Thomas Knox, 2nd Earl of Ranfurly

Thomas Knox, 2nd Earl of Ranfurly (19 April 1786 – 21 March 1858), styled Viscount Northland between 1831 and 1840, was an Anglo-Irish peer and politician.

Early life Ranfurly was born on 19 April 1786. He was the eldest son of Thomas Knox, 1st Earl of Ranfurly, and the Hon. Diana Jane Pery, who were first cousins. His younger brother, Hon. Edmund Knox, was an Admiral in the Royal Navy.

Career Ranfurly was returned to Parliament as one of two representatives for County Tyrone in 1812 (succeeding his father), a seat he held until 1818. Between 1818 and 1830 he was the sole representative for Dungannon in Parliament.

He gained the courtesy title Viscount Northland when his father was elevated to the earldom of Ranfurly in 1831. In 1840 he succeeded his father in the earldom and entered the House of Lords as Baron Ranfurly.

Personal life In 1815, Lord Ranfurly married Mary Juliana Stuart, daughter of the Most Reverend William Stuart, Archbishop of Armagh, and the former Sophia Margaret Penn (the daughter of Thomas Penn, a son of William Penn, founder of Pennsylvania). Together, they had four sons and six daughters, including:

Thomas Knox, 3rd Earl of Ranfurly (1816–1858), who married Harriet Rimington, a daughter of James Rimington of Broomhead Hall, in 1848. Lady Louisa Juliana Knox (–1896), who married Henry Alexander, son of Rt. Hon and Rt. Rev. Nathaniel Alexander, in 1839. Lady Juliana Caroline Frances Knox (1820–1906), who married General Sir Edward Forestier-Walker in 1862. who married Georgiana Rooper, daughter of John Bonfoy Rooper, in 1856.