Edward Fiennes, 1st Earl of Lincoln, KG, also known as Edward Clinton (1512 – 16 January 1584/85) was an English nobleman and Lord High Admiral.
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Clinton was born in Scrivelsby in Lincolnshire, the son of Thomas Clinton, 8th Baron Clinton (1490–1517), by his marriage to Joan, a daughter of Sir Edward Poynings. He succeeded his father as 9th Baron Clinton.
Clinton joined the retinue of King Henry VIII at Boulogne and Calais in 1532. Serving in the Parliament of 1536 he later served in the Royal Navy against French and Scottish naval forces from 1544 to 1547. Knighted in Edinburgh by Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford for his role in the capture of the city in 1544 he also took part in the siege of Boulogne in September 1544. Under John Dudley, Viscount Lisle he saw action against the French at the Battle of Spearhead in 1545 and was sent as one of the peace commissioners to France the following year. Commanding the English fleet during the invasion of Scotland by Edward Seymour he provided naval artillery support at the Battle of Pinkie on 15 September 1547.
Appointed Governor of Boulogne in 1547, he successfully defended the city against a French siege from 1549 to 1550. That same year, with Henry Manners, 2nd Earl of Rutland, he became the Lord Lieutenant of Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire as well as serving as Lord High Admiral under King Edward VI from 1550 to 1553, and again from 1559 to 1585, and as Privy Counsellor from 1550 to 1553, briefly serving as an envoy to France in 1551. After becoming the Lord-Lieutenant of Lincolnshire in 1552, Clinton later took part in the defeat of Wyatt's Rebellion in Kent in 1554. Becoming Lord General of Earl Pembroke's expedition he fought with Spanish forces at the Battle of Saint-Quentin on 10 August 1557.
Upon his return to England, Clinton took command of the English fleet and began raiding the French coast burning the town on Conquet and the surrounding area in 1558. He was a joint commander with Ambrose Dudley, 3rd Earl of Warwick of a large army during the Northern Rebellion, however the army was still being assembled when the rebellion was defeated in January 1570. He was created Earl of Lincoln in 1572, and served as ambassador to France, undertaking several commissions from Queen Elizabeth I until his death in London on 16 January 1585.
He married three times. His first, to Elizabeth Blount, Henry VIII's former mistress, produced three daughters:
His second to Ursula Stourton produced six children, including his heir, Henry Clinton, 2nd Earl of Lincoln, and Lady Frances Clinton (Scrivelsby, Lincolnshire, 1553 - Woburn Abbey, Bedfordshire, 12 September 1623), wife of Giles Brydges, 3rd Baron Chandos. His third wife was Elizabeth FitzGerald, daughter of Gerald FitzGerald, 9th Earl of Kildare, whom he married on 1 October 1552. Their marriage was childless.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by The Earl of Warwick |
Lord High Admiral 1550–1554 |
Succeeded by The Lord Howard of Effingham |
| Preceded by The Lord Howard of Effingham |
Lord High Admiral 1558–1585 |
Succeeded by The Lord Howard of Effingham |
| Preceded by Sir Henry Gates |
Vice-Admiral of Yorkshire 1573–1581 |
Succeeded by Francis Cholmley |
| Preceded by The Lord Howard of Effingham |
Custos Rotulorum of Surrey 1573–1585 |
Succeeded by The Lord Howard of Effingham |
| Peerage of England | ||
| New creation | Earl of Lincoln 1572–1585 |
Succeeded by Henry Clinton |
| Preceded by Thomas Clinton |
Baron Clinton 1517–1585 |
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