Stephen Cornwallis (23 December 1703 – 12 May 1743) was a career British Army officer and politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

from 1727 to 1743. He reached the rank of Major-General in the Army. Cornwallis was the third son of

Charles Cornwallis, 4th Baron Cornwallis Charles Cornwallis, 4th Baron Cornwallis (167520 January 1721/22) was a British politician. Background He was the son of Charles Cornwallis, 3rd Baron Cornwallis (c. 1655 – 1693) and Elizabeth Fox (c. 1654 – 1680/81). On 29 April ...

, and his wife Lady Charlotte Butler, daughter of

Richard Butler, 1st Earl of Arran Richard Butler, 1st Earl of Arran (1639–1686) was Lord Deputy of Ireland from 1682 to 1684 while James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde, his father, the Lord Lieutenant, was absent in England. He sat in the Irish House of Lords as Earl of Arran ...

. After attending school at

Eton College Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...

in 1718, he joined the army. He joined the

2nd Foot Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the monarchy; due to this, it often participates in state ceremonia ...

in 1719 as Ensign and was promoted to a captain in the Dragoons in 1723. By 1725 he was captain and lieutenant-colonel in the 34th Foot. At the 1727 British general election, Cornwallis was returned unopposed as

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

for the family borough of

Eye Eyes are organs of the visual system. They provide living organisms with vision, the ability to receive and process visual detail, as well as enabling several photo response functions that are independent of vision. Eyes detect light and conv ...

, together with his brother

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Seco ...

. They both voted regularly with the Government, but it is not always possible to identify which brother is referred to in the Parliamentary records. Stephen Cornwallis may have spoken for the Hessians in 1731, or the army in 1733, but did speak on the Address in 1732 - apparently ‘little to the purpose’. He was promoted to Colonel of

34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot The 34th Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1702. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot to form the Border Regiment in 1881. History Early history The regime ...

in 1732. He and his brother were returned unopposed again for Eye at the

1734 British general election The 1734 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 8th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. Robert Walpole's inc ...

. Cornwallis spoke against a place bill in 1735 and possibly on the Spanish convention in 1739. He became Colonel of

Devonshire Regiment The Devonshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that served under various titles and served in many wars and conflicts from 1685 to 1958, such as the Second Boer War, the First World War and the Second World War. In 1958 ...

in 1738 and Brigadier General in 1739. He and his brother John Cornwallis were returned again at the

1741 British general election The 1741 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 9th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election saw supp ...

. In 1742 Stephen Cornwallis was promoted to Major General. Cornwallis married Mrs Pearson in August 1732, but they had no issue. He died on 12 May 1743. His other surviving brothers were his elder brother

Charles Cornwallis, 1st Earl Cornwallis Charles Cornwallis, 1st Earl Cornwallis (29 March 170023 June 1762), styled The Honourable Charles Cornwallis until 1722 and known as The Lord Cornwallis between 1722 and 1753, was a British peer. Background Cornwallis was the son of Charles C ...

, and his younger twin brothers

Edward Cornwallis Edward Cornwallis ( – 14 January 1776) was a British career military officer and was a member of the aristocratic Cornwallis family, who reached the rank of Lieutenant General. After Cornwallis fought in Scotland, putting down the Jacob ...

and

Frederick Cornwallis Frederick Cornwallis (5 March 1713 – 19 March 1783) served as Archbishop of Canterbury, after an illustrious career in the Anglican Church. He was born the seventh son of an aristocratic family. His twin brother Edward Cornwallis had a mili ...

References

* Romney R. Sedgwick
CORNWALLIS, Hon. Stephen (1703-43).
in ''

The History of Parliament The History of Parliament is a project to write a complete history of the United Kingdom Parliament and its predecessors, the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of England. The history will principally consist of a prosopography, in ...

: the House of Commons 1715-1754'' (1970). * Patrick Cracroft-Brennan
Cornwallis, Baron (E, 1661 - 1852)
in ''Cracroft's Peerage''. Accessed 5 December 2012. *

Richard Cannon Richard Cannon (1779–1865) was a compiler of regimental records for the British Army. Career On 1 January 1802 Cannon was appointed to a clerkship at the Horse Guards, and attained the grade of first-clerk in 1803. Under a Horse Guards order ...

, ''Historical Record of the Thirty-Fourth, or the Cumberland Regiment of Foot'' (1844
page 81
1703 births 1743 deaths Younger sons of barons People educated at Eton College 9th Queen's Royal Lancers officers Coldstream Guards officers Scots Guards officers Devonshire Regiment officers 34th Regiment of Foot officers British Army major generals British MPs 1727–1734 British MPs 1734–1741 British MPs 1741–1747 British Army personnel of the War of the Austrian Succession Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies {{England-GreatBritain-MP-stub