A proprietor of
New Jersey; born in 1607; was in the military service of Charles I. when the
King knighted him at
Berwick on the Tweed.
In the civil war that afterwards ensued, he bore a conspicuous part, and he remained in exile with the royal family many years.
In 1653
Berkeley was placed at the head of the
Duke of
York's establishment; and two years before the Restoration (1660), of that of the
Prince of
Wales, who, when crowned king (Charles II.), raised
Berkeley to the peerage as
Baron Berkeley of
Stratton, in the county of
Somerset.
On the Restoration he became one of the privy council, and late in 1699 he was appointed lord-lieutenant of
Ireland.
He was then one of the proprietors of
New Jersey, and was not above suspicion of engaging in the corrupt practice of selling offices.
Samuel Pepys, who was secretary of the
Admiralty (1664), speaks of him in his
Diary as “the most hot, fiery man in his discourse, without any cause,” he ever saw. Lord Berkeley was appointed ambassador extraordinary to the Court of Versailles in 1675, and died Aug. 28, 1678.
See
Carteret, Sir George.