George Cowper, 6th Earl Cowper
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George Augustus Frederick Cowper, 6th Earl Cowper (26 June 1806-15 April 1856), styled Viscount Fordwich until 1837, was a British Whig politician.
Cowper was the eldest son of Peter Leopold Louis Francis Nassau Clavering-Cowper, 5th Earl Cowper, and his wife Emily Mary, daughter of Peniston Lamb, 1st Viscount Melbourne, and sister of Prime Minister William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne. 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. 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 in 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.
Lord Cowper married Lady Anne Florence (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. Their second son the Hon. Henry sat as Member of Parliament for Hertfordshire for many years. Lord Cowper died in April 1856, aged 49, and was succeeded in the earldom by his eldest son Francis. Lady Cowper died in 1880.
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| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Stephen Rumbold Lushington Lord Clifton |
Member of Parliament for Canterbury with Richard Watson 1830–1835 |
Succeeded by Lord Albert Conyngham Frederick Villiers |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Sir George Shee |
Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs 1834 |
Succeeded by Viscount Mahon |
| Honorary titles | ||
| Preceded by The Earl of Thanet |
Lord-Lieutenant of Kent 1846–1856 |
Succeeded by The Viscount Sydney |
| Peerage of Great Britain | ||
| Preceded by Peter Clavering-Cowper |
Earl Cowper 1837–1856 |
Succeeded by Francis Thomas de Grey Cowper |
