Wilbraham Egerton was born on 17 Jan 1832. He was the son of William Tatton Egerton, 1st Baron Egerton of Tatton, and the grandson of Wilbraham Egerton who commanded the Cheshire Yeomanry from 1835 to 1847. His mother was Lady Charlotte Elizabeth Loftus. He graduated from Oxford with an MA and was Conservative MP for North Cheshire from 1858 to 1868, and for Mid Cheshire from 1868 to 1883. He succeeded to the title 2nd Baron Egerton 21 Feb 1883 which elevated him to the House of Lords. He was created 1st Earl Egerton of Tatton on 22 July 1897. He was the second chairman of the Manchester Ship Canal from 1887 to 1894 and held the post of Lord Lieutenant of Cheshire from 1900 to 1905. He was deeply committed to the Church of England and was appointed Ecclesiastical Commissioner. He was a cornet in the King’s Cheshire c1850, promoted to lieutenant in 1851, captain on 5 May 1863 and resigned in 1887 with the rank of honorary major.
He married twice, first on 15 Oct 1857 to Lady Mary Amherst, daughter of William Pitt Amherst, 2nd Earl Amherst of Arracan. They had one child, Lady Gertrude Egerton, but Lady Mary died in December 1892. Lord Egerton was married secondly to Alice Graham-Montgomery, widow of the 3rd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos, on 8 Aug 1894. He died on 16 Mar 1909 without a male heir so the title of Earl became extinct.
