Algernon Percy, 1st Earl of Beverley

Algernon Percy, 1st Earl of Beverley, (21 January 1750 – 21 October 1830), styled Lord Algernon Percy between 1766 and 1786 and known as the Lord Lovaine between 1786 and 1790, was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1774 to 1786 when he succeeded to the Peerage. He is the ancestor of the present Dukes of Northumberland.

Background and education
Born Algernon Smithson in Mayfair, London, he was the second son of Hugh Percy, 1st Duke of Northumberland, and his wife, Lady Elizabeth Seymour, only daughter of Algernon Seymour, 7th Duke of Somerset, whose mother was the heiress of the old Earls of Northumberland. He was the brother of prominent military officer Hugh Percy, 2nd Duke of Northumberland. He was educated at Eton College.

Public life
In 1774, Percy was elected Member of Parliament for Northumberland. He was elected MP for both Northumberland and Bere Alston in 1780, and chose to continue sitting for Northumberland. In 1786, he left the Commons when he inherited his father's barony of Lovaine (a title which was created for his father with a special remainder to pass to Algernon as a second son). He was created Earl of Beverley, in the County of York, in 1790.

He died on 21 October 1830, aged 80, at Le Mans, and was buried at St Marylebone Parish Church, Marylebone, London.

Family
Lord Beverley married Isabella Burrell, second daughter of Peter Burrell and sister of Peter Burrell, 1st Baron Gwydyr, in 1775. Their children were:
 * Lady Charlotte Percy (1776–1862), married George Ashburnham, 3rd Earl of Ashburnham, and had issue
 * Elizabeth Percy (1777–1779), buried within the Northumberland Vault in Westminster Abbey
 * George Percy, 5th Duke of Northumberland (1778–1867) had issue Algernon Percy, 6th Duke of Northumberland.
 * Hon. Algernon Percy (1779–1833), diplomat
 * Lady Elizabeth Susan Percy (1782–1847), a watercolourist who lived in Italy during the 1830s
 * Hon. Hugh Percy (1784–1856), Bishop of Rochester and Carlisle
 * Vice-Admiral Hon. Josceline Percy (1784–1856), naval commander
 * Lieutenant-Colonel Hon. Henry Percy (1785–1825), army officer
 * Lady Emily Charlotte Percy (1786–1877), married Andrew Drummond, and had issue
 * Hon. William Henry Percy (1788–1855), politician and naval commander
 * Hon. Francis John Percy (1790–1812), army officer
 * Hon. Charles Greatheed Bertie Percy (1794–1870)
 * Lady Louisa Margaret Percy (1796–1796), buried within the Northumberland Vault in Westminster Abbey

Lord Beverley died in October 1830, aged 80, and was succeeded by his eldest son, George, who later inherited the dukedom of Northumberland from his cousin, the 4th Duke, in 1865.