Robert Howard, 2nd Earl of Wicklow (7 August 1757 – 23 October 1815) was an

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the State rel ...

politician and peer.

Biography

Howard was the eldest son of

Ralph Howard, 1st Viscount Wicklow Ralph Howard, 1st Viscount Wicklow PC (I) (29 August 1727 – 26 June 1789) was an Anglo-Irish politician and nobleman. Early life Ralph Howard was born on 29 August 1727 at Shelton Abbey, County Wicklow, the eldest son of seven children born to ...

and his wife, Alice Howard, 1st Countess of Wicklow.John Bernard Burke
''A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire''
(H. Colburn, 1845). Howard's mother had been made a peeress in her own right following the death of her husband.''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage,'' 100th Edn, London, 1953: 'Wicklow'. He served 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, ...

as the Member of Parliament for St Johnstown between 1776 and 1789. On 26 June 1789, he succeeded to his father's title, forcing him to resign his seat in the Commons, and he assumed his seat in the

Irish House of Lords The Irish House of Lords was the upper house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from medieval times until the end of 1800. It was also the final court of appeal of the Kingdom of Ireland. It was modelled on the House of Lords of Englan ...

. Following the implementation of the

Acts of Union 1800 The Acts of Union 1800 were parallel acts of the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of Ireland which united the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland (previously in personal union) to create the United Kingdom of G ...

he was elected as one of the original 28

Irish representative peer This is a list of representative peers elected from the Peerage of Ireland to sit in the British House of Lords after the Kingdom of Ireland was brought into union with the Kingdom of Great Britain. No new members were added to the House after ...

and took his seat in the British

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

. Following his mother's death on 7 March 1807, he succeeded to his mother's title as Earl of Wicklow. On the outbreak of the

French Revolutionary War The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted France against Great Britain, Austria, Prussia, Russia, and several other countries ...

he raised the Wicklow Militia under the Militia Act (Ireland) 1793, and was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel commanding on 25 April 1793 (he was later promoted to

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

with the same date of seniority). He resigned his command in August 1797, and his brother, the Hon Hugh Howard, was appointed to succeed him.Maj E.B. Evans, ''An Outline of the History of The County Wicklow Regiment of Militia'', published by the Officers of the County Wicklow Militia, 1885, pp. 38–9.
/ref> He never married, and was succeeded in his titles by his younger brother, William Howard.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wicklow, Robert Howard, 2nd Earl of 1757 births 1815 deaths 18th-century Anglo-Irish people 19th-century Anglo-Irish people

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...

Irish MPs 1776–1783 Irish MPs 1783–1790 Irish representative peers Members of the Irish House of Lords Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Donegal constituencies Wicklow Militia officers 2