Francis Curzon, 5th Earl Howe

The Earl Howe

Earl Howe at the 1934 Avusrennen
Nationality	British
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Participating years	1929–1932, 1934–1935
Teams	Bentley Motors Ltd. Private
Best finish	1st (1931)
Class wins	1 (1931)

Francis Richard Henry Penn Curzon, 5th Earl Howe, CBE, RD, PC (1 May 1884, Mayfair, London – 26 July 1964, Amersham, Buckinghamshire), styled as Viscount Curzon from 1900 to 1929, was a British naval officer, Member of Parliament, and motor racing driver and promotor. In the 1918 UK General Election he won the Battersea South seat as the candidate of the Conservative Party, which he held until 1929. While in Parliament he took up motor racing, and later won the 1931 24 Hours of Le Mans race. He ascended to the Peerage in 1929, succeeding his father as the 5th Earl Howe. Earl Howe co-founded the British Racing Drivers' Club with Dudley Benjafield in 1928, and served as its President until his death in 1964.

Francis, Viscount Curzon, joined the Royal Navy after leaving school, following in a long family tradition. October 28, 1907, Lieutenant Viscount Curzon, RNVR, formerly of the London Division, was appointed Commanding Officer of the Sussex Division of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve in Hove, Sussex, with the rank of Commander RNVR. When World War I started the RNVR was formed into the Royal Naval Division and they were to fight on land like infantrymen not sailors. Commander the Rt. Hon. Viscount Curzon served as Battalion Commander, Howe Battalion of the 2nd Brigade RND. Howe Battalion saw action at Gallipoli, April 1915 – January 1916; Mudros and Stavros, Salonica, January - May 1916; France and Belgium, May 1916 - February 1918, when the battalion was disbanded. During part of this period Curzon also served as aide-de-camp to George V.