Spencer family
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There are many Spencer families, comprising all individuals with the surname Spencer. The below are the Spencer family descended in the male line from a certain Henry Spencer (died c. 1478), male-line ancestor of the Earls of Sunderland, the later Dukes of Marlborough, the Earls Spencer and Lady Diana Spencer, later the Princess of Wales.
Members of the family
Earls of Sunderland
- Henry Spencer, 1st Earl of Sunderland (1620–1643), royalist in the English Civil War
- Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl of Sunderland (1640–1702), politician
- Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland (1675–1722), politician
- Robert Spencer, 4th Earl of Sunderland (1701–1729) (elder brother of 3rd Duke)
Dukes of Marlborough
- Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of Marlborough (1706–1758), general and politician, second son of the 3rd Earl of Sunderland
- George Spencer, 4th Duke of Marlborough (1739–1817), politician
- George Spencer, 5th Duke of Marlborough (1766–1840), changed his surname to "Spencer-Churchill". His Spencer-Churchill descendants include all later Dukes of Marlborough, and their descendants, including the politicians Lord Randolph Churchill and Winston Churchill.
Earls Spencer
- John Spencer, 1st Earl Spencer (1734–1783), a grandson of the 3rd Earl of Sunderland through his youngest son
- George John Spencer, 2nd Earl Spencer (1758–1834), politician
- John Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl Spencer (1782–1845), better known as Lord Althorp, politician
- Frederick Spencer, 4th Earl Spencer (1798–1857)
- John Poyntz Spencer, 5th Earl Spencer (1835–1910), politician
- Charles Robert Spencer, 6th Earl Spencer (1857–1922)
- Albert Edward John Spencer, 7th Earl Spencer (1892–1975)
- (Edward) John Spencer, 8th Earl Spencer (1924–1992), father of Diana, Princess of Wales
- Charles Edward Maurice Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer (b.1964), brother of Diana, Princess of Wales
Others
- The Barons and Viscounts Churchill, who descend from a younger son of the 4th Duke of Marlborough, including
- George (Ignatius) Spencer (Fr.Ignatius of St Paul, Passionist) (1799–1864)[1]
- Diana, Princess of Wales (1961–1997) (Previously Lady Diana Frances Spencer)
- Lady Sarah McCorquodale (née Spencer) (born 1955), Diana's sister
- Lady Jane Fellowes (born 1957), Diana's sister
- Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire (1757–1806)
Non-Spencer descendants of the family
The following individuals are not Spencers, but are also descended from the same Henry Spencer via one or more lines of descent.
- Louis Auchincloss (born 1917) - (novelist)
- George H.W. Bush (born 1924) - US President
- George W. Bush (born 1946) - US President
- John Calvin Coolidge Jr (1872–1933) - US President
- Charles Darwin (1809–1882) - author of The Origin of Species
- Sir Alec Douglas-Home - (Prime Minister)
- John Dryden - (1631–1700) - (poet)
- Antonia Fraser (born 1932) - author
- Robert Goddard (1882–1945) - (rocket scientist)
- Warren G. Harding (1865–1923) - U.S. President
- Dubose Heyward (1885–1940) - author of Porgy and Bess
- Oliver Wendell Holmes (1841–1935) - US Supreme Court justice from 1902-1932.
- Lady Caroline Lamb (1785–1828) - novelist, mistress of Lord Byron
- Gavin Maxwell (1914–1969) - naturalist, author of The Ring of Bright Water
- Rev. James Noyes (1608–1656) - puritan, author of A Catechism for Children, The Temple Measured and Moses and Aaron
- Rev. Robert Parker (1550–1600) - scholar, the father of non-conformists
- Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882–1945) (US President) - descendant of the Spencer family via both parents
- Jonathan Swift (1667–1745) - author of Gulliver's Travels
- Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom (born 1926) - queen
- George Washington (1731/2 - 1799) - U.S. President
It has been claimed that several well known authors such as Jane Austen and George Orwell are descendants of the same family, but evidence for this is limited.
Marriage into the family
- Sir Anthony Eden (Prime minister). Married the niece of his prime ministerial predecessor, Winston Churchill.
- Charles, Prince of Wales. Married Lady Diana Spencer, daughter of the 8th Earl Spencer.