William Craven, 4th Earl of Craven

Who was William Craven, 4th Earl of Craven?

William George Robert Craven, 4th Earl of Craven OBE, styled Viscount Uffington from 1868 to 1883, was a British peer and Liberal politician.

Craven was the eldest son of the 3rd Earl of Craven and his wife Evelyn, a daughter of the 7th Viscount Barrington. He succeeded his father as fourth Earl of Craven in 1883 at the age of fourteen, and later took his seat on the Liberal benches in the House of Lords. In 1911 he was appointed Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard in the Liberal administration of H. H. Asquith, a post he held until 1915. He was also Lord Lieutenant of Warwickshire between 1913 and 1921.

Lord Craven married Cornelia Martin, the only daughter of a wealthy American banker, Bradley Martin at Grace Church, New York City, on 18 April 1893. His bride had just passed her sixteenth birthday. The marriage brought him property in Mayfair. Whilst racing at Cowes Week in 1921 and although a strong swimmer at age 52, Lord Craven fell overboard and drowned. His body was washed ashore on 12 July and he was succeeded by his eldest son, William, Viscount Uffington.