Thomas Herbert, 8th Earl of Pembroke

The Earl of Pembroke

Thomas Herbert, 8th Earl of Pembroke, 5th Earl of Montgomery, KG, PC, FRS (c. 1656 – 22 January 1733) was a British politician during the reigns of William III and Anne.

He was the third son of Philip Herbert, 5th Earl of Pembroke and his wife Catharine Villiers. Both of his brothers having died without a male heir, he succeeded to the earldoms in 1683.

In 1684, he married Margaret, only daughter of Sir Robert Sawyer of Highclere Castle and Margaret Suckeley, by whom he had seven sons and five daughters:

• Henry Herbert, 9th Earl of Pembroke (c.1689–1750)
• Hon. Robert Sawyer Herbert (d. 1769), who inherited Highclere Castle
• Hon. Charles Herbert
• Hon. Thomas Herbert (c.1695–1739)
• Maj-Gen. Hon. William Herbert (c.1696–31 March 1757), married Catherine Elizabeth Tewes (- 28 August 1770) and had Henry Herbert, 1st Earl of Carnarvon, who inherited Highclere Castle from his uncle
• Hon. John Herbert
• Hon. Nicholas Herbert (c.1706–1775)
• Lady Catherine Herbert (d. September 1716), married Sir Nicholas Morice, 2nd Baronet
• Lady Margaret Herbert (d. 15 December 1752)
• Lady Elizabeth Herbert
• Lady Anne Herbert
• Lady Rebecca Herbert, married William Nevill, 16th Baron Bergavenny

From 1690 to 1692 he was First Lord of the Admiralty; then he served as Lord Privy Seal until 1699, being in 1697 the first plenipotentiary of Great Britain at the congress of Ryswick.

His second wife was Barbara (d. 1 August 1721), daughter of Sir Thomas Slingsby, 2nd Baronet, by whom he had one daughter:

• Lady Barbara Herbert (d. 27 December 1752), married Edward Dudley North on 3 October 1730

By his third wife, Mary Howe (d. 1749), sister of Scroop Howe, 1st Viscount Howe, he had no children. She subsequently married John Mordaunt.

On two occasions he was Lord High Admiral for a short period; he was also Lord President of the Council and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, while he acted as one of the Lords Justices seven times; and he was President of the Royal Society in 1689–1690. He is the dedicatee of John Locke's An Essay Concerning Human Understanding and Thomas Greenhill's The Art of Embalming".

References

• Doyle, James William Edmund (1886). The Official Baronage of England: showing the succession, dignities, and offices of every peer from 1066 to 1885, Vol. III. London: Longmans, Green & Co.. http://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC14464012&id=DO8IAAAAIAAJ&dq. Retrieved 2007-01-25. 
• Collins, Arthur (1812). Peerage of England. F.C. and J. Rivington. pp. 142–143. http://books.google.com/books?id=xlI5AAAAMAAJ. Retrieved 2007-11-03. 

Parliament of England
Preceded by Thomas Mompesson John Berkenhead	Member of Parliament for Wilton 1679–1683 With: Thomas Penruddocke 1679 Sir John Nicholas 1679–1683	Succeeded by Sir John Nicholas Oliver Nicholas
Political offices
Preceded by The Earl of Torrington	First Lord of the Admiralty 1690–1692	Succeeded by The Lord Cornwallis
Preceded by In Commission	Lord Privy Seal 1692–1699	Succeeded by The Viscount Lonsdale
Preceded by The Duke of Leeds	Lord President of the Council 1699–1702	Succeeded by The Duke of Somerset
Preceded by The Earl of Bridgewater (First Lord of the Admiralty)	Lord High Admiral 1701–1702	Succeeded by Prince George of Denmark
Preceded by The Duke of Somerset	Lord President of the Council 1702–1708	Succeeded by The Lord Somers
Preceded by The Duke of Ormonde	Lord Lieutenant of Ireland 1707–1708	Succeeded by The Earl of Wharton
Preceded by Queen Anne	Lord High Admiral 1708–1709	Succeeded by The Earl of Orford (First Lord of the Admiralty)
Honorary titles
Preceded by The Earl of Pembroke	Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire jointly with The Earl of Yarmouth 1688–1689 1683–1733	Succeeded by The Earl of Pembroke
	Custos Rotulorum of Glamorgan 1683–1728	Succeeded by The Duke of Bolton
	Custos Rotulorum of Pembrokeshire 1683–1715	Succeeded by Sir Arthur Owen, Bt
Preceded by The Earl of Macclesfield	Lord Lieutenant of Pembrokeshire 1694–1715
	Lord Lieutenant of Brecknockshire and Monmouthshire 1694–1715	Succeeded by John Morgan
	Lord Lieutenant of Cardiganshire 1694–1715	Succeeded by The Viscount Lisburne
	Lord Lieutenant of Carmarthenshire 1694–1715	Vacant Title next held by George Rice
	Lord Lieutenant of Glamorgan 1694–1715	Vacant Title next held by The Duke of Bolton
	Lord Lieutenant of Radnorshire 1694–1715	Succeeded by The Lord Coningsby
Peerage of England
Preceded by Philip Herbert	Earl of Pembroke 1683–1733	Succeeded by Henry Herbert