William Clavering-Cowper, 2nd Earl Cowper (13 August 1709 – 18 September 1764), styled Viscount Fordwich between 1718 and 1723, was a British peer and courtier.

Born William Cowper, he was the eldest son of William Cowper, 1st Earl Cowper

William Cowper, 1st Earl Cowper

William Cowper, 1st Earl Cowper PC KC FRS was an English politician who became the first Lord Chancellor of Great Britain. Cowper was the son of Sir William Cowper, 2nd Baronet, of Ratling Court, Kent, a Whig member of parliament of some mark in the two last Stuart reigns...

, by Anne, daughter of John Clavering, of Chopwell

Chopwell

Chopwell is a village in Tyne and Wear, located approximately three miles west of Rowlands Gill and one mile north of Hamsterley.Traditionally an area of coal mining, Chopwell was nicknamed "Little Moscow" because of the strong support for the Communist Party...

, County Durham

County Durham

County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...

. He later assumed the additional surname of Clavering. He succeeded his father in the earldom in October 1723, aged 14. In 1744 he was appointed Lord-Lieutenant of Hertfordshire, a post he held until his death. He was also a Lord of the Bedchamber

Lord of the Bedchamber

A Lord of the Bedchamber, previously known as a Gentleman of the Bedchamber was a courtier in the Royal Household of the King of the United Kingdom and the Prince of Wales. A Lord of the Bedchamber's duties consisted of assisting the King with his dressing, waiting on him when he ate in private,...

 to George II

George II of Great Britain

George II was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Archtreasurer and Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 June 1727 until his death.George was the last British monarch born outside Great Britain. He was born and brought up in Northern Germany...

.

Lord Cowper was twice married. He married firstly Lady Henrietta, daughter of Henry de Nassau d'Auverquerque, 1st Earl of Grantham, in 1732. After her death in September 1747 he married secondly Lady Georgiana Caroline, daughter of John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville

John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville

John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville, 7th Seigneur of Sark, KG, PC , commonly known by his earlier title as Lord Carteret, was a British statesman and Lord President of the Council from 1751 to 1763.-Family:...

 and widow of John Spencer

John Spencer (British politician)

John Spencer was a British politician and an ancestor of the Earls Spencer.-Biography:Born the Hon. John Spencer, he was the youngest son of the 3rd Earl of Sunderland and his wife, Lady Anne Churchill. In 1732, he succeeded his cousin, William Godolphin, Marquess of Blandford as Member of...

, in 1750. He died in September 1764, aged 55, and was succeeded in the earldom by his son from his first marriage, George

George Clavering-Cowper, 3rd Earl Cowper

George Nassau Clavering-Cowper, 3rd Earl Cowper was an English peer who went on the grand tour as a young man, but actually emigrated. Despite becoming a Member of Parliament and inheriting lands and the title of Earl Cowper in England, he remained in Italy. He amassed a valuable art collection...

. The Countess Cowper died in August 1780.