Earl Canning was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom

Peerage of the United Kingdom

The Peerage of the United Kingdom comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Act of Union in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great Britain...

. It was created in 1859 for the Conservative

Conservative Party (UK)

The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

 politician and then Viceroy of India, Charles Canning, 2nd Viscount Canning

Charles Canning, 1st Earl Canning

Charles John Canning, 1st Earl Canning KG, GCB, PC , known as The Viscount Canning from 1837 to 1859, was an English statesman and Governor-General of India during the Indian Rebellion of 1857.-Background and education:...

. He was the third and youngest son of the noted politician George Canning

George Canning

George Canning PC, FRS was a British statesman and politician who served as Foreign Secretary and briefly Prime Minister.-Early life: 1770–1793:...

, Foreign Secretary from 1807 to 1809 and from 1822 to 1827 and Chancellor of the Exchequer

Chancellor of the Exchequer

The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...

 and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...

 in 1827. In 1828 George Canning's widow Joan

Joan Canning, 1st Viscountess Canning

Joan Canning, 1st Viscountess Canning was the wife of British Prime Minister George Canning.She was born Joan Scott in Scotland, the daughter of Major-General John Scott and Margaret Dundas...

, was raised to the Peerage of the United Kingdom in honour of her husband as Viscountess Canning, of Kilbraham in the County of Kilkenny, with remainder to the heirs male of her body by her late husband. Lady Canning was the daughter of Major-General John Scott. The first Earl Canning was childless and on his death in 1862 both titles became extinct.

Two other members of the Canning family also gained distinction. Stratford Canning, 1st Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe

Stratford Canning, 1st Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe

Stratford Canning, 1st Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe KG GCB PC , was a British diplomat and politician, best known as the longtime British Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire...

, and George Canning, 1st Baron Garvagh

George Canning, 1st Baron Garvagh

George Canning, 1st Baron Garvagh FRS was an Anglo-Irish Member of Parliament.Garvagh was the son of Paul Canning and the grandson of Stratford Canning of Garvagh in County Londonderry. Prime Minister George Canning and the diplomat Stratford Canning, 1st Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe, were his...

, were both first cousins of George Canning.

Viscounts Canning (1828)

• Joan Canning, 1st Viscountess Canning
  Joan Canning, 1st Viscountess Canning
  Joan Canning, 1st Viscountess Canning was the wife of British Prime Minister George Canning.She was born Joan Scott in Scotland, the daughter of Major-General John Scott and Margaret Dundas...
  
   (1777–1837)
  • George Charles Canning (1801–1820)
  • William Pitt Canning (1802–1828)
• Charles John Canning, 2nd Viscount Canning
  Charles Canning, 1st Earl Canning
  Charles John Canning, 1st Earl Canning KG, GCB, PC , known as The Viscount Canning from 1837 to 1859, was an English statesman and Governor-General of India during the Indian Rebellion of 1857.-Background and education:...
  
   (1812–1862) (created Earl Canning in 1859)

Earls Canning (1859)

• Charles John Canning, 1st Earl Canning
  Charles Canning, 1st Earl Canning
  Charles John Canning, 1st Earl Canning KG, GCB, PC , known as The Viscount Canning from 1837 to 1859, was an English statesman and Governor-General of India during the Indian Rebellion of 1857.-Background and education:...
  
  (1812–1862)