Baron Rayleigh, of Terling Place in the County of Essex, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1821 for Lady Charlotte Strutt, wife of Colonel Joseph Strutt, Member of Parliament for Maldon and a member of an Essex family that had made its fortune in the milling business. Joseph Strutt had earlier declined the offer of a peerage, and instead proposed that the honour be given to his wife. Lady Rayleigh was the daughter of James FitzGerald, 1st Duke of Leinster, and his wife Lady Emily Lennox, the second of the famous Lennox sisters. Her elder brother was Charles FitzGerald, 1st Baron Lecale and her younger brother was Lord Edward FitzGerald. Lady Rayleigh's grandson, the third Baron, was a noted physicist and Nobel Prize recipient. The latter's son, the fourth Baron, was also a well-known physicist. the title is held by the fourth Baron's grandson, the sixth Baron, who succeeded his uncle in 1988. Other notable members of the Strutt family include Strutt & Parker founder Edward Gerald Strutt, a son of the second Baron, and the former's grandson Sir Nigel Strutt.