British peer and politician
Edward Bligh, 5th Earl of Darnley, (25 February 1795 – 12 February 1835), styled Lord Clifton until 1831, lord of the Manor of Cobham, Kent, was a British peer and politician.
Background.
Darnley was the second but eldest surviving son of John Bligh, 4th Earl of Darnley, and Elizabeth Brownlow, 3rd daughter of the Rt Hon. William Brownlow. He was educated at Eton College and Christ Church, Oxford, matriculating on 22 October 1812, where he took degrees of Bachelor of Arts (BA) in 1816, proceeding Master of Arts (MA) in 1819.
Political career.
Darnley was returned to the House of Commons representing Canterbury in 1818, a seat he held until 1830 for the Whig Party. In 1831 he succeeded his father in the earldom and took his seat in the House of Lords. He also served as Lord Lieutenant of County Meath between 1831 and 1835, and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1833.
Marriage and children.
In 1825 he married the Hon. Emma Jane Parnell, a daughter of Henry Parnell, 1st Baron Congleton, by whom he had three sons and two daughters:
Darnley died of lockjaw after an axe injury when felling timber on his estate at Cobham Hall, Kent, in February 1835, aged 39, and was buried at Cobham. He was succeeded in the earldom by his eldest son, John. Bligh's 'town library' was sold at auction by Wheatley in London on 20 July 1836 (and four following days); a copy of the catalogue is held at Cambridge University Library (shelfmark Munby.c.154(1)).
His wife, "Emma, Dowager Countess of Darnley", died on 15 March 1884.
References.
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