William Craven, 1st Earl of Craven, Personal Computer was an English nobleman and soldier.
Background
William Craven was the eldest son of Sir William Craven, lord mayor of London, and of Elizabeth, daughter of Alderman William Whitmore, was born in June 1608, matriculated at Trinity College, Oxford, in 1623, and joined the society of the Middle Temple in 1624.
Career
William Craven early showed enthusiasm for the cause of the unfortunate king and queen of Bohemia, driven from their dominions, and in 1632 joined Frederick in a military expedition to recover the Palatinate, meeting Gustavus Adolphus at Hochst, whose praise he gained by being the first, though wounded, to mount the breach at the capture of Kreuznach on the 22nd of February.
In May 1633 he was placed on the council of Wales.
He contributed also large sums in aid of Charles I, and, after his execution, of Charles II, the amount bestowed upon the latter being alone computed at £50, 000/ notwithstanding that since 1651 the greater part of his estates had been confiscated by the parliament and his house at Caversham reduced to ruins.
At the Restoration he accompanied Charles to England, regained his estates, and was rewarded with offices and honours.
He was again made a privy councillor and lieutenant-general of the forces by James on his accession, and at the age of eighty was in command of the Coldstreams at Whitehall on the 17th of December 1688 when the Dutch troops arrived.
He refused to withdraw them at the bidding of Count Solms, the Dutch commander, but obeyed later James's own orders to retire.
His ability was probably small, and he is spoken of with little respect in the Verne у Papers and by the electress Sophia in her Memoirs.
The latter retails some foolish observations made by Craven, and Pepys was disgusted at his coarse and stupid jests at the Fishery Board, where his "very confused and very ridiculous proceedings ' ' are also censured.