John Cecil, 5th Earl of Exeter (c. 1648 – 29 August 1700), known as Lord Burghley until 1678, was a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 peer

Peerage

The Peerage is a legal system of largely hereditary titles in the United Kingdom, which constitute the ranks of British nobility and is part of the British honours system...

 and Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

. He was also known as the Travelling Earl.

Life

Exeter was the son of John Cecil, 4th Earl of Exeter

John Cecil, 4th Earl of Exeter

John Cecil, 4th Earl of Exeter was an English peer and member of the House of Lords, styled Lord Burghley from 1640 to 1643.He inherited the earldom from his father David Cecil, 3rd Earl of Exeter in 1643....

, (1628 - 1678) and Lady Frances Manners. He was educated at Stamford School

Stamford School

Stamford School is an English independent school situated in the market town of Stamford, Lincolnshire, England. It has been a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference since 1920.-History:...

 and St John's College

St John's College, Cambridge

St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's alumni include nine Nobel Prize winners, six Prime Ministers, three archbishops, at least two princes, and three Saints....

, Cambridge

University of Cambridge

The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...

. He was elected to the House of Commons for Northamptonshire

Northamptonshire (UK Parliament constituency)

The county constituency of Northamptonshire, in the East Midlands of England was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England, then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832 and was represented in...

 in 1675, a seat he held until 1678 when he succeeded his father in the earldom and entered the House of Lords

House of Lords

The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....

.

He was a notable Grand Tour

Grand Tour

The Grand Tour was the traditional trip of Europe undertaken by mainly upper-class European young men of means. The custom flourished from about 1660 until the advent of large-scale rail transit in the 1840s, and was associated with a standard itinerary. It served as an educational rite of passage...

ist and filled his family home, Burghley House

Burghley House

Burghley House is a grand 16th-century country house near the town of Stamford, Lincolnshire, England...

, with treasures purchased on his travels in Italy.

Lord Exeter married Lady Anne, daughter of William Cavendish, 3rd Earl of Devonshire

William Cavendish, 3rd Earl of Devonshire

William Cavendish, 3rd Earl of Devonshire was the son of William Cavendish, 2nd Earl of Devonshire....

, in circa 1670, they had nine children. He died in August 1700 and was succeeded in his titles by his son John Cecil, 6th Earl of Exeter

John Cecil, 6th Earl of Exeter

John Cecil, 6th Earl of Exeter , known as Lord Burghley from 1678 to 1700, was a British peer and Member of Parliament.- Biography :...

.