Earl of Oxford was one of the oldest titles in the English
peerage, and was held for several centuries by the
de Vere family. It finally became dormant in
1703 with the death of the 20th Earl.
Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, is perhaps the most famous of the line, due to the claims put forward by some that he was the actual author of the works of
William Shakespeare (see
Shakespeare authorship).
The title of Earl of Oxford and Mortimer was given out in the peerage of Great Britain to Robert Harley[?] in 1711; in the 20th century the title of Earl of Oxford and Asquith was given out in the peerage of the United Kingdom to the former Prime Minister Herbert Henry Asquith, whose descendants still bear that title. These later creations bear the double title because the original creation is dormant but not extinct.
The Earls of Oxford are as follows:
- Aubrey de Vere 1141-1194
- Aubrey de Vere 1204-1214
- Robert de Vere 1214-1221
- Hugh de Vere 1231-1263
- Robert de Vere 1264-1265, forfeit; 1265-1296
- Robert de Vere 1296-1331
- John de Vere 1331-1360
- Thomas de Vere 1360-1371
- Robert de Vere 1381-1388, forfeit
- Aubrey de Vere 1393-1400
- Richard de Vere 1406-1417
- John de Vere 1429-1462
- John de Vere 1464-1475, forfeit; 1485-1513
- John de Vere 1513-1526
- John de Vere 1526-1540
- John de Vere 1540-1562
- Edward de Vere 1562-1604
- Henry de Vere 1604-1625
- Robert de Vere 1626-1632
- Aubrey de Vere 1632-1703
- Robert Harley[?] 1711-1724
- Herbert Henry Asquith 1925-1928
- Julian Edward George Asquith 1928-present