Richard Edgcumbe, 2nd Baron Edgcumbe PC (2 August 1716 – 10 May 1761) was a British

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

 nobleman and politician.

The eldest surviving son of Richard Edgcumbe, 1st Baron Edgcumbe

Richard Edgcumbe, 1st Baron Edgcumbe

Richard Edgcumbe, 1st Baron Edgcumbe, PC was an English politician.He was the son of Sir Richard Edgcumbe and Lady Anne Montagu, daughter of the Earl of Sandwich...

 and his wife Matilda Furnese, he was educated at Eton

Eton College

Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....

 from 1725 to 1732. Through his father's interest in Devon

Devon

Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...

 and Cornwall

Cornwall

Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...

, he was returned as Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 for Plympton Erle

Plympton Erle (UK Parliament constituency)

Plympton Erle, also spelt Plympton Earle, was a parliamentary borough in Devon. It elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1295 until 1832, when the borough was abolished by the Great Reform Act.-1295-1640:-1640-1832:...

 at a by-election

By-election

A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....

 in 1742 as a Government supporter.

Edgcumbe was a heavy gambler, losing a "daily twenty guineas" at White's

White's

White's is a London gentlemen's club, established at 4 Chesterfield Street in 1693 by Italian immigrant Francesco Bianco . Originally it was established to sell hot chocolate, a rare and expensive commodity at the time...

. He was given a secret service pension of £500 a year by Henry Pelham

Henry Pelham

Henry Pelham was a British Whig statesman, who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain from 27 August 1743 until his death in 1754...

 to provide for him. Meanwhile, he was made a capital burgess of Lostwithiel

Lostwithiel

Lostwithiel is a civil parish and small town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom at the head of the estuary of the River Fowey. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 2,739...

 in 1743 and served as mayor the next year. He switched his seat to Lostwithiel

Lostwithiel (UK Parliament constituency)

Lostwithiel was a rotten borough in Cornwall which returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons in the English and later British Parliament from 1304 to 1832, when it was abolished by the Great Reform Act.-History:...

 in 1747. Dissatisfied with subsisting on Government charity, he unsuccessfully made application to Pelham for employment, rather than a pension, in 1752. He was eventually made a Lord of Trade in 1754, when he was returned for Penryn

Penryn (UK Parliament constituency)

Penryn was a parliamentary borough in Cornwall, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of England from 1553 until 1707, to the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and finally to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801 to until 1832...

 and the next year, a Lord of the Admiralty instead, serving for a year. In 1756, he was appointed Comptroller of the Household

Comptroller of the Household

The Comptroller of the Household is an ancient position in the English royal household, currently the second-ranking member of the Lord Steward's department, and often a cabinet member. He was an ex officio member of the Board of Green Cloth, until that body was abolished in the reform of the local...

 and was again mayor of Lostwithiel, being appointed to the Privy Council on 19 November. Succeeding his father in 1758, he was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall

Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall

This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall. Since 1742, all the Lords Lieutenant have also been Custos Rotulorum of Cornwall.*John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford 1552–1554*John Bourchier, 2nd Earl of Bath 1556–?...

 in 1759 and recorder

Recorder (judge)

A Recorder is a judicial officer in England and Wales. It now refers to two quite different appointments. The ancient Recorderships of England and Wales now form part of a system of Honorary Recorderships which are filled by the most senior full-time circuit judges...

 of Plympton Erle. He died childless in 1761 and was succeeded by his brother.