Name John 4th Died 1831 | Coronation date 1781 Deposed date March 17, 1831 | |
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John Bligh, 4th Earl of Darnley (30 June 1767 – 17 March 1831), styled Lord Clifton until 1781, was a British peer and cricketer.
He was the son of John Bligh, 3rd Earl of Darnley and succeeded his father as earl on the latter's death in 1781. He matriculated at Christ Church, Oxford on 16 November, 1784. On 3 July 1793, he was made a DCL. He resided at Cobham Hall, near Gravesend in Kent.
John Bligh was a noted amateur cricketer who made 27 known appearances in first-class cricket matches between 1789 and 1796. He and his brother, the Honourable (later General) Edward Bligh, were staunch supporters of Kent cricket. The Bligh brothers, who originated from Athboy, County Meath, have been called "the first Irish first-class cricketers".
On 26 August 1791, he married Elizabeth Brownlow (d. 22 December 1831), daughter of William Brownlow, by whom he had seven children:
Darnley Bay in the Northwest Territories, Canada was named for him by John Richardson.