John Perceval, 2nd Earl of Egmont

Rt. Hon. The Earl of Egmont

John Perceval, 2nd Earl of Egmont PC, FRS (25 February 1711 – 4 December 1770) was a British politician, political pamphleteer, and genealogist. He is noted for holding the office of First Lord of the Admiralty.

The son of John Perceval, 1st Earl of Egmont and Catherine Parker (daughter of Sir Philip Parker, 2nd Baronet of Arwarton), he was baptised at Westminster Palace, London.

Career

Perceval sat in the Irish House of Commons for Dingle between 1731 and 1749. In April 1748, he was created Lord of the Bedchamber to the Prince of Wales. He served as First Lord of the Admiralty from 1763 to 1766 and sat in the House of Commons for several constituencies.

Enmore Castle

From 1751 to 1757, he designed and created Enmore Castle, Enmore, Somerset, which received 'the dismissive mockery of Horace Walpole'.

Family

He was twice married, firstly to Lady Catherine Cecil (d. 1752), and secondly to Catherine Compton. There were eight sons and eight daughters. One of his younger sons from the second marriage was Spencer Perceval, later British Prime Minister.

Lord Perceval died 4 December 1770 at Pall Mall, London, aged 59.

Mount Egmont

Mount Egmont in New Zealand was named after him by James Cook in recognition of his encouragement of Cook's first voyage. Since the 1980s, the mountain has two official names, either Mount Taranaki or Mount Egmont, to give equal recognition to its Māori and English names.

See also

• Earl of Egmont

References

• Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages
•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

External links

• "Enmore Castle". Images of England. http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/details/default.aspx?id=269282. Retrieved 2007-06-21. 

Parliament of Ireland
Preceded by Thomas Crosbie John FitzGerald	Member of Parliament for Dingle 1731 – 1749 With: John FitzGerald 1731–1741 Robert FitzGerald 1741–1749	Succeeded by Robert FitzGerald Sir William Fownes, 2nd Bt
Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by Sir Charles Wager The Lord Sundon	Member of Parliament for Westminster 1741 – 1747 With: Charles Edwin	Succeeded by Viscount Trentham Sir Peter Warren
Preceded by Mansel Powell Savage Mostyn	Member of Parliament for Weobly 1747 – 1754 With: Savage Mostyn	Succeeded by John Craster Savage Mostyn
Preceded by George Bubb Dodington Robert Balch	Member of Parliament for Bridgwater 1754 – 1762 With: Robert Balch 1754–1761 Edward Southwell 1761–1762	Succeeded by Viscount Perceval Edward Southwell
Preceded by Thomas Lockyer Joseph Tolson Lockyer	Member of Parliament for Ilchester 1761 With: Joseph Tolson Lockyer	Succeeded by William Wilson Joseph Tolson Lockyer
Political offices
Preceded by Unknown	Postmaster General 1762 – 1763	Succeeded by The Lord Hyde
Preceded by The Earl of Sandwich	First Lord of the Admiralty 1763 – 1766	Succeeded by Sir Charles Saunders
Honorary titles
Vacant Title last held by The Lord Melcombe	Vice-Admiral of Somerset 1766–1770	Vacant Title next held by The Duke of Somerset
Peerage of Ireland
Preceded by John Perceval	Earl of Egmont 1748 – 1770	Succeeded by John Perceval
Peerage of Great Britain
New creation	Baron Lovel and Holland 1762 – 1770	Succeeded by John Perceval