Rivers, Richard Woodville, 1st Earl Rivers (died 1469)

English nobleman. After being esquire to Henry V, Woodville was made governor of the Tower by Henry VI in 1424. He took part in the war in France and in the Wars of the Roses, initially on the Lancastrian side. He was married to Jaquetta of Luxembourg, and the subsequent marriage of his daughter, Elizabeth, to Edward IV resulted in his joining the Yorkists. His family soon gained great influence at court, ousting that of the Earl of Warwick.

Woodville was knighted in 1425. Edward made him constable of England, Baron Rivers in 1448, and Earl Rivers in 1466. He was beheaded in 1469, after Edward's defeat at Edgecote at the hands of Warwick.