Earl Cowley
Encyclopedia
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 1857 for the diplomat Henry Wellesley, 2nd Baron Cowley
Henry Wellesley, 1st Earl Cowley
Henry Richard Charles Wellesley, 1st Earl Cowley KG GCB PC , known as The Lord Cowley between 1847 and 1857, was a British diplomat...
. He was Ambassador to France from 1852 to 1867. He was made Viscount Dangan, of Dangan in the County of Meath, at the same time as he was given the earldom. This title is also in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Lord Cowley was the eldest son of Henry Wellesley, 1st Baron Cowley
Henry Wellesley, 1st Baron Cowley
Henry Wellesley, 1st Baron Cowley GCB was the youngest brother of the Duke of Wellington, and became a notable diplomat in his own right.-Life:...
, who like his son served as Ambassador to France. In 1828 he was created Baron Cowley, of Wellesley in the County of Somerset, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. A member of the prominent Wellesley family, Cowley was the fifth and youngest son of Garret Wellesley, 1st Earl of Mornington, and the younger brother of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
, and Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley
Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley
Richard Colley Wesley, later Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley, KG, PC, PC , styled Viscount Wellesley from birth until 1781, was an Anglo-Irish politician and colonial administrator....
.
The first Earl was succeeded by his eldest son, the second Earl. He was a Lieutenant-Colonel in the Coldstream Guards
Coldstream Guards
Her Majesty's Coldstream Regiment of Foot Guards, also known officially as the Coldstream Guards , is a regiment of the British Army, part of the Guards Division or Household Division....
and fought in the Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
. His great-great-grandson (the titles having descended from father to son), the sixth Earl, served as a Lord-in-Waiting
Lord-in-Waiting
Most Lords in Waiting are Government whips in the House of Lords who are members of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. As members of the Royal Household their duties are nominal, though they are occasionally required to meet visiting political and state leaders on visits...
(government whip in the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
) from January to March 1974 in the Conservative government
Conservative Government 1970-1974
Members of the Cabinet are in bold face.incompleteSource: D. Butler and G. Butler, Twentieth Century British Political Facts 1900-2000...
of Edward Heath
Edward Heath
Sir Edward Richard George "Ted" Heath, KG, MBE, PC was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and as Leader of the Conservative Party ....
. He died at an early age the following year and was succeeded by his uncle, the seventh Earl and present holder of the titles. He is the eldest son from the second marriage of the fourth Earl and the half-brother of the fifth Earl.
Barons Cowley (1828)
- Henry Wellesley, 1st Baron CowleyHenry Wellesley, 1st Baron CowleyHenry Wellesley, 1st Baron Cowley GCB was the youngest brother of the Duke of Wellington, and became a notable diplomat in his own right.-Life:...
(1773–1847) - Henry Richard Charles Wellesley, 2nd Baron CowleyHenry Wellesley, 1st Earl CowleyHenry Richard Charles Wellesley, 1st Earl Cowley KG GCB PC , known as The Lord Cowley between 1847 and 1857, was a British diplomat...
(1804–1884) (created Earl Cowley in 1857)
Earls Cowley (1857)
- Henry Richard Charles Wellesley, 1st Earl CowleyHenry Wellesley, 1st Earl CowleyHenry Richard Charles Wellesley, 1st Earl Cowley KG GCB PC , known as The Lord Cowley between 1847 and 1857, was a British diplomat...
(1804–1884) - William Henry Wellesley, 2nd Earl Cowley (1834–1895)
- Henry Arthur Mornington Wellesley, 3rd Earl Cowley (1866–1919)
- Christian Arthur Wellesley, 4th Earl Cowley (1890–1962)
- Denis Arthur Wellesley, 5th Earl Cowley (1921–1968)
- Richard Francis Wellesley, 6th Earl CowleyRichard Wellesley, 6th Earl CowleyRichard Francis Wellesley, 6th Earl Cowley , known as Viscount Dangan from 1962 to 1968, was a British Conservative politician....
(1946–1975) - Garret Graham Wellesley, 7th Earl Cowley (b. 1934)
The heir apparent
Heir apparent
An heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by a change in the rules of succession....
is the present holder's son Garret Graham Wellesley, Viscount Dangan
Graham Wellesley, Viscount Dangan
Garret "Graham" Wellesley, Viscount Dangan is the only son of Garret Wellesley, 7th Earl Cowley.Lord Dangan was the founder and Chief Executive of IFX and Finspreads In 2003 the board of directors of IFX forced him to resign as Chief Executive, and he sold his IFX holdings...
(b. 1965)