Edward Rich, 6th Earl of Warwick explained

Edward Rich, 6th Earl of Warwick
Birth Date:c.
Death Date:31 July
Father:Robert Rich
Children:1, Edward

Edward Rich, 6th Earl of Warwick (– 31 July 1701) was an English peer and politician who was styled Lord Rich until 1675.[1]

Biography

He was the son and heir of Robert Rich, 5th Earl of Warwick, 2nd Earl of Holland (1620–1675).

In 1675 he succeeded his father to the titles. In 1699, together with his friend Charles Mohun, 4th Baron Mohun, Warwick was tried for the murder of Richard Coote and was found guilty of manslaughter. He escaped punishment by pleading the privilege of peerage. He and Mohun had killed Coote in a duel and it was common for a seventeenth-century jury in such cases to take a lenient view of such matters.[2]

He died in 1701 and was succeeded by his son Edward Rich, 7th Earl of Warwick (1698–1721).

Marriage and children

In early 1697 he married Charlotte Myddelton, a daughter of Sir Thomas Myddelton, 2nd Baronet, by whom he had one son:

Charlotte, who survived her husband, was later married to the celebrated writer Joseph Addison.

Notes and References

  1. Book: Doyle, James William Edmund . James William Edmund Doyle

    . James William Edmund Doyle . The Official Baronage of England, v. 3 . London . Longmans, Green . 1886 . 600 .

  2. The trial of Edward Earl of Warwick and Holland, before the House of Lords, for the murder of Richard Coote, esq.. 13. 402, column 939. 1812. A Complete Collection of State Trials and Proceedings for High Treason and Other Crimes and Misdemeanors.