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William Cowper, 1st Earl Cowper
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1st Earl Cowper, engraving by S.F. Ravenet
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1st Earl Cowper, engraving by S.F. Ravenet
1st Earl Cowper, engraving by S.F. Ravenet

William Cowper, 1st Earl Cowper

English lawyer and politician
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Also known as: Baron Cowper of Wingham, William Cowper, 1st Earl Cowper, Viscount Fordwich
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Quick Facts
Also called:
(1706–18) Baron Cowper Of Wingham
Born:
c. 1665
Died:
Oct. 10, 1723, Colne Green, Hertfordshire, Eng.
Title / Office:
House of Lords (1706-1723), Great Britain
Political Affiliation:
Whig Party
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William Cowper, 1st Earl Cowper (born c. 1665—died Oct. 10, 1723, Colne Green, Hertfordshire, Eng.) was an English lawyer and a leading Whig politician who was the first lord high chancellor of Great Britain. The elder son of Sir William Cowper, 2nd Baronet, he was educated at St. Albans School and was called to the bar in 1688. Having promptly given his allegiance to William of Orange, he was made recorder of Colchester in 1694 and from 1695 to 1705 was a member of the House of Commons. Having survived the odium of a murder charge brought against his brother ...(100 of 281 words)

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