Earl of Dartmouth

Earldom of Dartmouth
Creation date	1711
Monarch	Anne
Peerage	Peerage of Great Britain
First holder	William Legge
Present holder	William Legge, 10th Earl
Heir presumptive	The Hon. Rupert Legge
Remainder to	the 1st Earl's heirs male whatsoever
Subsidiary titles	Viscount Lewisham Baron Dartmouth

Earl of Dartmouth is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1711 for William Legge, 2nd Baron Dartmouth.

The Legge family descended from Edward Legge, Vice-President of Munster. His eldest son William Legge was a Royalist army officer and close associate of Prince Rupert of the Rhine. On the Restoration, Charles II offered to create him an earl, but Legge declined.

His son George Legge was a prominent naval commander. In 1682, he was raised to the Peerage of England as Baron Dartmouth, of Dartmouth in the County of Devon. His son was the aforementioned second Baron, who notably served as Secretary of State for the Southern Department between 1710 and 1713. In 1711, he was created Viscount Lewisham, in the County of Kent, and Earl of Dartmouth, in the Peerage of Great Britain. He was succeeded by his grandson, the second Earl. He was the only son of George Legge, Viscount Lewisham (d. 1732), eldest son of the first Earl, who had died before his father. He was also an influential politician and served as Secretary of State for the Colonies and First Lord of Trade between 1772 and 1775. The American Ivy League school Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, was named for the second Earl by Congregational minister Eleazar Wheelock.

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