EGMONT, EARLS OF. JOHN PERCEVAL, 1ST EARL OF EG MONT , Irish politician, and partner with J. E. Ogle thorpe in founding the American colony of Georgia, was created earl in 1733. He claimed descent from the Egmonts of Flanders, but his title was taken from the place in County Cork where the family residence stood. The first earl of Egmont (who had been made Baron Perceval in 1715, and Viscount Perceval in 1723) is chiefly important for his connection with the colonization of Georgia, and for his voluminous letters and writings on bi ography and genealogy.