Edward Somerset, 2nd Marquess of Worcester

Edward Somerset, 2nd Marquess of Worcester (1601? – April 3, 1667), styled Lord Herbert of Ragland 1628–1644, was an English nobleman, the son of Henry Somerset, 1st Marquess of Worcester and his wife Anne Russell.

In 1628, he married Elizabeth Dormer (d. May 31 1635), sister of Robert Dormer, 1st Earl of Carnarvon, by whom he had one son and two daughters:
*Henry Somerset, 3rd Marquess of Worcester, his heir and successor, who later became 1st Duke of Beaufort;
*Lady Anne Somerset (1631?–1662), married Henry Howard, 6th Duke of Norfolk and had issue
*Lady Elizabeth Somerset (bef. 1635 – aft. c. 1680), married William Herbert, 1st Marquess of Powis, and had issue

In 1639, after Elizabeth's death, Lord Herbert married Margaret O'Brien (d. 26 July 1681), daughter of Henry O'Brien, 5th Earl of Thomond. They had one daughter:
*Lady Mary Somerset, died young

Lord Herbert was a Cavalier who supported Charles I in Wales and raised a regiment of horse for him. He was rewarded in 1644 with a peerage, being created Earl of Glamorgan and Baron Beaufort, of Caldecote. However, due to irregularities in the letters patent, these titles were not recognized after the Restoration. He succeeded his father as Marquess of Worcester in 1646.

He left behind a literary work entitled "A century of the names and scantlings of such inventions as at present I can call to mind to have tried and perfected which (my former notes being lost) I have, at the instance of a powerful friend, endeavored now, in the year 1655, to set these down in such a way, as may sufficiently instruct me to put any of them to practice." London : Printed by J. Grismond, 1663. In this work the power and applications of the steam engine are clearly described.

External links

* [http://www.history.rochester.edu/steam/dircks/ THE CENTURY OF INVENTIONS, WRITTEN IN 1655; BY EDWARD SOMERSET, MARQUIS OF WORCESTER, BEING A VERBATIM REPRINT OF THE FIRST EDITION, PUBLISHED IN 1663.] "century" referring to 100 inventions.