Charles Cadogan, 1st Earl Cadogan

Charles Sloane Cadogan, 1st Earl Cadogan (29 September 1728 – 3 April 1807), was a British peer and politician affiliated with the Whig party.

**Early Life**

Born in 1728, Cadogan was the sole son of Charles Cadogan, 2nd Baron Cadogan, and Elizabeth Sloane. His maternal grandparents were Elisabeth (née Langley) Sloane and Sir Hans Sloane, 1st Baronet. Following the suicide of his cousin, Ambassador Hans Stanley, in 1780—whose father was George Stanley of Paultons—Cadogan inherited Stanley's half of the Sloane estate. He began his education at Magdalen College, Oxford, matriculating in 1746.

**Political and Professional Career**

Cadogan served as Member of Parliament for Cambridge from 1749 to 1754 and again from 1755, representing the constituency on the interest of his father-in-law, Lord Montfort. He held this position until 1776, when he succeeded to his father's peerage titles.

Throughout his career, he held several royal appointments: he was appointed Keeper of the Privy Purse to Prince Edward in 1756, Surveyor of the King's Gardens from 1764 to 1769, and Master of the Mint from 1769 to 1784.

In 1800, Cadogan's peerage was elevated, and he was created 1st Viscount Chelsea and 1st Earl Cadogan. He was also involved in financial transactions notable for their historical context; in 1774, he agreed to lend £20,500 to Sir Robert Cockburn, Sir George Colebrooke, John Stewart, and John Nelson, facilitating their purchase of a 320-acre estate in St George Parish, Grenada, which included enslaved people.

Additionally, in 1777, Cadogan leased 100 acres of his family estate in Chelsea to architect Henry Holland, which led to the development of Sloane Square, Sloane Street, Cadogan Place, and Hans Place. He served as one of the Sloane Trustees of the British Museum from 1779 until his death in 1807.

**Personal Life**

In 1747, Cadogan married Frances Bromley, daughter of Henry Bromley, 1st Baron Montfort, and Frances Wyndham. They had six sons: Charles Henry Sloane Cadogan (later the 2nd Earl Cadogan), William Bromley Cadogan, Thomas Cadogan, George Cadogan, Edward Cadogan, and Henry William Cadogan. Cadogan's first wife died in 1768.

In 1777, Cadogan remarried to Mary Churchill, daughter of Col. Charles Churchill and Lady Mary Walpole. They had three sons and three daughters: Lady Emily Mary Cadogan, Henry Cadogan, Lady Charlotte Cadogan, George Cadogan (later the 3rd Earl Cadogan), Lady Louisa Cadogan, and Lt. Colonel Edward Cadogan. The marriage ended in divorce in 1796.

Cadogan's children made notable marriages; for example, Lady Emily married Gerald Valerian Wellesley, brother to the 1st Duke of Wellington, and Lady Charlotte married Henry Wellesley, 1st Baron Cowley.

**Death**

Charles Sloane Cadogan, 1st Earl Cadogan, died at Château Ayzac near Santon Downham in Suffolk on 3 April 1807. His eldest surviving son, Charles, inherited his titles.