Monarch William IV Nationality British Died April 15, 1856 Succeeded by Viscount Mahon Role British Politician | Preceded by Sir George Shee, Bt Name George 6th Political party Whig | |
Spouse Anne Florence Cowper, 7th Baroness Lucas (m. 1833–1856) Children Francis Cowper, 7th Earl Cowper, Henry Cowper, Lady Florence Amabell Cowper Parents Peter Clavering-Cowper, 5th Earl Cowper, Emily Lamb, Countess Cowper Siblings William Cowper-Temple, 1st Baron Mount Temple Similar People Emily Lamb - Countess, Elizabeth Lamb - Viscounte, William Lamb - 2nd Viscount, Henry John Temple - 3rd Visco, Charles Cowper | ||
Prime Minister the Viscount Melbourne | ||
George Augustus Frederick Cowper, 6th Earl Cowper (26 June 1806 – 15 April 1856), styled Viscount Fordwich until 1837, was a British Whig politician. He served briefly as Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs under his uncle Lord Melbourne in 1834.
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Background
Cowper was the eldest son of Peter Clavering-Cowper, 5th Earl Cowper, and his wife Emily Lamb, daughter of Peniston Lamb, 1st Viscount Melbourne, sister of Prime Minister William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, and a leading figure in Regency society. William Cowper-Temple, 1st Baron Mount Temple, was his younger brother. His mother married as her second husband the future Prime Minister Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, in 1839.
He was commissioned a cornet in the Royal Horse Guards on 28 April 1827. On 27 February 1830, he purchased a lieutenancy in the regiment. He retired on the half-pay of the New South Wales Veteran Companies in March 1831, but exchanged into a lieutenancy in the 31st Regiment of Foot on 13 February 1835. He retired from the army on 6 March 1835.
Political career
Cowper entered the House of Commons for Canterbury in the 1830 general election, and served briefly under his uncle Lord Melbourne as Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs between November and December 1834. He lost his seat in Parliament in the 1835 general election. Two years later he succeeded his father in the earldom. Between 1846 and 1856 he served as Lord-Lieutenant of Kent.
Family
Lord Cowper married Lady Anne Florence de Grey (who after her husband's death succeeded as sixth Baroness Lucas of Crudwell), daughter of Thomas de Grey, 2nd Earl de Grey, in 1833. They had two sons and four daughters;
Lord Cowper died in April 1856, aged 49, and was succeeded in the earldom by his eldest son Francis. Lady Cowper died in 1880.