John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford
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George III | |
---|---|
Preceded by | The Duke of Devonshire |
Succeeded by | The Earl of Halifax |
Secretary of State for the Southern Department | |
In office 12 February 1748 – 13 June 1751 | |
Monarch | George II |
Prime Minister | Henry Pelham |
Preceded by | The Duke of Newcastle |
Succeeded by | The Earl of Holderness |
First Lord of the Admiralty | |
In office 27 December 1744 – 26 February 1748 | |
Monarch | George II |
Prime Minister | Henry Pelham |
Preceded by | The Earl of Winchilsea |
Succeeded by | The Earl of Sandwich |
Personal details | |
Born | John Russell 30 September 1710 Streatham, Surrey, England |
Died | 5 January 1771 Woburn, Bedfordshire, England | (aged 60)
Resting place | Chenies, Buckinghamshire |
Spouses | |
Children | John Russell, Marquess of Tavistock Francis Russell, Marquess of Tavistock Caroline Spencer, Duchess of Marlborough |
Parent(s) | Wriothesley Russell, 2nd Duke of Bedford Elizabeth Howland |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9f/Coat_of_arms_of_John_Russell%2C_4th_Duke_of_Bedford%2C_KG%2C_PC%2C_FRS.png/220px-Coat_of_arms_of_John_Russell%2C_4th_Duke_of_Bedford%2C_KG%2C_PC%2C_FRS.png)
John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford,
Early life
He was the fourth son of Wriothesley Russell, 2nd Duke of Bedford, by his wife, Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of John Howland of Streatham, Surrey. Known as Lord John Russell, he married in October 1731 Diana Spencer, daughter of Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland; became Duke of Bedford on his brother's death a year later.
Having lost his first wife in 1735, he married, secondly, in April 1737, to Lady Gertrude Leveson-Gower (died 1794), daughter of John Leveson-Gower, 1st Earl Gower. In 1749, John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford, was made a Knight of the Order of the Garter.
Early political career
In the
Newcastle, who had previously admired
Cricket
Bedford was very keen on cricket. The earliest surviving record of his involvement in the sport comes from 1741 when he hosted
By 1743, Bedford had developed
Seven Years' War
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
Instigated by his friends, he was active in opposition to the government, becoming the leader of a faction named after him, the
In Ireland, he favoured a relaxation of the penal laws against Roman Catholics, but did not keep his promises to observe neutrality between the rival parties, and to abstain from securing pensions for his friends. His own courtly manners and generosity, and his wife's good qualities, however, seem to have gained for him some popularity, although Horace Walpole says he disgusted everybody (but the word "disgusting" then had a much wider range of meanings than it has today, and at its mildest meant simply "reserved").
He oversaw the Irish response to the
Peace negotiator
Having allied himself with the
He was considerably annoyed because some of the peace negotiations were conducted through other channels, but he signed the Peace of Paris in February 1763. Amongst other gains Britain received Canada from France and Florida from Spain. Resigning his office as Lord Privy Seal soon afterwards, various causes of estrangement arose between Bute and Bedford, and the subsequent relations between the two men were somewhat virulent.
Grenville ministry
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/94/Giovanni_Antonio_Canal%2C_il_Canaletto_-_Campo_Santa_Maria_Formosa_-_WGA03907.jpg/200px-Giovanni_Antonio_Canal%2C_il_Canaletto_-_Campo_Santa_Maria_Formosa_-_WGA03907.jpg)
The duke refused to take office under
During his term of office, he had opposed a bill to place high import duties on Italian silks. He was consequently assaulted and his London residence was attacked by a mob. He took some part in subsequent political intrigues, and although he did not return to office, his friends, with his consent, joined the ministry of the
Children
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6a/4thDukeOfBedford.jpg/200px-4thDukeOfBedford.jpg)
Child of John Russell and his first wife Lady Diana Spencer:
- John Russell, Marquess of Tavistock (died at birth 6 November 1732)
Children of John Russell and his second wife Hon. Gertrude Leveson-Gower:
- Francis Russell, Marquess of Tavistock (27 September 1739 – 22 March 1767)
- Lady Caroline Russell (c. January 1743 – 26 November 1811), married George Spencer, 4th Duke of Marlborough
Death
His health had been declining for some years, and in 1770 he became partially paralysed. He died at Woburn on 5 January 1771, and was buried in the Bedford Chapel at St. Michael's Church, Chenies, Buckinghamshire. His sons all predeceased him, and he was succeeded in the title by his grandson, Francis. Francis suffered heavy financial losses, and began the development of Bloomsbury on the old Bedford Estate.
The duke held many public offices: lord-lieutenant of Bedfordshire and Devon, Colonel of the East Devon Militia, and chancellor of the University of Dublin among others, and was a Knight of the Garter. Bedford was a proud and conceited man, but possessed both ability and common sense. The important part which he took in public life, however, was due rather to his wealth and position than to his personal taste or ambition. He was neither above nor below the standard of political morality of the time, and was influenced by his duchess, who was very ambitious, and by followers who were singularly unscrupulous.
He served as the twelfth Chancellor of the University of Dublin from 1765 to 1770.
See also
- Elizabeth Wrottesley(niece)
References
- ^ Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900. .
- ^ G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14 (1910–1959; reprint in 6 volumes, Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000), volume II, page 82-84, volume VIII, page 500.
- ^ Charles Mosley, editor, Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 106th edition, 2 volumes (Crans, Switzerland: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 1999), volume 2, page 1871.
- ^ Maun, pp. 106–107.
- ^ Maun, p. 106.
- ^ Waghorn, Cricket Scores, p. 27.
Bibliography
- Brown, Peter Douglas. William Pitt, Earl of Chatham: The Great Commoner. George Allen & Unwin, 1978.
- Maun, Ian (2009). From Commons to Lord's, Volume One: 1700 to 1750. Roger Heavens. ISBN 978-1-900592-52-9.
- Waghorn, H. T. (1899). Cricket Scores, Notes, etc. (1730–1773). Blackwood.
External links
Media related to John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford at Wikimedia Commons