Charles Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax

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Charles Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax

Charles Montagu , 1st Earl of Halifax KG PC FRS (born April 16, 1661 in Horton , Northamptonshire , † May 19, 1715 in London ) was an English politician and poet.

Life

Montagu was the fifth son of Henry Montagu, 1st Earl of Manchester . He was trained first in the country, then at Westminster School . In 1682 he followed his friend George Stepney to Cambridge . There he got to know and appreciate Isaac Newton .

In 1685 his verses on the death of King Charles II made such an impression on the poet Charles Sackville, 6th Earl of Dorset , that he invited him to London. In 1689 he was elected to Parliament as a Whig . A little later he became a member of the Privy Council , in 1697 Chancellor of the Exchequer .

In this position he developed a system of guaranteed government bonds with which England's participation in the Palatinate War of Succession could be financed. In 1694 he set up the Bank of England at the suggestion of William Paterson . A year later he started to replace the old coin system (partly from the time of Elizabeth I ) with new coins . For this purpose he appointed his friend Isaac Newton to the office of Warden of the Mint.

In 1698 he was - in the absence of the king - one of the regents . The following year, the Tory majority in the House of Commons initiated impeachment proceedings against him, which the House of Lords managed to block. 1700 Montagu was as Baron Halifax in the hereditary nobility raised. In the first parliament under the government of Queen Anne , he was again attacked by the Tories. In 1706/7 Montagu was instrumental in the annexation of Scotland.

After Anne's death in 1714, he became one of the regents again until the Elector of Hanover ascended the throne as George I. From this he was made Earl of Halifax , accepted into the Order of the Garter and First Lord of the Treasury . After only seven months in this office, Montagu died unexpectedly of pneumonia. After the death of his wife he was in a relationship with Catherine Barton , the niece of Isaac Newton , to whom he also left a large fortune.

In 1687 he wrote with Matthew Prior "The Country Mouse and the City Mouse", a parody of "The Hind and the Panther" by John Dryden .

The title Earl of Halifax expired with his death, but his nephew George Montagu became Baron Halifax due to a special succession clause .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Powicke & Fryde: Handbook of British Chronology. Second Edition, London, 1961, 104
  2. ^ Powicke & Fryde: Handbook of British Chronology. Second Edition, London, 1961, 105

Web links

predecessor Office successor
New title created Baron Halifax
1700-1715 		George Montagu
New title created Earl of Halifax
1714-1715 		Title expired
Sidney Godolphin, 1st Earl of Godolphin Lord High Treasurer
1697–1699 		Ford Gray, 1st Earl of Tankerville
Charles Talbot, 1st Duke of Shrewsbury Lord High Treasurer
1714-1715 		Charles Howard, 3rd Earl of Carlisle
personal data
SURNAME Montagu, Charles, 1st Earl of Halifax
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Montagu, Charles
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English politician and poet
DATE OF BIRTH April 16, 1661
PLACE OF BIRTH Horton , Northamptonshire
DATE OF DEATH May 19, 1715
Place of death London