The son of the tenth duke (d. 1793), educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford he was an accomplished scholar elected to the Royal Society in 1797, the Society of Antiquaries in 1816, and the Linnean Society in 1820. From 1801 to 1838 was president of the Royal Literary Fund.

REFERENCES TO Edward Adolphus Seymour, eleventh duke of Somerset:

Sydney Smith to Francis Jeffrey, 17 May 1819 in A Memoir of the Reverend Sydney Smith. By his Daughter, Lady Holland. With a Selection from his Letters, edited by Mrs. Austin 2 vols (London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1855)

Thomas Creevey to Elizabeth Ord, 6 November 1820 in The Creevey Papers: A Selection from the Correspondence & Diaries of the late Thomas Creevey, M.P. (London: John Murray, 1903)

Thomas Creevey to Elizabeth Ord, 4 March 1823 in The Creevey Papers: A Selection from the Correspondence & Diaries of the late Thomas Creevey, M.P. (London: John Murray, 1903)

Maria Copley to Thomas Creevey, 6 March 1823 in The Creevey Papers: A Selection from the Correspondence & Diaries of the late Thomas Creevey, M.P. (London: John Murray, 1903)

Thomas Creevey to Elizabeth Ord, 25 November 1828 in The Creevey Papers: A Selection from the Correspondence & Diaries of the late Thomas Creevey, M.P. (London: John Murray, 1903)

Samuel Rogers to Richard Sharp, 19 March, 1835 in Samuel Rogers and his Contemporaries 2 Vols (London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1889)

Dowager Duchess of Sutherland to Samuel Rogers, 2 August [1835] in Samuel Rogers and his Contemporaries 2 Vols (London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1889)