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John Bligh, 4th Earl of Darnley (30 June 1767 – 17 March 1831), styled Lord Clifton until 1781, lord of the Manor of Cobham, Kent, was a British peer and cricketer.

John Bligh

Portrait of the Earl of Darnley attributed to Thomas Phillips
Personal information
Full name	John Bligh
Born	30 June 1767 Kingdom of Ireland
Died	17 March 1831(1831-03-17) (aged 63) Cobham Hall, Kent, England
Relations	See: Bligh family
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1789–1793	Marylebone Cricket Club
1790–1796	Kent
Career statistics
Competition First-class Matches 24 Runs scored 163 Batting average 3.79 100s/50s 0/0 Top score 21 Balls bowled ? Wickets 18 Bowling average ? 5 wickets in innings 0 10 wickets in match 0 Best bowling 3/? Catches/stumpings 2/–
Source: Cricinfo, 2 January 2022

He was the son of John Bligh, 3rd Earl of Darnley, and succeeded his father as earl on the latter's death in 1781. He matriculated at Christ Church, Oxford on 16 November 1784. On 3 July 1793, he was made a DCL.[1] He resided at Cobham Hall, near Gravesend in Kent, and was commissioned as Lieutenant-Colonel Commandant of the Chatham and Dartford Regiment of Local Militia in 1809.[2]

John Bligh was a noted amateur cricketer who made 27 known appearances in first-class cricket matches between 1789 and 1796. He and his brother, the Honourable (later General) Edward Bligh, were staunch supporters of Kent cricket.[3] The Bligh brothers, who originated from Athboy, County Meath, have been called "the first Irish first-class cricketers".[4]

On 26 August 1791, he married Elizabeth Brownlow (d. 22 December 1831), daughter of William Brownlow and his second wife Catherine Hall, by whom he had seven children:[5]

• Lady Catherine Bligh (18 June 1792 – 10 January 1812)
• John Bligh, Lord Clifton (22 May 1793 – 3 June 1793)
• Edward Bligh, 5th Earl of Darnley (1795–1835)
• Lady Mary Bligh (31 May 1796 – 18 June 1823), married her half-first cousin, Charles Brownlow, 1st Baron Lurgan on 1 June 1822 and had issue
• Hon. William Bligh (17 May 1797 – 18 October 1807)
• Hon. Sir John Duncan Bligh (1798–1872), a diplomat in Sweden and Hanover
• Lady Elizabeth Bligh (d. 13 November 1872), married her first cousin Rev. John Brownlow on 19 July 1833 and had issue

Darnley Bay in the Northwest Territories, Canada was named for him by John Richardson.[6]

References

External sources

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Earl of Darnley

Peerage of Ireland
Preceded by John Bligh	Earl of Darnley 1781–1831	Succeeded by Edward Bligh

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