William Amherst, 3rd Earl Amherst
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William Archer Amherst 3rd Earl Amherst | |
|---|---|
 The Earl Amherst by Leslie Ward, 1904. | |
| Born | 26 March 1836 |
| Died | 14 August 1910 (aged 74) |
| Nationality |  British |
| Education | Eton College |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Title | 3rd Earl Amherst |
| Predecessor | 2nd Earl Amherst |
| Successor | 4th Earl Amherst |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse(s) | Julia (née Mann) Alice (née Vaughan) |
William Archer Amherst, 3rd Earl Amherst (26 March 1836 – 14 August 1910) was a British peer, politician and notable Freemason, known as Viscount Holmesdale from 1857 to 1886.[1]
He was born in Mayfair, London, the son of Viscount Holmesdale (later 2nd Earl Amherst) and was baptised on 3 May 1836 in St. George's Church, Hanover Square, London. He was educated at Eton and went on to serve with the Coldstream Guards, rising to the rank of Captain and fighting in the Battle of Balaclava, the Battle of Inkerman (where he was severely wounded) and the Siege of Sevastopol during the Crimean War.
On his return from the Crimea, Holmesdale became Member of Parliament (MP) for West Kent in 1859 and on 27 August 1862, he married Julia Mann (the only daughter of the 5th Earl Cornwallis) in Linton, Kent.
In 1868 Holmesdale became MP for Mid Kent until 1880. He served as Chairman of the National Union of Conservative and Constitutional Associations in 1868.[2] On the death of his father in 1886, he became Earl Amherst. Julia died in 1883 and on 25 April 1889, he married Alice Vaughan, the widow of the 5th Earl of Lisburne in London.
He died in 1910, aged 74, at his home of Montreal Park, near Sevenoaks, Kent as a result of an operation he received three months prior for a throat infection. He was cremated on 16 August 1910 and his ashes buried two days later in nearby Riverhead. Despite having married twice, the earl died childless and his titles passed to his brother, Hugh.
References
- ^ The 3rd Earl Amherst 1836-1910
- ^ Cook & Keith, 'British Historical Facts 1830-1900', 1975 P.93
- Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages [self-published source] [better source needed]
- Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs
External links
- Use dmy dates from January 2012
- Earls in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
- Knights of Justice of the Order of St John
- 1836 births
- 1910 deaths
- Coldstream Guards officers
- British Army personnel of the Crimean War
- Grand Masters of the United Grand Lodge of England
- People from Mayfair
- Members of the United Kingdom Parliament for English constituencies
- People educated at Eton College
- UK MPs 1859–65
- UK MPs 1865–68
- UK MPs 1868–74
- UK MPs 1874–80
- English Freemasons