George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon: Difference between revisions

The Earl of Carnarvon
The Earl of Carnarvon
	Lord Carnarvon, who was the chief financial backer on many of Howard Carter's Egyptian excavations.
Born	26 June 1866; Highclere Castle, Hampshire, England
Died	5 April 1923 (aged 56); Cairo, Kingdom of Egypt
Nationality	British
Known for	Tutankhamun's tomb
	Scientific career
Fields	Egyptology

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George Edward Stanhope Molyneux Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon (26 June 1866 – 5 April 1923) was an English aristocrat best known as the financial backer of the search for and the excavation of Tutankhamun's tomb in the Valley of the Kings.

Biography

Born at the family home, Highclere Castle, in Hampshire on 26 June 1866, George Herbert was educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge,^[1] succeeding to the Carnarvon title in 1890.^[2] On 26 June 1895, at St. Margaret's Church, Carnarvon married Almina Victoria Maria Alexandra Wombwell,^[3] daughter of Marie Boyer, the wife of Captain Frederick Charles Wombwell, but her real father was believed to be Alfred de Rothschild, the unmarried member of the prominent Rothschild banking family of England who made Lady Carnarvon his heiress.^{[citation needed]}

Exceedingly wealthy, Lord Carnarvon was at first best known as an owner of racehorses and as a reckless driver of early automobiles, suffering - in 1901 - a serious motoring accident near Bad Schwalbach in Germany which left him significantly disabled.

In 1902, the 5th Earl established Highclere Stud to breed thoroughbred racehorses.^[4] In 1905, he was appointed one of the Stewards at the new Newbury Racecourse. His family has maintained the connection ever since. His grandson, Henry George Reginald Molyneux Herbert, 7th Earl of Carnarvon, was racing manager to Queen Elizabeth II from 1969, and one of Her Majesty's closest friends.

Egyptology

The 5th Earl was an enthusiastic amateur Egyptologist, undertaking in 1907 to sponsor the excavation of nobles' tombs in Deir el-Bahari (Thebes). Howard Carter joined him as his assistant in the excavations.^[5] It is now established that it was Gaston Maspero, then Director of the Antiquities Department, who proposed Carter to Lord Carnavon.^[6]

Lord Carnarvon received in 1914 the concession to dig in the Valley of the Kings, in replacement of Theodore Davis who had resigned. It was in 1922 that they together opened the tomb of Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings, exposing treasures unsurpassed in the history of archaeology.

Death

On 5 April 1923, Carnarvon died in the Continental-Savoy Hotel in Cairo, in the Kingdom of Egypt.^[7] This led to the story of the "Curse of Tutankhamun", the "Mummy's Curse". His death is most probably explained by blood poisoning (progressing to pneumonia) after accidentally shaving a mosquito bite infected with erysipelas. His colleague and employee, Howard Carter, the man most responsible for revealing the tomb of the young king, lived safely for another sixteen years.

Carnarvon's tomb, appropriately for an archaeologist, is located within an ancient hill fort overlooking his family seat at Beacon Hill, Burghclere, Hampshire.^[8]

Carnarvon was survived by his wife Almina, who re-married, and their two children:^[9]

Henry George Herbert, 6th Earl of Carnarvon (1898–1987), who married Anne Catherine Tredick Wendell and had issue.
Lady Evelyn Leonora Almina Herbert (15 August 1901-1980), who married Sir Brograve Campbell Beauchamp, 2nd Bt. and had issue.

Ancestry

Family of George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon

16. Henry Herbert, 1st Earl of Carnarvon

8. Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Carnarvon

17. Lady Elizabeth Wyndham

4. Henry Herbert, 3rd Earl of Carnarvon

18. John Dyke Acland

9. Elizabeth Kitty Acland

19. Lady Christian Harriet Fox-Strangways

2. Henry Herbert, 4th Earl of Carnarvon

20. Henry Howard

10. Lord Henry Howard-Molyneux-Howard

21. Juliana Molyneux

5. Henrietta Howard

22. Edward Long

11. Elizabeth Long

23. Mary Beckford

1. George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon^[10]

24. Arthur Charles Stanhope

12. Philip Stanhope, 5th Earl of Chesterfield

25. Margaret Headlam

6. George Stanhope, 6th Earl of Chesterfield

26. Thomas Thynne, 1st Marquess of Bath

13. Lady Henrietta Thynne

27. Lady Elizabeth Cavendish-Bentinck

3. Lady Evelyn Stanhope

28. Hon. William Herbert

14. Cecil Weld-Forester, 1st Baron Forester

29. Catherine Elizabeth Tewes

7. Hon. Anne Weld-Forester

30. Charles Manners, 4th Duke of Rutland

15. Lady Katherine Manners

31. Lady Mary Isabella Somerset

In popular culture

Carnarvon has been portrayed in popular culture in film, video game and television productions;^[11]

Harry Andrews in the 1980 Columbia Pictures Television production The Curse of King Tut's Tomb
Julian Curry in the 1998 IMAX documentary Mysteries of Egypt
Julian Wadham in the 2005 BBC docudrama Egypt.
Evelyn Carnahan from the film "The Mummy" is an homage to Lord Carnarvon's daughter, Lady Evelyn
Lord Carnarvon, quest leader for the Archaeologist role in the classic text-based video game Nethack

References

^ "Herbert, George Edward Stanhope Molyneux, Lord Porchester (HRBT886GE)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
^ Zoehfeld, Kathleen Weidner (2007). "3". The Curse of King Tut's Mummy. Random House Books for Young Readers. ISBN 978-0375838620. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
^ Barnard Burke, 1914, p.387
^ "Architecture". House and Garden. 160 (1–4). Condé Nast Publications, Ltd: 54. 1994.
^ Winstone, H. V. F. (2006). Howard Carter and the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun (rev. ed.). Manchester: Barzan. ISBN 1-905521-04-9.
^ A letter of Maspero dated 14 October 1907, contained in his archives in the library of the Institut de France says: You have been kind enough to say to me that you could find a man who knows Egyptology to survey my works. Have you thought to anybody? I will leave the question of payment in your hands but I think I would prefer a compatriot (Manuscripts 4009, folios 292-293). On 16 January 1909, Carter writes to Maspero: Just a word to tell you that Lord Carnarvon has accepted my conditions. He will be there (in Egypt) from 12 February to 20 March. I have to thank you again... (Manuscripts 4009, folio 527) - from Elisabeth David.
^ "Carnarvon Is Dead Of An Insect's Bite At Pharaoh's Tomb. Blood Poisoning and Ensuing Pneumonia Conquer Tut-ankh-Amen Discoverer in Egypt". New York Times. 5 April 1923. Retrieved 12 August 2008. The Earl of Carnarvon died peacefully at 2 o'clock this morning. He was conscious almost to the end. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
^ Carnarvon's Tomb
^ Charles Mosley, editor, Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes (Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003).
^ Charles Mosley, editor, Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes (Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003).
^ "Carnarvon (Character)". IMDb.com. Retrieved 8 May 2008. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)

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-'''George Edward Stanhope Molyneux Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon'''  (26 June 1866 &ndash; 5 April 1923) was an English aristocrat best known as the financial backer of the search for and the excavation of [[KV62|Tutankhamun's tomb]] in [[Valley of the Kings]].
+'''George Edward Stanhope Molyneux Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon'''  (26 June 1866 &ndash; 5 April 1923) was an English aristocrat best known as the financial backer of the search for and the excavation of [[KV62|Tutankhamun's tomb]] in the [[Valley of the Kings]].
 ==Biography==