George Edgcumbe, 1st Earl of Mount Edgcumbe

George Edgcumbe, painting by Joshua Reynolds

George Edgcumbe, 1st Earl of Mount Edgcumbe (March 3, 1720 , † February 4, 1795 in London ) was a British nobleman, naval officer and politician. As an apparently capable naval officer, he rose to captain, for which he was elected four times as a member of the House of Commons . He later inherited a peerage , was promoted to admiral, and made an earl as a major local nobleman.

Origin and youth

George Edgcumbe came from the Edgcumbe family . He was the third and youngest, but second surviving son of Richard Edgcumbe, 1st Baron Edgcumbe and his wife Matilda Furnese. He probably attended Eton College first , before he was one of the first eight students to attend the new Royal Naval Academy in Portsmouth on August 14, 1733 .

Career as a military and politician

Promotion to captain during the War of the Austrian Succession

Despite attending the Naval Academy, Edgcumbe served from 1735 as a midshipman for almost four years on the 60-gun ship HMS York and briefly on other ships before he was promoted to lieutenant on October 4, 1739. As third lieutenant he served on the HMS Superb , which was part of the Mediterranean fleet . During the War of the Austrian Succession Edgcumbe switched to the 70-gunship HMS Nassau as a lieutenant , before he was given his first command of the Bombarde Terrible in early 1743 . On August 19, 1744 he was promoted to captain and in command of the 24-gun frigate Kennington . With this he served again in the Mediterranean, before he took over the new 50-gunship HMS Salisbury of Home Station in 1745 . He kept this command until the Peace of Aachen in 1748 .

Member of the House of Commons

On June 30, 1746 Edgcumbe was elected in a by-election as a member of the Borough Fowey . In the House of Commons he was considered a supporter of the Whig government, but because of his military service he will rarely have attended the meetings. He was never recorded as a speaker, but thanks to his father's influence, he was re-elected in the general elections in 1747, 1754 and March 1761. After his father had become Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster , he gave George in 1747 as Clerk of the Council the administration of the lands of the Duchy of Lancaster .

Service during the Seven Years War

In 1751 Edgcumbe was in command of the 70 gunship HMS Monmouth and in 1752 the 50 gunship HMS Deptford . Together with several other smaller ships, the Deptford was lying off Maó in front of the British base Menorca in the Mediterranean when the French landed on the island on April 19, 1756 during the Seven Years' War . Edgcumbe quickly brought the marines on board and as many sailors ashore to fight as he could spare. Before the French could block the port, he left Maó on April 20 and sailed for Gibraltar . There he joined Admiral John Byng , who transferred him to the 66 gunship HMS Lancaster . With this ship he took part in the naval battle of Menorca on May 20, 1756 under Rear Admiral Temple West . In the battle, the Lancaster was not supported by the rest of the fleet, which is why it suffered heavy losses. Because of the unfavorable course of the battle, Admiral Byng was sentenced to death by a court martial. In 1757 Edgcumbe captured two prizes with the Lancaster , and in 1758 the Lancaster with Edgcumbe belonged to the fleet that besieged and conquered the French fortress Louisbourg in Canada under the command of Admiral Edward Boscawen . After that, Edgcumbe returned to Great Britain, bringing with him the news of the capture of Louisburg. He was now in command of the new 74-gun ship HMS Hero , with which he took part in the long blockade of Brest in the summer of 1759 and in the subsequent naval battle in the Bay of Quiberon . Then he was with the Hero of the Channel Fleet under Admiral Edward Hawke and Admiral Boscawen. When his brother Richard Edgcumbe, 2nd Baron Edgcumbe died in May 1761, Edgcumbe inherited the family estates and the title of Baron Edgcumbe . Thereupon he resigned his command.

Further services as military, courtier and politician

As Baron Edgcumbe Edgcumbe had become a member of the House of Lords, with which he resigned from the House of Commons and in 1762 also resigned from his office as Clerk of the Council of the Duchy of Lancaster. On June 18, 1761, he became Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall . Without having an active command, he was promoted to Rear Admiral on October 21, 1762 . From 1765 to 1766 he held the court office of Treasurer of the Household , with which he also became a member of the Privy Council . He then served as Command-in-Chief of the Plymouth Naval Base until 1770 . On October 24, 1770 he was promoted to Vice Admiral. In 1773 he was again given the command of Plymouth. When King George III. In June 1773 a naval parade took off from Spithead , Edgcumbe commanded part of the fleet. Edgcumbe enjoyed the king's favor. From 1773 to 1782 he served as captain of the Gentlemen Pensioneers , and although he was no longer given active naval command after 1773, he was promoted to Admiral of the White on January 29, 1778 . On the occasion of a visit to Mount Edgcumbe House , the king raised him to Viscount Mount Edgcumbe and Valletort on February 17, 1781 . Allegedly he received this title as compensation for the damage in the park of Mount Edgcumbe after fortifications were built there by French-Spanish forces during the American War of Independence to ward off a feared landing. From 1771 to 1773 and from 1784 to 1793 Edgcumbe served as Vice-Treasurer of Ireland, and from 1782 he was responsible for the coastal defense of Cornwall as Vice Admiral . On another visit to Mount Edgcumbe, the king elevated him to Earl of Mount Edgcumbe on August 31, 1789 .

family

Edgcumbe had married Emma Gilbert , the only daughter of John Gilbert , Archbishop of York , on August 16, 1761 . With her he had a son, Richard Edgcumbe , who became his heir. Edgcumbe's will shows that, despite his extensive possessions, he feared he might get into financial distress. This may explain the many offices he has held.

Others

James Cook probably named the New Zealand volcano Mount Edgecumbe after George Edgcumbe.

George Edgcumbe began to transform the gardens around his Mount Edgcumbe manor into a landscaped park. The park is considered the oldest landscaped park in Cornwall. On June 10, 1784 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society .

literature

• John Knox Laughton: Edgcumbe, George , in: Dictionary of National Biography . Volume XVI . Macmillan, Smith, Elder & Co., London and New York 1888, p. 375

Web links

• Biographies of Interesting People: Admiral George Edgcumbe, 1st Earl of Mount Edgcumbe
• AWH Pearsall: Edgcumbe, George, first earl of Mount Edgcumbe (1720-1795). In: Henry Colin Gray Matthew, Brian Harrison (Eds.): Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , from the earliest times to the year 2000 (ODNB). Oxford University Press, Oxford 2004, ISBN 0-19-861411-X , ( oxforddnb.com license required ), as of 2004
• Eveline Cruickshanks: EDGCUMBE, Hon. George (1720-95), of Mount Edgcumbe, no. Plymouth, Devon. (History of Parliament Online, Ref Volumes: 1715–1754)
• Mary M. Drummond: EDGCUMBE, Hon. George (1720-95), of Mount Edgcumbe, no. Plymouth. (History of Parliament Online, Ref Volumes: 1754–1790)

predecessor	Office	successor
Richard Edgcumbe	Baron Edgcumbe 1761-1795	Richard Edgcumbe
New title created	Viscount Mount Edgcumbe and Valletort 1781–1795	Richard Edgcumbe
New title created	Earl of Mount Edgcumbe 1789-1795	Richard Edgcumbe