Richard Lambart, 7th Earl of Cavan

Richard Ford William Lambart, 7th Earl of Cavan (10 September 1763 – 21 November 1837), styled Viscount Kilcoursie from 1772 to 1778, was a British military commander throughout the Napoleonic era and beyond.

The 7th Earl of Cavan.

He became head of the British Army in Egypt. He suggested to the British government the removal of the obelisk known as Cleopatra's Needle, for long centuries embedded in the sand near Alexandria, Egypt. The undertaking was considered too costly and not taken up until 1877, and the obelisk now stands on the London Embankment to commemorate the conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars.

Biography

7th Earl of Cavan in 1801

He was born into an Anglo-Irish aristocratic family, the only son of The 6th Earl of Cavan, whom he succeeded in 1778.[1]

He was commissioned as an ensign in the Coldstream Guards in 1779. In 1798 he was promoted to Major-General, and in 1800 he commanded a Division in Egypt under Abercromby. In command of a Brigade of Guards under General Eyre Coote he took part in the Siege of Alexandria in 1801.[1] He appears as one of a number of Heroes of the Egypt Campaign in a commemorative engraving of 1802.[2]

He was Colonel of the 2nd Battalion, 68th Foot between 1801 and 1802. In 1805 he was promoted to Lieutenant-General. He was Colonel of the 2nd West Indian Regiment between 1805 and 1808. He was Colonel of the 77th Foot between 1808 and 1811. Promoted to full general in 1814, he was Colonel of the 58th Regiment of Foot between 1811 and 1823. He was a General Officer and Colonel of the 45th Regiment of Foot between 1823 and 1837.

Between 1813 and 1837, he held the office of Governor of Calshot Castle, a sinecure abolished after his death.[3]

Marriages

Lambart married first Honora Margaretta, the daughter of Sir Henry Gould the younger (1710–1794). He then married Lydia, daughter of William Arnold.[4][5] She was sister to Thomas Arnold of Rugby School, and died of consumption in Torquay, Devon.

References

• Profile at ThePeerage.com
• Frederick John William, 8th Earl of Cavan. A Life Sketch, privately printed at Weston-super-Mare; no date; no ISBN

Notes

1. "Lambart, Richard Ford William". Retrieved 21 July 2016.
2. Black Watch Museum, Perth
3. The London Gazette, Part 2. p. 2383.
4. "Gould, Henry (1710-1794)" . Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
5. "Lambart, Richard Ford William" . Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.

Military offices
Preceded by Sir William Myers	Colonel of the 2nd West India Regiment 1805–1808	Succeeded by Eyre Power Trench
Preceded by Albemarle Bertie	Colonel of the 77th (East Middlesex) Regiment of Foot 1808–1811	Succeeded by Sir Charles Hastings
Preceded by George Scott	Colonel of the 58th (Rutlandshire) Regiment of Foot 1811–1823	Succeeded by The Lord Lynedoch
Preceded by Frederick Cavendish Lister	Colonel of the 45th (Nottinghamshire) Regiment of Foot 1823–1837	Succeeded by Sir William Henry Pringle
Preceded by Sir Harry Burrard	Governor of Calshot Castle 1813–1837	Office abolished
Peerage of Ireland
Preceded by Richard Lambart	Earl of Cavan 1778–1837	Succeeded by Frederick Lambart