First Marquess Cornwallis
At a glance:
- Series: Dictionary of World Biography: The 17th and 18th Centuries
- Categories: Government and Politics, Military History
- Subcategories: Politicians, Diplomats, American Revolution, Revolutionary War, Colonialism, Colonies, Settlements, Generals, Military Officers, Soldiers, Wars, Battles
- Curriculum: 19th Century European History, British History, 18th Century European History
Article abstract: Cornwallis served his country on three continents, combining military skill with private and public probity as the chief civil administrator in India and Ireland.
Early Life
Charles Cornwallis was born on December 31, 1738, in London, England. He was the eldest son of the fifth Baron Cornwallis and Elizabeth, daughter of the second Viscount Townshend. When his father rose in 1753 to become Earl Cornwallis and Viscount Brome, Charles received the courtesy title of Viscount Brome. The family estates lay in Suffolk, where an ancestor had...
[The entire page is 2233 words long]
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