Earl of Oxford

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:

Earls of Oxford (Peerage of England)

1. Aubrey de Vere 1141-1194
2. Aubrey de Vere 1204-1214
3. Robert de Vere 1214-1221
4. Hugh de Vere 1231-1263
5. Robert de Vere 1264-1265, forfeit; 1265-1296
6. Robert de Vere 1296-1331
7. John de Vere 1331-1360
8. Thomas de Vere 1360-1371
9. Robert de Vere 1381-1388, forfeit
10. Aubrey de Vere 1393-1400
11. Richard de Vere 1406-1417
12. John de Vere 1429-1462
13. John de Vere 1464-1475, forfeit; 1485-1513
14. John de Vere 1513-1526
15. John de Vere 1526-1540
16. John de Vere 1540-1562
17. Edward de Vere 1562-1604
18. Henry de Vere 1604-1625
19. Robert de Vere 1626-1632
20. Aubrey de Vere 1632-1703

Earls of Oxford and Mortimer (Peerage of Great Britain)

1. Robert Harley[?] 1711-1724

Earls of Oxford and Asquith (Peerage of the United Kingdom)

1. Herbert Henry Asquith 1925-1928
2. Julian Edward George Asquith 1928-present