John De Burgh, 13th Earl Of Clanricarde

John Thomas de Burgh, 13th Earl of Clanricarde, PC (Ire), was born on 22 September 1744 and died on 27 July 1808. He was known as The Honourable John Thomas de Burgh until 1797. His family title was associated with the de Burgh family, an Anglo-Norman and Hiberno-Norman dynasty established in 1193.

He was the son of an unspecified father and was styled The Honourable John Thomas de Burgh until his inheritance of the earldom. In 1797, he succeeded his elder brother, Henry, 1st Marquess and 12th Earl of Clanricarde, inheriting the earldom but not the marquessate.

His educational background is not specified in the provided information. His family included his wife, Elizabeth (1764–1854), daughter of Sir Thomas Burke, 1st Baronet of Marble Hill, County Galway. They married on 17 March 1799. Together, they had at least one son, Ulick John, who succeeded him as the 14th Earl of Clanricarde, and two daughters, Lady Hester Catherine de Burgh (later Marchioness of Sligo) and Lady Emily de Burgh (later Countess of Howth).

Career milestones include military service and political appointments. He raised the 88th Regiment of Foot in 1793, which was later renamed the Connaught Rangers. He commanded this regiment and later served as Colonel of the 66th (Berkshire) Regiment of Foot from 1794 to 1808. He was appointed governor of Kingston-upon-Hull from 1801 until his death in 1808.

In 1796, de Burgh was in command of military forces in Corsica under Sir Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, the Viceroy of the Anglo-Corsican Kingdom. He planned an attack to retake Leghorn (Livorno) in Tuscany with Admiral Horatio Nelson, and subsequently oversaw the evacuation of Corsica, moving remaining military detachments to Elba and evacuating that island in January 1797. He achieved the rank of full General of the Army in 1803.

Politically, after inheriting his title in 1797, de Burgh was elected as one of the 28 original Irish representative peers in 1800 and became a Privy Councillor the following year, in 1801. He held the position of Governor and Custos Rotulorum of County Galway from 1798 to 1808.

He was also involved in cricket, playing for Surrey in 1773, although records suggest he may have been a guest player. He was a member of the Hambledon Club prior to June 1772 and served as its President in 1784.

Religiously, Lord Clanricarde was a member of the Anglican Church, whereas his wife was Catholic.

His heraldic arms and detailed ancestry are associated with the broader history of the House of Burgh. His contributions and roles are documented in various historical sources, including Burke's Encyclopaedia of Heraldry and records of 18th-century cricket.