William Willoughby Cole, 3rd Earl of Enniskillen FRS (25 January 1807 – 21 November 1886), known by his courtesy title of Viscount Cole from 1807 to 1840, was a British palaeontologist and Conservative Member of Parliament.
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Cole was the son of John Willoughby Cole, 2nd Earl of Enniskillen, and Lady Charlotte Paget. He was educated at Harrow and Christ Church, Oxford. In his youth he began to devote his leisure to the study and collection of fossil fishes, with his friend Sir Philip Grey Egerton, and he amassed a fine collection at Florence Court, his home in Enniskillen. This included many specimens that were described and figured by Agassiz and Egerton. This collection was subsequently acquired by the British Museum.
Cole was also involved in politics and represented Fermanagh in the House of Commons between 1831 and 1840, when he succeeded his father, to become the third Earl, and entered the House of Lords as Baron Grinstead. In Dublin, he was a member of the Kildare Street Club.[1]
Lord Enniskillen married, firstly, Jane Casamaijor, daughter of James Casamaijor, in 1844, by whom he had seven children:
After her death in 1855 he married, secondly, the Hon. Mary Emma Brodrick, daughter of Charles Brodrick, 6th Viscount Midleton, in 1865. He died in November 1886, aged 79, and was succeeded in his titles by his second but eldest surviving son from his first marriage, Lowry. The Countess of Enniskillen died in 1896.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Mervyn Archdall Viscount Corry |
Member of Parliament for Fermanagh with Mervyn Archdall 1831–1835 Mervyn Edward Archdall 1835–1840 1831–1845 |
Succeeded by Mervyn Edward Archdall Sir Arthur Brooke, Bt |
| Peerage of Ireland | ||
| Preceded by John Willoughby Cole |
Earl of Enniskillen 1840–1886 |
Succeeded by Lowry Egerton Cole |