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4 unusual facts about William Alexander, Lord Stirling


American peers

William Alexander, who was later an American major-general in the American Revolutionary War, was a pretender to the dormant title Earl of Stirling, and was even once permitted to participate in an election of Scottish representative peers, however his claim to the title was later rejected by the House of Lords.

Lord Sterling

William Alexander, Lord Stirling, American Revolutionary War general who claimed the title of Earl of Stirling

Sterling, Massachusetts

The town derives its name from General William "Lord Stirling" Alexander, a Scottish expatriate, who served valiantly under Gen. George Washington in the New York and other campaigns.

Valley Forge National Historical Park

Quarters of other Continental Army generals are also in the park, including those of Huntington, Varnum, Lord Stirling, Lafayette, and Knox.


1607 in literature

William Alexander, 1st Earl of Stirling – The Monarchic Tragedies, second edition; adds The Alexandrean and Julius Caesar to his previously-published closet dramas Croesus and Darius

Closet drama

Fulke Greville, Sir William Alexander, and Mary Sidney wrote closet dramas in the age of Shakespeare and Jonson.

Dey Mansion

Washington also had numerous visitors while at the Dey Mansion, those of which include the Marquis de Lafayette, General Anthony Wayne, Major General Lord Stirling, Benedict Arnold, General William Howe and the Marquis de Chastellux.

Earl of Stirling

The titles became dormant upon the death of the fifth Earl in 1739, although one William Alexander of New York, known to history as Major General Lord Stirling of the Continental Army, years before the American Revolutionary War pursued a claim to succeed to the dormant earldom.

Hangover House

Hangover House (also known as the Halliburton House) was designed and built by William Alexander for his friend the travel writer Richard Halliburton.

James Seddon

Born in Falmouth, Stafford County, Virginia, Seddon was a descendant of William Alexander, Earl of Stirling.

Saint Andrew's Society

Past presidents of the venerable society include Philip Livingston, William Alexander (the "Earl of Stirling"), Andrew Carnegie and Ward Melville.

Thomas Mayhew

--This originally said Earl of Sterling, but William Alexander, 1st Earl of Stirling died in 1640.--> To resolve a conflicting ownership claim, he also paid off Sir Ferdinando Gorges, thereby acquiring a clear title.

In 1641, Thomas secured Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, the Elizabeth Islands, and other islands as a proprietary colony from Sir Ferdinando Gorges and the Earl of Sterling.

William Alexander, Lord Stirling

He dabbled in mining and agriculture and lived a life filled with the trappings befitting a Scottish Lord.


see also