John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich

For other people named John Montagu (disambiguation), see John Montagu (disambiguation) (disambiguation).

The Right Honourable The Earl of Sandwich PC FRS
Secretary of State for the Northern Department
In office 19 December 1770 – 12 January 1771
Prime Minister	Lord North
Preceded by	The Earl of Rochdale
Succeeded by	The Earl of Halifax
In office 9 September 1763 – 10 July 1765
Prime Minister	George Grenville
Preceded by	The Earl of Halifax
Succeeded by	The Duke of Grafton
First Lord of the Admiralty
In office 1771–1782
Prime Minister	Lord North
Preceded by	Sir Edward Hawke
Succeeded by	The Viscount Keppel
In office 1763–1763
Prime Minister	The Earl of Bute
Preceded by	George Grenville
Succeeded by	The Earl of Egmont
In office 1748–1751
Prime Minister	George Grenville
Preceded by	The Duke of Bedford
Succeeded by	The Lord Anson
Postmaster General
In office 1768–1771
Prime Minister	The Duke of Grafton Lord North
Preceded by	The Marquess of Downshire
Succeeded by	Henry Carteret
Personal details
Born	(1718-11-03)3 November 1718
Died	30 April 1792(1792-04-30) (aged 73) Chiswick, England
Spouse(s)	Dorothy Montagu, Countess of Sandwich Martha Ray
Alma mater	Eton College, Trinity College, Cambridge
Profession	Statesman

John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, PC, FRS (3 November 1718 – 30 April 1792) was a British statesman who succeeded his grandfather, Edward Montagu, 3rd Earl of Sandwich, as the Earl of Sandwich in 1729, at the age of ten. During his life he held various military and political offices, including Postmaster General, First Lord of the Admiralty and Secretary of State for the Northern Department, but is perhaps best known for the claim that he invented the modern concept of the sandwich.

Biography

Early years

John Montagu was born in 1718, the son of Edward Montagu, Viscount Hinchingbrooke. At the age of four his father died, leaving him as his heir. His mother soon remarried and he had little further contact with her. He succeeded his grandfather as Earl of Sandwich in 1729. Educated at Eton and at Trinity College, Cambridge, Montagu spent some time in travelling, initially going on the Grand Tour round Continental Europe before visiting the more unusual destinations of Greece, Turkey and Egypt which were then part of the Ottoman Empire. This led him to later found a number of Orientalist societies. On his return to England in 1739 he took his seat in the House of Lords as a follower of the Duke of Bedford, one of the wealthiest and most powerful politicians of the era. He became a Patriot Whig and one of the sharpest critics of the Walpole government, attacking the government's strategy in the War of the Austrian Succession. Like many Patriot Whigs, Sandwich was opposed to Britain's support of Hanover and strongly opposed the deployment of British troops on the European Continent to protect it, instead arguing that Britain should make greater use of its naval power. He gained attention for his speeches in parliament which earned him a reputation for clearly setting out his argument, even if they lacked natural eloquence.

Political career

In 1744, Bedford was invited to join the government, now headed by Henry Pelham, taking the post of First Lord of the Admiralty. Sandwich joined him as one of the Commissioners of the Admiralty in effect serving as deputy under Bedford. The experienced Admiral Lord Anson also joined the Admiralty board and was an influential figure. As Bedford spent much of his time at his country estate, much of the day-to-day running of the Admiralty fell to Sandwich and Anson. Anson had control of the training and discipline of the navy, while Sandwich focused on the administration. Following a proposal by Admiral Edward Vernon, the concept of a Western Squadron was pioneered, which was to prove very successful. This marked a radical shift in British naval strategy, and was to lead to British success at the Battles of Cape Finisterre.

The following year Sandwich took a commission as a Colonel in the Army as part of the response to the Jacobite Rebellion and the prospect of a French invasion. In order to boost the relatively small British army, a number of units were raised by prominent figures, and Sandwich served in the regiment formed by Bedford. While serving in the Midlands he fell seriously ill with fever, and nearly died. After his recovery, he returned to his duties at the admiralty. He remained an army officer for the rest of his life, remaining on the half-pay list, and eventually rising to the rank of General even though he took no further active part in the army.

Congress of Breda

Main article: Congress of Breda

In 1746 he was sent as a plenipotentiary to the congress at Breda, and he continued to take part in the negotiations for peace until the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle was concluded in 1748. Sandwich was also made British Ambassador to the Dutch Republic during the talks. Using the resources of the British Secret Service, Sandwich was able to outmanouvre his French opposite number, by intercepting his secret correspondence. His service at Breda drew him to the attention of the influential Duke of Newcastle, who lobbied for him to be given high office when he returned home.

It is possible that during his time at Breda, he played a role in the 1747 Dutch Revolution which brought The Prince of Orange wider powers, something supported by Britain as they hoped the Prince would improve the Dutch Republic's military performance in the ongoing war in the Low Countries. However, there is no firm evidence of this.

First Lord of the Admiralty (first and second spells)

Further information: [[:First Lord of the Admiralty]]

In February 1748 he became First Lord of the Admiralty, retaining this post until June 1751. By 1751 Newcastle, who had previously admired Sandwich for his forthright and hardline views, had increasingly begun to distrust him and his relationship with The Duke of Bedford who Newcastle regarded as a rival. Newcastle engineered the dismissal of both of them, by sacking Sandwich. Bedford resigned in protest, as Newcastle had calculated, allowing him to replace them with men he considered more loyal personally to him.

The Duke of Bedford was a long-standing patron of Sandwich, and his support helped him further his career.

For the next few years Sandwich spent time at his country estate, largely avoiding politics, though he kept in close contact with both Bedford and Anson and Britain's participation in the Seven Years War. Partly thanks to naval reforms pioneered by Anson and Sandwich the Royal Navy enjoyed a series of successes and was able to blockade much of the French fleet in port.

In 1763 he returned to the Admiralty in the government of John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, and encouraged a major rebuilding programme for the Royal Navy. Bute was a Tory who wished to bring the war to an end, which he did with the Treaty of Paris. It was during this time that he first met Martha Ray who became his long-standing mistress. He was soon dismissed from the office, but was offered the influential position of Ambassador to Madrid.

Northern Secretary

In August 1763 Sandwich became Secretary of State for the Northern Department, in the government of George Grenville who had replaced Bute. while filling this office he took a leading part in the prosecution of John Wilkes for obscene libel. Although he had been allegedly associated with Wilkes in the notorious Hellfire Club (also known as the Monks of Medmenham), recent scholarship has suggested that the two had a more distant but cordial relationship than the friendship which was popularly portrayed at the time. John Gay's The Beggar's Opera was played in Covent Garden shortly thereafter, and the similarity of Sandwich's conduct to that of Jemmy Twitcher, betrayer of Macheath in that play, permanently attached to him that appellation.

He held the post of Northern Secretary until July 1765. His departure from the post coincided with the end of George Grenville's term as Prime Minister.

In The State Tinkers (1780), James Gillray caricatured Sandwich (on left) and his political allies as incompetent tinkers.

Sandwich was Postmaster General from 1768 to 1771 and briefly Secretary of State again from December 1770 to January 1771.

First Lord of the Admiralty (third spell)

Further information: [[:North Ministry]]

Sandwich served again as First Lord of the Admiralty in Lord North's administration from 1771 to 1782. He replaced the distinguished Admiral Sir Edward Hawke in the post. His appointment to the post followed the Falklands Crisis which had nearly seen Britain go to war with Spain.

His incompetence in the Admiralty was said to have undermined the seaworthy efforts in the American War of Independence. During 1779 a combined Franco-Spanish fleet was able to sail into the English Channel and threatened the coast of Cornwall in the initial stage of a Franco-Spanish Invasion of Britain. Sandwich was criticised for the failure of the smaller British Channel Fleet to prevent this, although the invasion never materialised.

Personal life

Sandwich married Dorothy Fane, daughter of the 1st Viscount Fane, by whom he had a son, John, Viscount Hinchingbrooke (1743 – 1814), who later succeeded as 5th Earl. Sandwich's first personal tragedy was his wife's deteriorating health and eventual insanity. During his wife's decline, Sandwich started an affair with the talented opera singer Martha Ray. During their relationship, Ray bore him at least five and perhaps as many as nine children, including Basil Montagu (1770 – 1851), writer, jurist and philanthropist Tragedy was to strike again in April 1779 when Ray was murdered in the foyer of the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden by a jealous suitor, James Hackman, Rector of Wiveton. Sandwich never recovered from his grief. The events surrounding Ray's murder were depicted in a popular 1780 novel Love and Madness by Herbert Croft.

A mezzotint print of the noble earl engraved by Valentine Green, after Johann Zoffany, published 30 August 1774

In a famous exchange with the actor Samuel Foote, Sandwich declared, "Foote, I have often wondered what catastrophe would bring you to your end; but I think, that you must either die of the pox, or the halter." "My lord", replied Foote instantaneously, "that will depend upon one of two contingencies; -- whether I embrace your lordship's mistress, or your lordship's principles." This retort is often misattributed to John Wilkes.

Sandwich retired from public duty in 1782, and lived another ten years, dying on 30 April 1792. His title of Earl of Sandwich passed to his eldest son, John Montagu, 5th Earl of Sandwich, who was 48 at the time.

Legacy

Sandwich retired in 1782. Despite the number of important posts that he held during his career, Sandwich's incompetence and corruptness inspired the suggestion that his epitaph should read: "Seldom has any man held so many offices and accomplished so little."

Recently, some historians have begun to suggest that Lord Sandwich was not perhaps as incompetent as suggested, but that previous historians have placed too much emphasis on sources from his political enemies.

The sandwich

The modern sandwich is named after Lord Sandwich. Evidently John Montagu had been a very conversant gambler. He did not have time to have meal during the play, so he would ask his servants to bring him slices of meat between two slices of bread during his long hours play at the card table. This habit became well known among his gambling friends and thus the ‘sandwich’ was born. Because Montagu also happened to be the Fourth Earl of Sandwich, others began to order "the same as Sandwich!" However, the exact circumstances of the invention are still the subject of debate. A rumour in a contemporary travel book called Tour to London (although not confirmed) by Pierre Jean Grosley formed the popular myth that bread and meat sustained Lord Sandwich at the gambling table. The sober alternative is provided by Sandwich's biographer, N. A. M. Rodger, who suggests Sandwich's commitments to the navy, to politics and the arts mean the first sandwich was more likely to have been consumed at his desk.

It is also possible that Sandwich's Grisons Republic born brother-in-law, Jerome de Salis, taught him about sandwiches. The Grisons is known for its dried meat, Bündnerfleisch, while its then subject territory the Valtelline, where De Salis also grew up, is known for Bresaola.

Dr Daniel Solander, Sir Joseph Banks, Captain James Cook, Dr John Hawkesworth and Lord Sandwich by John Hamilton Mortimer, 1771. Use a cursor to see who is who.

Sandwich Islands

Sandwich was a great supporter of Cook’s Pacific exploration, and supplied Admiralty funds for the purchase and fit-out of the Resolution, Adventure and Discovery. Captain James Cook named on his charts the Sandwich Islands (now correctly Hawaii), which had its first European landing by Cook's expedition in 1778, after him, as well as Montagu Island and the South Sandwich Islands, and also Montague Island in Alaska, east of Seward.. Cook was killed by angry Hawaiians after his expedition brutally shot and killed some of the islanders.

Music

After his Naval career, Sandwich turned his energy toward music. He became a great proponent of "Ancient music" (defined by him as music more than two decades old). He was the patron of the Italian violinist Felice Giardini, and created a "Catch Club", where professional singers would sing "ancient" and modern catches, glees, and madrigals. He also put on performances of George Frideric Handel's oratorios, masques, and odes at his estate. Sandwich was instrumental in putting together the Concert of Ancient Music, the first public concert to showcase a canonic repertory of old works.

Chronology

• 1718 The 4th Earl of Sandwich is born on November 14, 1718
• 1729 Succeeds his grandfather, Edward Montague, 3rd Earl of Sandwich, in the earldom
• 1729 Educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge
• 1740/41 (old style/new style), March 14, marries The Hon. Dorothy Fane at St. James's, Westminster
• 1746 Sent as plenipotentiary to the congress at Breda, and continues to take part in the negotiations for peace until the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle is signed in 1748
• 1748 Becomes First Lord of the Admiralty
• 1763 Becomes one of the principal secretaries of state
• 1768 Appointed Postmaster General
• 1770 Becomes Secretary of State
• 1771–1782 Becomes First Lord of the Admiralty again during the American War of Independence
• 1779 His mistress Martha Ray, mother of five of his children, murdered by her admirer James Hackman in Covent Garden
• 1782 Retires in March
• 1792 Dies on April 30

References

• Baker-Smith Royal Discord: The Family of George III. Athena Press, 2008.
• Longmate, Norman. Island Fortress: The Defence of Great Britain, 1603-1945. Pimlico, 2001.
• Rodger, N.A.M, The Insatiable Earl: A Life of John Montagu, Fourth Earl of Sandwich (London: Harper Collins, 1993)
• Whiteley, Peter. Lord North: The Prime Minister Who Lost America. Hambledon Press, 1996.

• This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

External links

• Montague family history page
• Guide to the papers of Lord Sandwich, 1718–1792 held and digitised by the National Library of Australia
• Smithsonian Magazine article on the Earl's Love Triangle
• The Lives & Times of the Hell-Fire Club