BRISTOL, JOHN DIGBY, IST EARL of English diplomatist, son of Sir George Digby of Coleshill, War wickshire, was educated at Magdalen college, Oxford, and en tered the Inner Temple in 1598. Between 1611 and 1624 he was constantly employed as ambassador of James I., notably in the negotiations for the Spanish marriage. During a short interval in 1622 he was sent to Brussels and Vienna to advocate the cause of the king's son-in-law, the elector palatine. In 1623, when the negotiations for the Spanish marriage were wrecked by the be haviour of Charles and Buckingham in Madrid, Digby incurred Buckingham's resentment by sending home an account of the true state of affairs. On his arrival at Dover in March 1624 he was forbidden to appear at court. On the death of James he was removed by Charles I. from the Privy Council, and ordered to absent himself from his first parliament. In March 1626, after the assembling of the second parliament, Digby applied to the Lords, who supported his rights, and Charles sent him his writ accompanied by a letter desiring him not to use it. Bristol, how ever, took his seat and demanded justice against Buckingham. The king endeavoured to obstruct his attack by causing Bristol, on May 1, to be himself brought to the bar, on an accusation of high treason by the attorney-general. The Lords, however, or dered that both charges should be investigated simultaneously. Further proceedings were stopped by the dissolution of parlia ment on June 15, a prosecution was ordered by Charles in the Star Chamber, and Bristol was sent to the Tower, where he remained till March 17, 1628, when the peers, on the assembling of Charles's third parliament, insisted on his liberation and resto ration to his seat in the Lords.
In the discussions upon the Petition of Right, Bristol sup ported the use of the king's prerogative in emergencies, but joined in the demand for a full acceptance of the petition by the king after the first unsatisfactory answer. He was now re stored to favour, but took no part in politics till the outbreak of the Scottish rebellion, when he warned Charles of the danger of attacking with inadequate forces. He was the leader in the Great Council held at York, was a commissioner to treat with the Scots in Sept. 1640 at Ripon, and advised strongly the sum moning of the parliament. In Feb. 1641 he advocated reforms in the Administration and received a seat in the council. Though no friend to Strafford, he endeavoured to save his life, desiring only to see him excluded from office. On Dec. 27, he was de clared an evil counsellor by the House of Commons, Cromwell on the 28th moving an address to the king to dismiss him from his councils, on the plea that he had advocated the bringing up of the northern army to overawe parliament in the preceding spring. There is no evidence to support the charge, but Digby was regarded by the parliamentary party with special hatred and distrust, of which the chief causes were probably his Spanish proclivities and his indifference on the great matter of religion. On March 28, 1642, he was sent to the Tower for having failed to disclose to parliament the Kentish petition. Liberated in April, he joined Charles at York, was present at Edgehill and accom panied him to Oxford. On Feb. 1, 1643, he was named with Lord Herbert of Raglan for removal from the court and public office for ever, and in the propositions of Nov. 1644 was one of those excepted from pardon. In January he had endeavoured to insti gate a breach of the Independents with the Scots. Bristol, how ever, was not in favour of continuing the war, and withdrew to Sherborne, removing in the spring of 1644 to Exeter, and after the surrender of the city retiring abroad on July 11, by order of the Houses, passing the rest of his life in exile at Caen. In 1647 he printed An Apology, defending his support of the royal cause. This was reprinted in 1656 (Thomason Tracts, E. 897, 6). He died in Paris on Jan. 16, 1653, and was succeeded by his son, George, as 2nd earl. Besides his Apology, he was the author of several printed speeches and poems, and translated A Defence of the Catholic Faith by Peter du Moulin (1610).