1st Earl of Burlington (1660-1698)
and 2nd Earl of Cork (1643-1698)
Born 1612 Died 1698
Richard Boyle matriculated at Christ Church, Oxford, and was knighted in 1624. Returning home after travelling abroad he married in 1635 Elizabeth, daughter and heir of Henry, Lord Clifford, later Earl of Cumberland. On the outbreak of the rebellion he supported his father in Munster, fought at the battle of Liscarrol, and raised forces for the first war with the Scots. In 1640 he represented Appleby in the Long Parliament, and in the civil war he supported zealously the royal cause, being created in 1643 Baron Clifford of Lanesborough in the Peerage of England, in addition to the earldom of Cork which he inherited from his father the same year.
At the Restoration he obtained also the earldom of Burlington (or Bridlington), and was appointed Lord-Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire, resigning this office through opposition to the government of James II. He held the office of Lord Treasurer of Ireland from 1680 till 1695.
He died on the 5th of January 1698. His two sons having predeceased him, he was succeeded in his titles by his grandson Charles, issue of his eldest son Charles, as 2nd Earl of Burlington and 3rd Earl Of Cork.
Extracted from the entry for CORK, RICHARD BOYLE, 1ST EARL OF in the 1911
Encyclopedia Britannica, the text of which lies within the public domain.