William Amherst, 3rd Earl Amherst
William Archer Amherst, 3rd Earl Amherst (26 March 1836 – 14 August 1910) was a British peer, politician and notable Freemason, known as Viscount Holmesdale from 1857 to 1886.
He was born in Mayfair, London, the son of Viscount Holmesdale (later 2nd Earl Amherst) and was baptised on 3 May 1836 in St. George's Church, Hanover Square, London. He was educated at Eton and went on to serve with the Coldstream Guards, rising to the rank of Captain and fighting in the Battle of Balaclava, the Battle of Inkerman (where he was severely wounded) and the Siege of Sevastopol during the Crimean War.
On his return from the Crimea, Holmesdale became Member of Parliament (MP) for West Kent in 1859 and on 27 August 1862, he married Julia Mann (the only daughter of the 5th Earl Cornwallis) in Linton, Kent.
In 1868 Holmesdale became MP for Mid Kent until 1880. He served as Chairman of the National Union of Conservative and Constitutional Associations in 1868. On the death of his father in 1886, he became Earl Amherst. Julia died in 1883 and on 25 April 1889, he married Alice Vaughan, the widow of the 5th Earl of Lisburne in London.
Earl Amherst
Earl Amherst (/ˈæmərst/), of Arracan in the East Indies, was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 19 December 1826 for William Amherst, 2nd Baron Amherst, the Governor-General of India. He was made Viscount Holmesdale, in the County of Kent, at the same time, also in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Lord Amherst had succeeded his uncle Jeffrey Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst, as second Baron Amherst in 1797. The latter was a distinguished military commander best known as one of the victors of the French and Indian War. In 1776 he was raised to the Peerage of Great Britain as Baron Amherst, of Holmesdale in the County of Kent, with normal remainder to heirs male of his body. In 1788 he was created Baron Amherst, of Montreal in the County of Kent, also in the Peerage of Great Britain, with special remainder to his nephew William Pitt Amherst and the heirs male of his body. The barony of 1776 became extinct on his death in 1797 while he was succeeded in the barony of 1778 according to the special remainder by his nephew, the aforementioned second Baron, who was elevated to an earldom in 1826.
William Amherst
William Amherst may refer to:
William Amherst (British Army officer)
Lieutenant General William Amherst (5 February 1732, in Sevenoaks, Kent – 13 May 1781) was a British military commander. In 1762 during the Seven Years' War he led British forces that defeated a French expedition to Newfoundland at the Battle of Signal Hill.
Early life
Amherst was born into a family of lawyers He was the son of Jeffery Amherst and Elizabeth Kerril and his brothers included Field Marshal Lord Amherst and Admiral John Amherst.
Seven Years' War
Amherst was commissioned as an Ensign in the First Regiment of Foot Guards in 1755. He eventually rose to the rank of Lieutenant General in 1779. As a Lieutenant Colonel, Amherst was instrumental in the re-capture of St. John's from the French in 1762 at the Battle of Signal Hill.
In 1766 he became Member of Parliament for Hythe, and in 1768 he became MP for Launceston until 1774.
In 1769 he built a house in Ryde, on the Isle of Wight. He named the house and estate St John's, after his victory in Newfoundland. The neighbourhood of Ryde that surrounds the house is still known by that name.
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