John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich
John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich (* November 3, 1718, † April 30, 1792 in Chiswick ) was a British diplomat and statesman. Today, he is known primarily named after him took bread, the sandwich.
Origin and family
John Montagu came from a family that belonged to the gentry of Northamptonshire and their rise to the Stuarts owed . His ancestor Admiral Montagu (1625-1672) was fleet commander of the English Republic, but the restoration had supported King Charles II returned from the Netherlands to England and had been raised for the Earl of Sandwich.
John's grandfather, Edward Montagu, 3rd Earl had squandered the great wealth in any case not before he had been placed under the supervision and incapacitated due to mental illness. His wife, Elizabeth Wilmot († 1757), daughter of the 2nd Earl of Rochester, went to Paris at the Stuarthof and took the rest of the assets with.
John's father, Edward Richard Montagu († 1722), Viscount Hinchinbrooke died before John was four years old. His mother, Elizabeth Popham, 1728 married a second time. Two years earlier she had got rid of their children and given to Eton John, although he was still too young age of seven, to be officially recorded ( one time not uncommon practice). John and his younger brother were now practically deserted. Therefore, they were 1730 wards of the Court of Chancery, the fiduciary to manage its affairs. In the myriad of posthumous letters of the Earl of Sandwich there is not a single letter of the Earl to his mother or a mother to her son. It is almost never mentioned, although she did not die until 1761.
Life
John Montague was in 1718, the son of Edward Richard Montagu († 1722), Viscount Hinchinbroke, and Elizabeth Popham was born in 1729 and followed his grandfather, Edward Montagu, 3rd Earl in the earldom. Educated at Eton and at Trinity College, Cambridge, he spent some time traveling before he returned to England in 1739 and - as a supporter of the Duke of Bedford - his seat in the House of Lords took.
He quickly became a member of the Admiralty under Bedford and army colonel. In 1746 he was authorized representative at the Congress of Breda and took to the Aachen Peace 1748 part in the peace negotiations that ended the War of Austrian Succession. In February 1748 he became First Lord of the Admiralty ( Admiralty ), which he remained until his dismissal by the king in June 1751.
In August 1753 he was one of the first minister and played a leading role in the prosecution of John Wilkes as such. He was together with Wilkes member of the notorious Brotherhood of Medmenham, but now turned against his former comrades. This change of attitude made him very unpopular, he was - Jemmy Twitcher called - an allusion to a line in the Beggar's Opera.
He was postmaster -general in 1768 ( Postmaster General ), 1770 Minister of State and was from 1771 to 1782 again First Lord of the Admiralty. The official leadership of the Earl of Sandwich is unique in the history of the Royal Navy because of their corruption and incompetence. Items were purchased, embezzled depots and - worst of all - non- seaworthy and ill-equipped ships were sent into battle. Sandwich was therefore very unpopular, his dismissal in 1782 was jubilantly welcomed.
Sandwich was with Dorothy Fane (1716-1797), a daughter of Charles Fane, 1st Viscount Fane ( 1676-1744 ), married, with whom he had a son, John ( 1743-1814 ), had, who succeeded as fifth Earl. He also had several illegitimate children became acquainted with the singer Margaret or Martha Ray, of which Basil Montagu (1770-1851) as a writer, lawyer and philanthropist. The murder of Miss Ray by a rejected suitor in April 1779 increased the unpopularity of the Lords, which was great anyway. The stigma of the affair Wilkes and his corrupt official guide adhered to him to the end. He died on 30 April 1792.
Aftereffect
While still alive, sandwiches named the English navigator James Cook an archipelago in the South Atlantic to Sandwich: the South Sandwich Islands. Furthermore, it was by him referred to as Hawaii Sandwich Islands, but later renamed. Furthermore, the Sandwich Islands in the vicinity of the West Indies named after him, as well as a deep-sea trench with depth 8,264 m.
Sandwich Legend
John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich ( 1718-1792 ), was an avid cribbage player. During this pastime, which he interrupted reluctant, he often supported himself almost twenty four hours a day from this food, when originally only beef was placed between two toasted slices of white bread. This simple style came to meet him, because he often suffered from lack of money and also led an otherwise unpretentious life. The new court was back in London very fashionable.
For this rumor but there is - as his biographer Rodger shows - only one source, a travel book of Grosley. More likely is that he invented the sandwich to eat while working, since he was very busy in question standing period ( 1765 ).
Works
- Voyage round the Mediterranean in the Years 1738 and 1739th Cadell & Davies, London 1799 ( posthumously ) with a very flattering memoir of Rev. John Cooke