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Dundonald, Thomas Cochrane, 10th earl of

(Encyclopedia)Dundonald, Thomas Cochrane, 10th earl of dŭndŏnˈəld [key], 1775–1860, British naval commander. He served in the Napoleonic Wars, executing his assignments with a boldness and originality sometim...

Dunmore, John Murray, 4th earl of

(Encyclopedia)Dunmore, John Murray, 4th earl of, 1732–1809, British colonial governor of Virginia, a Scottish peer. Appointed governor of New York in 1770, he remained there for about 11 months before being trans...

Elgin, James Bruce, 8th earl of

(Encyclopedia)Elgin, James Bruce, 8th earl of ĕlˈgĭn [key], 1811–63, British statesman, son of the 7th earl. He served as governor of Jamaica (1842–46) and in 1847 was appointed governor-general of Canada. T...

Elgin, Thomas Bruce, 7th earl of

(Encyclopedia)Elgin, Thomas Bruce, 7th earl of, 1766–1841, British diplomat. He served on diplomatic missions to Vienna, Brussels, Berlin, and Constantinople. While in Constantinople (1799–1803), he arranged fo...

Selkirk, Thomas Douglas, 5th earl of

(Encyclopedia)Selkirk, Thomas Douglas, 5th earl of, 1771–1820, Scottish philanthropist, founder of the Red River Settlement. Emigration to America seemed to him the best solution for the poverty of his countrymen...

Shelburne, William Petty Fitzmaurice, 2d earl of

(Encyclopedia)Shelburne, William Petty Fitzmaurice, 2d earl of, 1737–1805, British statesman. He served briefly (1763) as president of the Board of Trade in George Grenville's cabinet but then became a supporter ...

Pembroke, Richard de Clare, 2d earl of

(Encyclopedia)Pembroke, Richard de Clare, 2d earl of, d. 1176, English nobleman, also known as Richard Strongbow. He went as an adventurer (1170) to Ireland at the request of the hard-pressed Dermot McMurrough, kin...

Sackville, Charles, 6th earl of Dorset

(Encyclopedia)Sackville, Charles, 6th earl of Dorset, 1638–1706, English poet and courtier. After the restoration, he became a member of the intimate circle of young rakes and wits at the court of Charles II, wri...

Roscommon, Wentworth Dillon, 4th earl of

(Encyclopedia)Roscommon, Wentworth Dillon, 4th earl of rŏskŏmˈən [key], 1633?–1685, English poet and scholar, b. Ireland. He was one of the first to praise Milton's genius. Besides making a blank-verse transl...

Sandwich, John Montagu, 4th earl of

(Encyclopedia)Sandwich, John Montagu, 4th earl of, 1718–92, British politician. He served variously as secretary of state (1763–65, 1770–71) and first lord of the admiralty (1748–51, 1763, 1771–82). He ea...