William Eliot, 2nd Earl of St Germans

William Eliot, 2nd Earl of St Germans
Portrait by Thomas Lawrence
Member of the British Parliament
for St Germans
In office
1791–1802[1]
Member of the British Parliament
for Liskeard
In office
1802–1823[1]
Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
In office
1804–1805[1]
Earl of St Germans
In office
17 November 1823[1] – 1845
Preceded byJohn Eliot
Succeeded byEdward Eliot
Personal details
Born1 April 1767
Died19 January 1845(1845-01-19) (aged 77)
Spouses
  • Lady Georgiana Augusta Leveson-Gower
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1797; died 1806)​
    [2]
  • Letitia A'Court
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1809; died 1810)​
    [2]
  • Charlotte Robinson
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1812; died 1813)​
    [2]
  • Susan Mordaunt
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1814; died 1830)​
    [2]
Children4, including Edward Eliot
Parents
RelativesJohn Eliot (brother)
Edward James Eliot (brother)
Edward Granville Eliot (son)
Henry Lygon, 4th Earl Beauchamp (son-in-law)
Alma materPembroke College, Cambridge
Occupationmilitary officer and diplomat[2]

William Eliot, 2nd Earl of St Germans (1 April 1767 – 19 January 1845), known as William Elliot until 1823, was a British diplomat and politician.

Port Eliot, St Germans, the Eliot family seat

Eliot was born at Port Eliot, Cornwall, the third son of Edward Craggs-Eliot, 1st Baron Eliot and his wife Catherine (née Elliston). He was educated at Pembroke College, Cambridge, taking an M.A. in 1786. He served as an officer with the East Cornwall Militia.[1]

From November 1791 until 1793 he was a Secretary of Legation at Berlin, from 1793 to 1794 Secretary of Embassy and Minister Plenipotentiary at The Hague and from 1796 Minister Plenipotentiary to the Elector Palatine and to the Diet of Ratisbon. Eliot also sat as Tory Member of Parliament for St Germans from 1791 to 1802 and for Liskeard from 1802 to 1823. He served as a Lord of the Admiralty from 1800 to 1804, as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs from 1804 to 1805 and as one of the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury from 1807 to 1812.[3]

In 1823 he succeeded his elder brother as second Earl of St Germans and entered the House of Lords.

  1. ^ a b c d e "Eliot, William (ELT784W)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  2. ^ a b c d e Doyle, James (1886). The Official Baronage of England. Vol. 3. Longmans, Green. pp. 221–222.
  3. ^ Howard, Joseph. Visitation of England and Wales Notes, 1919, Volume 13; Volume 1919. p. 129.