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Mansfield, William Murray, 1st earl of

(Encyclopedia)Mansfield, William Murray, 1st earl of, 1705–93, English jurist. As solicitor general (1742–54) he prosecuted the Scottish rebel lords, Balmerino (Arthur Elphinstone), Kilmarnock, and Lovat. In 17...

Arlington, Henry Bennet, 1st earl of

(Encyclopedia)Arlington, Henry Bennet, 1st earl of, 1618–85, English statesman. He fought for the royalists in the English civil war and, after going into exile, served as an envoy in Spain for the future Charles...

Walpole, Robert, 1st earl of Orford

(Encyclopedia)Walpole, Robert, 1st earl of Orford, 1676–1745, English statesman. Walpole is usually described as the first prime minister of Great Britain, but he was not a prime minister in the modern sense. A...

Westmorland, Ralph Neville, 1st earl of

(Encyclopedia)Westmorland, Ralph Neville, 1st earl of, 1364–1425, English nobleman. His family was one of the most powerful in England and shared domination of the northern counties with the Percy family, with wh...

Boyle, Richard, 1st earl of Cork

(Encyclopedia)Boyle, Richard, 1st earl of Cork, 1566–1643, English settler in Ireland. He first went to Ireland in 1588 and in 1602 purchased for a small sum Sir Walter Raleigh's large landholdings in Cork, Water...

Breadalbane, John Campbell, 1st earl of

(Encyclopedia)Breadalbane, John Campbell, 1st earl of brədôlˈbĭn, brĕd– [key], 1635?–1717, Scottish nobleman. He took part in the royalist rising of 1654 and helped George Monck to further the restoration ...

Bristol, John Digby, 1st earl of

(Encyclopedia)Bristol, John Digby, 1st earl of, 1580–1653, English diplomat. He spent most of the years 1611–24 at the Spanish court, where as ambassador he conducted the prolonged negotiations for the marriage...

Bigod, Hugh, 1st earl of Norfolk

(Encyclopedia)Bigod, Hugh, 1st earl of Norfolk bīˈgŏd, nôrˈfək [key], d. 1177, English nobleman. He was instrumental in securing the throne for Stephen in 1135, but he subsequently switched his allegiance bac...

Strafford, Thomas Wentworth, 1st earl of

(Encyclopedia)Strafford, Thomas Wentworth, 1st earl of, 1593–1641, English statesman. Regularly elected to Parliament from 1614 on, he became one of the critics of George Villiers, 1st duke of Buckingham, and of ...

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