The American Cyclopædia (1879)/Cottenham, Charles Christopher Pepys, earl of

COTTENHAM, Charles Christopher Pepys, earl of, an English chancellor, born April 29, 1781, died April 29, 1851. He was educated at Cambridge, studied law, was called to the bar in 1804, appointed solicitor general to Queen Adelaide in 1830, and solicitor general to the king in 1833. In July, 1831, he entered parliament through the interest of Earl Fitzwilliam. In 1834 he became master of the rolls, in 1835 a commissioner of the great seal, and in 1836 lord high chancellor of England, which office he held till September, 1841. On Oct. 5, 1845, by the death of his elder brother, Sir William Weller Pepys, the baronetcy conferred on his father in 1801 devolved on him. In August, 1846, he again became lord chancellor, retiring in June, 1850, when he was made an earl. In politics he was a consistent liberal.