David Cecil was the son of
Sir Richard Cecil of
Wakerley,
Northamptonshire. He was educated at
Clare College, Cambridge, and admitted at
Lincoln's Inn in 1627. In 1640, he sat for
Peterborough in the
Short Parliament. He inherited the
earldom in July 1640 from his uncle
William Cecil, 2nd Earl of Exeter. He married Elizabeth Egerton (d. 1688), daughter of
John Egerton, 1st Earl of Bridgewater. Their daughter, Lady Frances Cecil (1633–1652), married
Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury. He was succeeded by his son
John Cecil, 4th Earl of Exeter. ==References==