Edward Fiennes Clinton, 9th Viscount and 1st Earl of Lincoln (1512-January 16, 1585), was an English admiral during the 14th century.

Born in Scrivelsby , Lincolnshire (England) in 1512 to 8th Viscount Thomas Clinton and Joan Mary Poyninges , Edward Clinton joined the retinue of King Henry VIII at Boulogne and Calais in 1532. Serving in the Parliament of 1536 he later served in the Royal Navy against French and Scottish naval forces from 1544 to 1447. Knighted in Edinburgh by Edward Seymour, Earl of Hertford (and later 1st Duke of Somerset) for his role in the capture of the city in 1544 he also took part in the siege of Boulogne in September 14 of that year. Under John Dudley, 2nd Earl of Warwick and Viscount Lisle he saw action against the French at the Battle of Spearhead in 1545 and sent as one of the peace commissioners to France the following year. Commanding the English fleet during the invasion of Scotland by Edward Seymour he provided naval artillery support at the Battle of Pinkie on September 15, 1547. Appointed governor of Boulogne in 1547 he successfully defended the city against a French siege from 1549 to 1550. That same year, with the Earl of Rutland, he became the lord lieutenant over Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire as well as served as Lord High Admiral under King Edward VI from 1550 to 1554, and again from 1559 to 1585, and as Privy Councilor from 1550 to 1553 briefly serving as an envoy to France in 1551. After becoming the lord lieutenant of Lincolnshire in 1552, Clinton later took part in the defeat of Wyatt's Rebellion in Kent in 1554. Becoming lord general of Lord Pembroke 's expedition he fought with Spanish forces at the Battle of Saint-Quentin on August 10, 1557. Upon his return to England, Clinton took command of the English fleet and began raiding the French coast burning the town on Conquet and the surrounding area in 1558. A joint commander with Ambrose Dudley , Earl of Warwick of a large army during the Northern Rebellion however the army was still being assembled when the rebellion was defeated in January 1570. As Earl of Lincoln, Clinton served as ambassador to France undertaking several commissions from Elizabeth I until his death in London on January 16, 1585.

Further reading

• Sir Charles W.C. Oman, A History in the Art of War in the Sixteenth Century, New York, 1937
• Michael Sanderson, Sea Battles, London, 1975

External links

• Royal Family of Europe: Edward Clinton Fiennes
• Edward CLINTON FIENNES (1 E. Lincoln)
• JRank.org: Edward Fiennes Clinton