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Bristol, John Digby, 1st earl of

(Encyclopedia)Bristol, John Digby, 1st earl of, 1580–1653, English diplomat. He spent most of the years 1611–24 at the Spanish court, where as ambassador he conducted the prolonged negotiations for the marriage...

Bigod, Hugh, 1st earl of Norfolk

(Encyclopedia)Bigod, Hugh, 1st earl of Norfolk bīˈgŏd, nôrˈfək [key], d. 1177, English nobleman. He was instrumental in securing the throne for Stephen in 1135, but he subsequently switched his allegiance bac...

Strafford, Thomas Wentworth, 1st earl of

(Encyclopedia)Strafford, Thomas Wentworth, 1st earl of, 1593–1641, English statesman. Regularly elected to Parliament from 1614 on, he became one of the critics of George Villiers, 1st duke of Buckingham, and of ...

Stair, John Dalrymple, 1st earl of

(Encyclopedia)Stair, John Dalrymple, 1st earl of, 1648–1707, Scottish statesman; son of Viscount Stair. He served under James II, but sponsored the accession (1688) of William III in the Scottish Parliament and b...

Suffolk, Thomas Howard, 1st earl of

(Encyclopedia)Suffolk, Thomas Howard, 1st earl of, 1561–1626, English nobleman; son of the 4th duke of Norfolk. He was attainted at the time of his father's execution (1572), but his rights were restored in 1584....

Southampton, Thomas Wriothesley, 1st earl of

(Encyclopedia)Southampton, Thomas Wriothesley, 1st earl of, c.1500–1550, lord chancellor of England. Appointed a clerk of the signet in 1530, he rose in the favor of Thomas Cromwell and Henry VIII, who granted hi...

Selborne, Roundell Palmer, 1st earl of

(Encyclopedia)Selborne, Roundell Palmer, 1st earl of sĕlˈbôrn [key], 1812–95, British jurist and statesman. Called to the bar in 1837, he entered Parliament in 1847 as a nominal Conservative. He soon was assoc...

Shrewsbury, John Talbot, 1st earl of

(Encyclopedia)Shrewsbury, John Talbot, 1st earl of shrōzˈbərē, shro͞ozˈ– [key], 1388?–1453, English soldier. As lieutenant of Ireland (1414–19, 1445–47) he quelled unrest in that country, but he achie...

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