{{Infobox noble , name = Thomas Watson , title = Earl of Rockingham , image = , caption = , alt = , CoA = WatsonRockinghamArms

, more = no , succession = , reign = George II , reign-type = , predecessor = Lewis Watson, 2nd Earl of Rockingham , successor = , suc-type = , spouse = , spouse-type = , issue-type = , issue = , issue-link = , issue-pipe = , full name = , native_name = , styles = , other_titles = {{Plainlist, *

Viscount Sondes A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. The status and any domain held by a viscount is a viscounty. In the case of French viscounts, the title is so ...

* Baron Throwley * Baron Rockingham , noble family = Watson , house-type = , father =

Edward Watson, Viscount Sondes , issue-link = , issue-pipe = , full name = , native_name = , styles = , other_titles = , noble family = Watson , house-type = , father = Lewis Watson, 1st Earl of Rockingham , mother = Lady Catherine Sondes , birth_name = , bi ...

, mother = Catherine Tufton , birth_name = , birth_date = 30 December 1715 , birth_place = , christening_date = , christening_place = , death_date = {{Death date and age, 1746, 02, 26, 1715, 12, 30, df=y , death_place = , burial_date = 11 March 1746 , burial_place = Rockingham church , occupation = politician , memorials = , website = , module = Thomas Watson, 3rd Earl of Rockingham (30 December 1715 – 26 February 1746), styled Hon. Thomas Watson until 1745, was an English nobleman and politician. He represented

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

in the House of Commons and was appointed

Lord Lieutenant of Kent This is a list of people who have served as Lord-Lieutenant of Kent. Since 1746, all Lords Lieutenant have also been Custos Rotulorum of Kent. Lords Lieutenant of Kent * Sir Thomas Cheney 1551 – 1558 * William Brooke, 10th Baron Cobham 3 July ...

after succeeding to the earldom, but died shortly thereafter.{{sfn, Newman, 1970 The second son of

, Watson entered

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

in 1725 and

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

in 1732. In 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 suppo ...

, he stood for

as an opposition Whig. Watson and the Tory Thomas Best ousted the incumbent Sir Thomas Hales, a Whig supporter of Walpole's administration. He continued in opposition to successive governments during his tenure in the House of Commons, which terminated in 1745 when he became Earl of Rockingham on the death of his elder brother

Lewis Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * " Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohe ...

. Despite his politics, he was appointed

in succession to his brother, but did not long survive the appointment: he died of

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

Rockingham Castle Rockingham Castle is a former royal castle and Hunting and shooting in the United Kingdom#Hunting lodge, hunting lodge in Rockingham Forest, approximately two miles from the town centre of Corby, Northamptonshire, England. History 11th – 14t ...

26 February and was buried 11 March 1746 at Rockingham.{{sfn, Newman, 1970{{sfn, Cokayne, 1949, p=59{{sfn, Wise, 1891, p=111 On his death, which brought to an end the male line of the Watsons of Rockingham Castle, the Earldom of Rockingham, the Viscountcy of Sondes of Lees Court, and the Barony of Throwley became extinct.{{sfn, Cokayne, 1949, p=59 He was succeeded as Baron Rockingham by Thomas Watson-Wentworth, 1st Earl of Malton, his first cousin once removed.{{sfn, Cokayne, 1949, p=59 Rockingham left his estate to his first cousin Lewis Monson, who thereafter adopted the surname of Watson.{{sfn, Newman, 1970

References

{{reflist

Sources

*{{cite book , last1=Cokayne , first1=G. E. , author-link=George Edward Cokayne , date=1949 , editor1-last=White , editor1-first=Geoffrey H. , title=The Complete Peerage, or a History of the House of Lords and all its Members from the Earliest Times , volume=11 , location=London , publisher=St Catherine Press , pages=58–59 *{{cite book , last1=Handley , first1=Stuart , editor1-last=Hayton , editor1-first=D. , editor2-last=Cruickshanks , editor2-first=E. , editor3-last=Handley , editor3-first=S. , title=The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1690-1715 , date=2002 , publisher=

British History Online ''British History Online'' is a digital library of primary and secondary sources on medieval and modern history of Great Britain and Ireland. It was created and is managed as a cooperative venture by the Institute of Historical Research, Universit ...

, chapter-url=http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1690-1715/member/watson-hon-edward-1686-1722 , chapter=Watson, Hon. Edward (1686-1722), of Lees Court, Sheldwich, Kent, and Park Place, London *{{cite book , last1=Henning , first1=Basil Duke , editor1-last=Henning , editor1-first=Basil Duke , title=The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1660-1690 , date=1983 , publisher=British History Online , chapter-url=http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1660-1690/member/watson-hon-lewis-1655-1724 , chapter=Watson, Hon. Lewis (1655-1724), of Rockingham Castle, Northants *{{cite book , last1=Newman , first1=A. N. , editor1-last=Sedgwick , editor1-first=Romney , editor1-link=Romney Sedgwick , title=The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1715-1754 , date=1970 , publisher=

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 ...

, chapter-url=http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1715-1754/member/watson-hon-thomas-1715-46 , chapter=Watson, Hon. Thomas (1715-46) *{{cite book , last1=Wise , first1=Charles , title=Rockingham Castle and the Watsons , date=1891 , publisher=Elliot Stock , location=London , url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=gri.ark:/13960/t70w1vt9h&view=1up&seq=149 , oclc=902976023 {{S-start {{S-par, gb {{S-bef, before=

Thomas May Thomas May (1594/95 – 13 November 1650) was an English poet, dramatist and historian of the Renaissance era. Early life and career until 1630 May was born in Mayfield, Sussex, the son of Sir Thomas May, a minor courtier. He matriculated a ...

, before2= Sir Thomas Hales, Bt {{S-ttl, title= Member of Parliament for

, years=1741–1745 , with = Thomas Best {{S-aft, after= Sir Thomas Hales, Bt , after2= Thomas Best {{s-hon {{S-bef, before= The Earl of Rockingham {{S-ttl, title=

, years=1746 {{S-aft, after= The Duke of Dorset {{S-reg, gb {{S-bef, before= Lewis Watson {{S-ttl, title= Earl of Rockingham, years=1745–1746 {{S-non, reason=Extinct {{S-reg, en {{S-bef, before= Lewis Watson {{S-ttl, title= Baron Rockingham, years=1745–1746 {{S-aft, after=

Thomas Watson-Wentworth Hon. Thomas Watson, later known as Thomas Watson-Wentworth (17 June 1665 – 6 October 1723), of Wentworth Woodhouse in Yorkshire, was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1701 and 1723. Origins He was th ...

{{s-end {{DEFAULTSORT:Rockingham, Thomas Watson, 3rd Earl Of 1715 births 1746 deaths People educated at Eton College Members of Lincoln's Inn Watson, Thomas Watson, Thomas Earls in the Peerage of Great Britain Lord-lieutenants of Kent