Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham (1402-10 July 1460) was an English nobleman and general during the Hundred Years' War and the Wars of the Roses.
Biography[]
Humphrey Stafford was the son of Edmund Stafford, 5th Earl of Stafford and Anne of Gloucester. He inherited his father's earldom at an early age, and he married a daughter of Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland. Like his father, he served under King Henry V of England in the Hundred Years' War, and he became a leading councillor for Henry VI of England upon Henry V's death. He returned to campaigning in France during the 1430s, and he was elevated from being Earl of Stafford to Duke of Buckingham as a reward for his service. He became one of the wealthiest and most powerful landowners in England, and he fought against rebellions by Jack Cade and the Duke of York. At the First Battle of St. Albans on 22 May 1455, Buckingham and the King were both captured by the Yorkists, and he attempted to mediate between the Yorkists and the crown. In 1460, he was slain at the Battle of Northampton while serving as the King's personal guard. His grandson Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham succeeded him.