John Montagu, 2nd Duke of Montagu
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Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...
, KB
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
, PC (1690 – 5 July 1749), styled Viscount Monthermer until 1705 and Marquess of Monthermer between 1705 and 1709, was a British
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
peer. In 1745, he raised a cavalry regiment known as Montagu's Carabineers, which, however, was disbanded after the Battle of Culloden
Battle of Culloden
The Battle of Culloden was the final confrontation of the 1745 Jacobite Rising. Taking place on 16 April 1746, the battle pitted the Jacobite forces of Charles Edward Stuart against an army commanded by William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, loyal to the British government...
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He was a son of Ralph Montagu, 1st Duke of Montagu
Ralph Montagu, 1st Duke of Montagu
Ralph Montagu, 1st Duke of Montagu was an English courtier and diplomat.-Life:He was the second son of Edward Montagu, 2nd Baron Montagu of Boughton and Anne Winwood, daughter of the Secretary of State Ralph Winwood...
and his first wife Elizabeth Wriothesley. His maternal grandparents were Thomas Wriothesley, 4th Earl of Southampton
Thomas Wriothesley, 4th Earl of Southampton
Sir Thomas Wriothesley, 4th Earl of Southampton, KG , styled Lord Wriothesley before 1624, was a 17th century English statesman, a staunch supporter of Charles II who would rise to the position of Lord High Treasurer after the English Restoration...
and his first wife Rachel de Massue.
On 17 March 1705, John was married to Lady Mary Churchill, daughter of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough
John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough
John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, Prince of Mindelheim, KG, PC , was an English soldier and statesman whose career spanned the reigns of five monarchs through the late 17th and early 18th centuries...
and Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough
Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough
Sarah Churchill , Duchess of Marlborough rose to be one of the most influential women in British history as a result of her close friendship with Queen Anne of Great Britain.Sarah's friendship and influence with Princess Anne was widely known, and leading public figures...
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He was made a Knight of the Garter
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...
in 1719, and was a fellow of the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
and a Grand Master of the Premier Grand Lodge of England
Premier Grand Lodge of England
The Premier Grand Lodge of England was founded on 24 June 1717 as the Grand Lodge of London and Westminster and it existed until 1813 when it united with the Ancient Grand Lodge of England to create the United Grand Lodge of England. It was the first Masonic Grand Lodge to be created...
. In 1739 the country's first home for abandoned children, the Foundling Hospital
Foundling Hospital
The Foundling Hospital in London, England was founded in 1741 by the philanthropic sea captain Thomas Coram. It was a children's home established for the "education and maintenance of exposed and deserted young children." The word "hospital" was used in a more general sense than it is today, simply...
was created in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Montagu was a supporter of this effort and was one of the charity
Charitable organization
A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...
's founding governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
s. He also financed the education of two notable Black British
Black British
Black British is a term used to describe British people of Black African descent, especially those of Afro-Caribbean background. The term has been used from the 1950s to refer to Black people from former British colonies in the West Indies and Africa, who are residents of the United Kingdom and...
figures of the age, Ignatius Sancho
Ignatius Sancho
Ignatius Sancho was a composer, actor, and writer. He is the first known Black Briton to vote in a British election. He gained fame in his time as "the extraordinary Negro", and to 18th century British abolitionists he became a symbol of the humanity of Africans and immorality of the slave trade...
and Francis Williams
Francis Williams
Francis Williams was a scholar and poet born in Kingston, Jamaica.Francis Williams was born around 1700 to John and Dorothy Williams, a free black couple in Jamaica. John Williams had been freed by the will of his former master and within ten years was able to acquire property...
, sending the latter to Cambridge University.
He was a notorious practical joker, his mother-in-law writing of him that "All his talents lie in things only natural in boys of fifteen years old, and he is about two and fifty; to get people into his garden and wet them with squirts, and to invite people to his country houses and put things in beds to make them itch, and twenty such pretty fancies as these."
He is said to have once dunked the political philosopher Montesquieu in a tub of cold water as a joke.
Children
Montagu and his wife Lady Mary Churchill were parents to six children- John Montagu. Died young.
- George Montagu. Died young.
- Edward Churchill Montagu. Died young.
- Eleanor Montagu.
- Mary Montagu (c. 1711 - 1 May 1775). Married George Brudenell, 4th Earl of CardiganGeorge Montagu, 1st Duke of MontaguGeorge Montagu, 1st Duke of Montagu, KG PC, FRS was a British peer.He was born George Brudenell in 1712 at Cardigan House, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in London, the son of the 3rd Earl of Cardigan and his wife, the former Lady Elizabeth Bruce...
. - Isabella Montagu, Countess of Beaulieu (d. 20 December 1786). Married first William Montagu, 2nd Duke of ManchesterWilliam Montagu, 2nd Duke of ManchesterWilliam Montagu, 2nd Duke of Manchester, KB was the son of Charles Montagu, 1st Duke of Manchester.He married Lady Isabella Montagu, daughter of John Montagu, 2nd Duke of Montagu, on 16 April 1723....
and secondly Edward Hussey-Montagu, 1st Earl of BeaulieuEdward Hussey-Montagu, 1st Earl of BeaulieuEdward Hussey-Montagu, 1st Earl Beaulieu, KB was a British peer and politician.Born Edward Hussey, he was the son of Irish parents, James Hussey and Catherine née Parsons...
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Succession
As none of his three sons survived Montagu himself, the title became extinct at his death in 1749. But his eldest living daughter Mary was married to George Brudenell, 4th Earl of Cardigan (1712–1790), who on his father-in-law's death assumed the name and arms of Montagu, and in 1766 was created 1st Duke of MontaguDuke of Montagu
The title of Duke of Montagu has been created several times. It was first created in the Peerage of England in 1705 for Ralph Montagu, 3rd Baron Montagu of Boughton, with the subsidiary title Marquess of Monthermer, but became extinct in 1749. The first Duke had been created Earl of Montagu and...
(second creation).
On Cardigan's death in 1790, this second creation dukedom of Montagu also became extinct; his only son, who had been created Baron Montagu of Boughton, having predeceased him. His daughter Elizabeth married Henry Scott, 3rd Duke of Buccleuch
Henry Scott, 3rd Duke of Buccleuch
Henry Scott, 3rd Duke of Buccleuch and 5th Duke of Queensberry KG KT FRSE was a Scottish nobleman and long-time friend of the notable Sir Walter Scott...
, 5th Duke of Queensberry who thus acquired all the unentailed property of the Dukes of Montagu, the entailed portion passing to the Earls of Cardigan.
The Lordship of Bowland
Lordship of Bowland
The Lordship of Bowland, an ancient English title connected with the Forest of Bowland in the northwest of England, was once thought lost and was only recently rediscovered. It disappeared from sight in 1885 when the estates of the Towneleys, one of Lancashire’s great aristocratic families, were...
, one of northern England's most powerful lordships had been inherited by the 2nd Duke from his stepmother, Elizabeth Monck, widow of the 2nd Duke of Albemarle
Duke of Albemarle
The Dukedom of Albemarle has been created twice in the Peerage of England, each time ending in extinction. Additionally, the title was created a third time by James II in exile and a fourth time by his son the Old Pretender, in the Jacobite Peerage. The name is the Latinised form of the ancient...
. On his death in 1749, the Lordship of Bowland
Lordship of Bowland
The Lordship of Bowland, an ancient English title connected with the Forest of Bowland in the northwest of England, was once thought lost and was only recently rediscovered. It disappeared from sight in 1885 when the estates of the Towneleys, one of Lancashire’s great aristocratic families, were...
had passed to his son-in-law, the 4th Earl of Cardigan
Earl of Cardigan
Earl of Cardigan is a title in the Peerage of England, currently held by the Marquesses of Ailesbury, and used as a courtesy title by the heir apparent to that Marquessate, currently David Brudenell-Bruce, son of the 8th Marquess.-History of the title:...
, later 1st Duke of Montagu
Duke of Montagu
The title of Duke of Montagu has been created several times. It was first created in the Peerage of England in 1705 for Ralph Montagu, 3rd Baron Montagu of Boughton, with the subsidiary title Marquess of Monthermer, but became extinct in 1749. The first Duke had been created Earl of Montagu and...
(second creation), later 1st Baron Montagu of Boughton
Baron Montagu of Boughton
The title of Baron Montagu of Boughton was first created in 1621, in the Peerage of England, for Sir Edward Montagu, eldest son of Sir Edward Montagu of Boughton Castle and grandson of another Sir Edward Montagu who had been Lord Chief Justice during the reign of Henry VIII...
. It finally passed to the 3rd Duke of Buccleuch in 1802 having been held from 1790 by the 1st Earl of Beaulieu, a son-in-law of the 2nd Duke of Montagu
Duke of Montagu
The title of Duke of Montagu has been created several times. It was first created in the Peerage of England in 1705 for Ralph Montagu, 3rd Baron Montagu of Boughton, with the subsidiary title Marquess of Monthermer, but became extinct in 1749. The first Duke had been created Earl of Montagu and...
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