LENNOX, CHARLES, 3RD DUKE OF RICHMOND AND LENNOX, third son of Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond and Lennox KG KB PC, Lieut. -Gen. in the Army, and Lady Sarah Cadogan, elder dau. of William Cadogan, 1st Earl Cadogan (qv); b. 22 Feb 1735; styled Earl of March 1735-50; adm. Apr 1746 (Levett's); his schoolfellow William Cowper (qv) relates seeing him set fire to Vinny Bourne’s “greasy locks and box his ears to put it out again” (Southey, Cowper, iv, 98); left 1750; succeeded father as 3rd Duke of Richmond and Lennox 8 Aug 1750; Leyden Univ. 28 Oct 1753; Grand Tour (Italy) 1755; Ensign, 2nd Foot Guards 16 Dec 1751; Capt., 29th Foot 18 Jun 1753; Lieut. -Col., 33rd Foot 7 Jun 1756; Col., 72nd Foot 9 May 1758-63; distinguished himself at battle of Minden 1 Aug 1759; Maj. -Gen., 9 Mar 1761; Lieut. -Gen., 30 Apr 1770; Gen., 20 Nov 1782; Col., Royal Horse Guards, from 15 Jul 1795; Field Marshal 30 Jul 1796; a Lord of the Bedchamber 25 Nov – 8 Dec 1760; Ambassador Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at Paris Aug 1765 – May 1766; Privy Councillor 23 Oct 1765; Secretary of State, Southern Dept., 23 May 1766 – Aug 1767; an opponent of ministerial policy on American colonies; urged removal of Irish grievances; insisted upon reform of Civil List; his Reform Bill, proposing annual parliaments, manhood suffrage and electoral districts, was rejected by House of Lords without a division 3 Jun 1780; Master-Gen. of the Ordnance (with a seat in the Cabinet) 30 Mar 1782 – 3 Apr 1783, 27 Dec 1783 – Feb 1795; KG 19 Apr 1782; became a zealous courtier and opponent of reform; FRS 11 Dec 1755; FSA 6 Jun 1793; Society of Dilettanti 1765; Lord Lieut., Sussex, from 23 Nov 1763; DL Tower Hamlets 1784; a patron of the fine arts; engaged Cipriani and Wilson to teach at a school for the study of painting and sculpture founded by him in the garden of Richmond House, Whitehall; formed a collection of casts for this purpose; his Letter on the Subjecy of a Parliamentary Reform, 1783, passed through numerous editions; m. 1 Apr 1757 Lady Mary Bruce, only child of Charles Bruce, 3rd Earl of Ailesbury and 4th Earl of Elgin; d. 29 Dec 1806. DNB.
