. It was the home of the Royal Navy's staff college, which provided advanced training for officers. The equi ...

. He married Mary Emlen née Lowell. His interest in science and mathematics was stimulated by his time in the navy. In 1887, he resigned his commission to dedicate himself to scientific research. He then studied for a period at the

Royal College of Science The Royal College of Science was a higher education institution located in South Kensington; it was a constituent college of Imperial College London from 1907 until it was wholly absorbed by Imperial in 2002. Still to this day, graduates from t ...

, during which he became interested in crystals.

References

Randal Thomas Mowbray Rawdon Berkeley Earl of Berkeley. 1865-1942

The Earl of Berkeley, F.R.S

Berkeley, Randal Thomas Mowbray Rawdon, eighth earl of Berkeley (1865–1942), physical chemist and landowner

External links

* {{Authority control 8 1865 births 1942 deaths Fellows of the Royal Society British physical chemists 19th-century British landowners Royal Navy officers 20th-century British landowners