George Leveson-Gower, 1st Duke of Sutherland

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Thomas Phillips : George Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Marquess of Stafford, oil on canvas, 1805
Coat of arms of George Leveson-Gower, 2nd Marquess of Stafford, as a Knight of the Order of the Garter

George Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Duke of Sutherland KG PC (born January 9, 1758 , † July 19, 1833 at Dunrobin Castle ) was a British nobleman , politician and diplomat .

Life

George Granville Leveson-Gower was the only son of Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Marquess of Stafford , (1721-1803) and his first wife, Lady Louisa Egerton (1723-1761), a daughter of Scroop Egerton, 1st Duke of Bridgewater , with his second wife, Lady Rachael Russell.

As the Heir Apparent of his father, he had the courtesy title Viscount Trentham since birth and since his father was raised to Marquess of Stafford in 1786 the courtesy title Earl Gower .

From 1779 to 1784 he was a Member of the House of Commons for Newcastle-under-Lyme and from 1787 to 1799 for Staffordshire . In Parliament he belonged to the Whigs' party . On February 25, 1799 he inherited his subordinate title (4th) Baron Gower through Writ of Acceleration while his father was still alive . This gave him a seat in the House of Lords and left the House of Commons.

From June 1790 to September 1792 he was British Ambassador to France and from 1799 to 1801 Lord Lieutenant of Shropshire .

When his father died on October 26, 1803, he also inherited his remaining title as 2nd Marquess of Stafford . In 1806 he was accepted into the Order of the Garter as a Knight Companion . On January 28, 1833, a few months before his death, he was promoted to Duke of Sutherland . He died on July 19, 1833 at Dunrobin Castle and was buried in Dornoch Cathedral.

Leveson-Gower was considered the richest Briton of the 19th century. On the other hand, he is also known for his role in the early stages of the Highland Clearances , which he operated in particular on his wife's large estates in Scotland.

"Duke of Sutherland's Monument" on the Ben Bhraggie

In 1837 a monumental statue was erected in his memory on the hill Ben Bhraggie near Golspie in Sutherland .

Marriage and offspring

On September 4, 1785 he married Elizabeth Gordon, suo iure 19th Countess of Sutherland (1765-1839), the heir to William Gordon, 18th Earl of Sutherland , and Mary Maxwell in London . The mutual connection resulted in four children who survived childhood:

literature

  • Charles Mosley: Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage. Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd., Wilmington (Delaware) 2003.
  • Charles Mosley: Burke's Peerage and Baronetage.
  • Duncan Warrand, Lord Howard de Walden: The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom. Alan Sutton Publishing, Gloucester 2000.
  • Peter W. Hammond: The Complete Peerage or a History of the House of Lords and All its Members From the Earliest Times. Addenda & Corrigenda, Gloucestershire 1998.

Web links

Commons : George Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Duke of Sutherland  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files
predecessor Office successor
New title created Duke of Sutherland
1833
George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower
Granville Leveson-Gower Marquess of Stafford
1803-1833
George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower
Granville Leveson-Gower Baron Gower
(by Writ of Acceleration)
1799-1833
George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower