Kenneth Alexander Howard, 1st Earl of Effingham (29 November 1767 – 13 February 1845) was a British peer and soldier.
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His father, Henry Howard (bef. 1751 – 10 September 1811), was a male-line descendant of William Howard, 1st Baron Howard of Effingham. His mother, Maria Mackenzie (bef. 1751 – 29 January 1826), was parental granddaughter of William Mackenzie, 5th Earl of Seaforth and maternal one of Alexander Stewart, 6th Earl of Galloway. From 1781 to 1786, Howard was a Page of Honour to George III.
Howard was gazetted to an ensigncy in the Coldstream Guards, 21 April 1786, and served with his regiment in Flanders from February 1793 to May 1795, being wounded at St. Amand 8 May 1793. He was promoted lieutenant and captain 25 April 1793 (acting as adjutant of his regiment from December 1793 to December 1797), captain-lieutenant and lieutenant-colonel 30 December 1797, and brigade-major to the foot-guards 17 April 1798, in which capacity he served throughout the Irish rebellion of that year and the Duke of York's expedition to Holland in 1799. He was present in every action of the last-named campaign. He was gazetted captain and lieutenant-colonel 25 July 1799, and was connected with the foreign troops in the English service as deputy inspector-general, inspector-general, and commandant of the foreign depôt. This latter office he resigned on being appointed colonel and aide-de-camp to the king, 1 January 1805. He became second major of his regiment 4 August 1808, and major-general 25 July 1810.
In January 1811 Howard joined the army in the Peninsula, being placed in command of a brigade of the first division in succession to Sir William Erskine (Wellington Supplementary Despatches, xiii. 544). In the following July he was transferred to the second division, which he commanded as senior officer under Lord Hill till August 1812. In November of that year he was selected to command the 1st brigade of guards in the first division, and was in entire command of that division under Sir John Hope from June 1813 to the end of the war. He was present at the battles of Fuentes d'Onoro, Arroyo de Molinos, and Almaraz, and was on the two latter occasions specially commended for gallantry in Lord Hill's despatches (Wellington Despatches, viii. 381–3, 388, ix. 184–5), and was thanked by the home government (Sidney, Life of Lord Hill, pp. 199–200). He took continuous part in the operations on the frontier, 1813–14, and received the medal and one clasp for Vitoria and the passage of the Nive. On the conclusion of the war he was appointed lieutenant-governor of Portsmouth, with command of the south-western district. The duties of this post prevented his joining the army in Belgium, but after Waterloo he was placed in command of the first division of the British army during the occupation of Paris, with the local rank of lieutenant-general.
Howard succeeded his third cousin Richard Howard, 4th Earl of Effingham as Baron Howard of Effingham in 1816. In 1837 he was created Earl of Effingham.
Lord Effingham married Lady Charlotte Primrose (c. 1776 – 17 September 1864), daughter of Neil Primrose, 3rd Earl of Rosebery, on 27 May 1800, by whom he had five children:
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Sir George Don |
Colonel of the 3rd (East Kent) Regiment of Foot ("The Buffs") 1832–1845 |
Succeeded by Sir Henry King |
| Court offices | ||
| Preceded by William Cerjat |
Page of Honour 1781–1786 |
Succeeded by James Cockburn |
| Peerage of England | ||
| Preceded by Richard Howard |
Baron Howard of Effingham 1816–1845 |
Succeeded by Henry Howard |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| New creation | Earl of Effingham 1837–1845 |
Succeeded by Henry Howard |