William Craven, 1st Earl of Craven (1770-1825)

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Major-General William Craven, 1st Earl of Craven (28 September 1770 – 30 July 1825), was a British soldier.

Craven was the eldest son of William Craven, 6th Baron Craven, and succeeded his father as seventh Baron Craven in 1791. He served in the Army and achieved the rank of Major-General. In 1801 he was created Viscount Uffington, in the County of Berkshire, and Earl of Craven, in the County of York. The earldom was a revival of the title held by his 17th-century kinsman and namesake William Craven, 1st Earl of Craven. He later served as Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire from 1819 to 1826. Lord Craven mostly resided at Coombe Abbey in Warwickshire and occasionally at Hamstead Marshall in Berkshire. He is not entirely forgotten — Harriette Wilson begins her famous memoir, "I shall not say why and how I became, at the age of fifteen, the mistress of the Earl of Craven." He died in July 1825, aged 54, and was succeeded in his titles by his son William.

Honorary titles
Preceded by The Earl of Radnor	Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire 1819–1826	Succeeded by The Earl of Abingdon
Peerage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by New Creation	Earl of Craven 1801–1825	Succeeded by William Craven
Peerage of England
Preceded by William Craven	Baron Craven 1791–1825	Succeeded by William Craven