| Edward Somerset | |
|---|---|
| Marquess of Worcester | |
 |
|
| Spouse | Elizabeth Dormer Margaret O'Brien |
| Issue | |
| Henry Somerset, 3rd Marquess of Worcester Anne Somerset Elizabeth Somerset Mary Somerset |
|
| Noble family | House of Beaufort |
| Father | Henry Somerset, 1st Marquess of Worcester |
| Mother | Anne Russell |
| Born | 1600s |
| Died | 3 April 1667 |
Edward Somerset, 2nd Marquess of Worcester (1601? – 3 April 1667), styled Lord Herbert of Ragland from 1628–1644, was an English nobleman involved in royalist politics, he was also an inventor. In the book he authored of over 100 inventions, the power and applications of the steam engine are clearly described.
Contents |
Life
Lord Herbert was a Cavalier who supported Charles I in Wales and raised a regiment of horse for him. His campaigning in the West of England and in Wales did not go well.[1] He was rewarded in 1644 with a peerage, being created Earl of Glamorgan and Baron Beaufort, of Caldecote. However, due to irregularities in the letters patent, these titles were not recognized after the Restoration.
Sent to Ireland, he made a false move in concluding a treaty on behalf of Charles that was considered to concede too much to the Catholics there; he himself was a Catholic.[2] In extricating himself from that position, he became a close ally of Giovanni Battista Rinuccini, and a potential replacement for James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde as royalist leader.[3] His plans to bring Irish troops over to England were overtaken by events, and he left for France with George Leyburn.[4] He succeeded his father as Marquess of Worcester in 1646.
He was formally banished in 1649, but after four years in Paris returned to England in 1653. He was discovered and sent to the Tower of London; he was treated leniently by the Council of State, and released on bail in 1654.[4] That year he took up again his interest in engineering and inventions, leasing a house at Vauxhall where his Dutch or German technician Kaspar Kalthoff could work.[5] After this he largely avoided politics, and did not press his claims to the various other titles of nobility.
Works
He left behind a literary work consisting of 100 inventions.[6] In this book the power and applications of the steam engine are clearly described.
Family
He was the son of Henry Somerset, 1st Marquess of Worcester and his wife Anne Russell.
In 1628, he married Elizabeth Dormer (d. 31 May 1635), sister of Robert Dormer, 1st Earl of Carnarvon, by whom he had one son and two daughters:
- Henry Somerset, 3rd Marquess of Worcester, his heir and successor, who later became 1st Duke of Beaufort;
- Lady Anne Somerset (1631?–1662), married Henry Howard, Duke of Norfolk, and had issue;
- Lady Elizabeth Somerset (bef. 1635 – aft. c. 1680), married William Herbert, 1st Marquess of Powis, and had issue.
In 1639, after Elizabeth's death, Lord Herbert married Margaret O'Brien (d. 26 July 1681), daughter of Henry O'Brien, 5th Earl of Thomond. They had one daughter:
- Lady Mary Somerset, died young.
Notes
- ^ http://www.british-civil-wars.co.uk/biog/somerset.htm
- ^ http://www.british-civil-wars.co.uk/glossary/glamorgan-treaty.htm
- ^ http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Giovanni_Battista_Rinuccini
- ^ a b Dictionary of National Biography, article under Somerset, Edward.
- ^ http://www.tfo.upm.es/ImperialismoWeb/MarquesWorcester.htm
- ^ Entitled A century of the names and scantlings of such inventions as at present I can call to mind to have tried and perfected which (my former notes being lost) I have, at the instance of a powerful friend, endeavored now, in the year 1655, to set these down in such a way, as may sufficiently instruct me to put any of them to practice. London : Printed by J. Grismond, 1663.
External links
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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Edward Somerset, 2nd Marquess of Worcester |
- THE CENTURY OF INVENTIONS, WRITTEN IN 1655; BY EDWARD SOMERSET, MARQUIS OF WORCESTER, BEING A VERBATIM REPRINT OF THE FIRST EDITION, PUBLISHED IN 1663. "century" referring to 100 inventions.
| Peerage of England | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Henry Somerset |
Marquess of Worcester 1646–1667 |
Succeeded by Henry Somerset |
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