ASHBURNHAM, BERTRAM, 4TH EARL OF ASHBURNHAM, eldest son of George Ashburnham, 3rd Earl of Ashburnham (qv), and his second wife; b. 23 Nov 1797; adm. Midsummer 1811; left 1814; succ. father as 4th Earl of Ashburnham 27 Oct 1830; DL JP Sussex; a famous collector of rare books and manuscripts; he is said to have started his collection in 1814 while a boy at the School, by the purchase of a rare copy of the Secrets of Albertus Magnus for eighteen pence at Ginger’s shop in Great College Street, and to have continued buying with unwavering judgment and success until a few months before his death; m. 8 Jan 1840 Katherine Charlotte, dau. of George Baillie MP, Jerviswood, Lanarkshire, and sister of George Baillie-Hamilton, 10th Earl of Haddington; d. 22 Jun 1878.

BRETT, WILLIAM BALIOL, 1ST VISCOUNT ESHER, brother of Wilford George Brett (qv); b. 13 Aug 1815; adm. (G) 11 Jan 1830; Gonville and Caius Coll. Cambridge, adm. pens. 25 Jun 1835, matr. Mich. 1835; rowed in Cambridge eight against Leander 1837, 1838, and against Oxford 1839; stroked the Cambridge Subscription Rooms eight which won the Grand Challenge Cup at Henley 1841; BA 1840; MA 1845; adm. Lincoln’s Inn 30 Apr 1839, called to bar 29 Jan 1846, Bencher 1861-8; Northern circuit; QC 22 Feb 1861; contested (Cons) Rochdale 1865; MP (Cons) Helston 5 Jul 1866 - Aug 1868; Solicitor-Gen., 10 Feb - Aug 1868; knighted 29 Feb 1868; Serjeant-at-law; Justice of the Common Pleas 24 Aug 1868-75; Judge of the High Court, Queen’s Bench Division, 1875-6; Lord Justice of Appeal 27 Oct 1876 - Apr 1883; Privy Councillor 28 Nov 1876; Master of the Rolls 3 Apr 1883 - Oct 1897; cr. Baron Esher 24 Jul 1885; cr. Viscount Esher 11 Nov 1897; Hon. Fellow, Gonville and Caius Coll., 7 Oct 1886; a Busby Trustee 18 May 1886 - Jun 1890; m. 3 Apr 1850 Eugénie, only dau. of Louis Mayer, Lyon, France, and step-dau. of Col. John Gurwood CB; d. 24 May 1899. DNB.

BRITTON, JAMES, only son of Rev. James Britton, Head Master of Durham GS, subsequently Vicar of Bossall, Yorkshire North Riding, and Isabella, sister of Henry Forster Mills (qv); b. 25 Oct 1790; in school list 1803; KS (aged 14) 1805; elected to Christ Church, Oxford 1809, matr. 17 May 1809; BA 1813; MA 1815; ordained deacon 6 Mar 1812 (Chester, lit. dim. from York), priest 18 Dec 1814 (York); Curate, Ware, Herts.; Vicar of Great Bardfield, Essex, 17 Jul 1829-40; m. 22 Aug 1818 Julia, dau. of Richard Down, Bartholomew Lane, London, banker; d. 18 May 1871.

BRUCE, THOMAS, 7TH EARL OF ELGIN AND 11TH EARL OF KINCARDINE (S), second son of Charles Bruce, 5th Earl of Elgin and 9th Earl of Kincardine (S), and Martha, dau. of Thomas Whyte, London, banker; b. 20 Jul 1766; succ. elder brother as 7th Earl of Elgin and 11th Earl of Kincardine (S), 15 Jul 1771; adm. 5 Oct 1778, having previously been at Harrow Sch.; left 1782; St. Andrews Univ.; Univ. Paris; Ensign, 3rd Foot Guards, 6 Apr 1785; Capt., 65th Foot, 9 May 1789; Maj., local rank on continent, 8 May 1793; Lieut. -Col., Elgin’s Fencible Infantry, 28 Nov 1794-1802, and also of a second Regt. Fencible Infantry, which he raised, 17 Apr 1795-1802; Brevet Col., 29 Apr 1802; Maj. -Gen., 25 Oct 1809; Lieut. -Gen., 4 Jun 1814; Gen., 10 Jan 1837; a Scottish Representative Peer 1790-1807, 1820-41; British Envoy on special mission to Vienna 1790-1; Envoy to Brussels, 18 Aug 1792-4; Minister Plenipotentiary to Berlin, 15 Aug 1795-8; Ambassador to Constantinople, 13 Apr 1799- Jan 1803; Privy Councillor 3 Jul 1799; while in Constantinople employed agents to acquire for him the Elgin Marbles (purchased from him by the British Government in 1816 and deposited in the British Museum); while on way home to Britain from Turkey, detained in France as prisoner of war May 1803- Jun 1806; m. 1st, 11 Mar 1799 Mary, only child of William Nisbet MP, Dirleton, Haddingtonshire; m. 2nd, 21 Sep 1810 Elizabeth, youngest dau. of James Townshend Oswald MP, Dunnikier, Fifeshire; d. at Paris 14 Nov 1841. DNB.

BRYDGES, JAMES, 1ST DUKE OF CHANDOS, fourth but eldest surviving son of James Brydges, 8th Baron Chandos, Ambassador to Constantinople, and Elizabeth, eldest dau. of Sir Henry Bernard, Kt., Bridgnorth, Shropshire, Turkey merchant; b. 6 Jan 1673/4; adm. 1686; an interesting letter, written by his father from Constantinople, confides his “three poor little boys (all the treasure the kind God of his kind mercy hath spared me)” to Richard Busby (qv), then Head Master (GM 1792, i, 39); New Coll. Oxford, matr. 21 Jun 1690; FRS 30 Nov 1694; MP Hereford Jul 1698 - 16 Oct 1714; member, Council to Lord High Admiral, 29 Mar 1703 - 5 Apr 1705; Paymaster-Gen. of the Forces Abroad, 10 May 1705 – Sep 1713; succ. father as 9th Baron Chandos 16 Oct 1714; cr. Earl of Carnarvon 19 Oct 1714 and Duke of Chandos 29 Apr 1719; Lord Lieut., Herefordshire 11 Sep 1721 - 16 Jul 1741, and of Radnorshire from 11 Sep 1721; Privy Councillor 11 Nov 1721; Chancellor, Univ. of St. Andrews; the “princely” Chandos expended some £200, 000 in building his country house at Canons, near Edgware, Middlesex; Handel spent two years there composing anthems for the chapel, and writing Esther, his first English oratorio; Defoe describes the splendour of the house in his Tour through England, and Pope refers to it as “Timon’s Villa” in his Epistle to Lord Burlington; m. 1st, 27 Feb 1695/6 Mary, dau. of Sir Thomas Lake, Kt., Canons, Whitchurch, Middlesex; m. 2nd, 4 Aug 1713 Cassandra, dau. of Francis Willoughby FRS, naturalist, Wollaton, Notts.  ; m. 3rd, Apr 1736 Lydia Catharine, widow of Sir Thomas Davall MP, and dau. of John Vanhatten; d. 9 Aug 1744. DNB.

CAMPBELL, JOHN, 1ST MARQUIS OF BREADALBANE, eldest son of Colin Campbell, Carwhin, [check county] and Elizabeth, dau. of Archibald Campbell, Stonefield, Argyllshire, advocate; b. 30 Mar 1762; adm. 3 Apr 1771; his private tutor, Rev. Dr. George Campbell, the father of Lord Chancellor Campbell, “accompanied him to Westminster School, and lived several years with him in a house in Smith Street, Westminster” (Life of John, Lord Campbell, 1881, i, 5); succeeded his cousin as 4th Earl of Breadalbane (S) 26 Jan 1782; a Scottish Representative Peer 1784-1806; FRS 19 Feb 1784; raised a number of men at the beginning of the war with France; Ensign, Independent Co. Foot, 10 Jan 1795; Lieut., 24 Jan 1795; Capt., 116th Foot, 27 Jan 1795; Maj., 78th Foot, Apr 1795; Lieut. -Col. in the Army, and Col., 3rd bn., Breadalbane Regt. Fencibles, 17 Apr 1795; Col. in the Army 29 Apr 1802; Maj. -Gen., 25 Oct 1809; Lieut. -Gen., 4 Jun 1814; created Baron Breadalbane (UK) 13 Nov 1806, and Marquis of Breadalbane (UK) 12 Sep 1831; m. 3 Sep 1793 Mary Turner, eldest dau. of David Gavin, Langton, Berwickshire; d. 29 Mar 1834.

CARLETON, DUDLEY, 1ST VISCOUNT DORCHESTER, son of Anthony Carleton, Brightwell Baldwin, Oxfordshire, and his second wife Jocosa, dau. of John Goodwin, Winchington, Bucks.; b. 10 Mar 1573/4; adm.; QS ; elected to Christ Church, Oxford 1591, matr. 11 Feb 1591/2, Westminster Student to 1607; BA 1595; MA 1600 (incorp. Camb. 1626); DCL 31 Aug 1636; Secretary to Sir Thomas Parry, Ambassador to Paris, 1602; MP St. Mawes Mar 1603/4 - Feb 1610/1, Hastings Jan 1625/6 - May 1626; ? adm. Grays Inn 21 Feb 1604/5; Secretary to Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland; suspected of complicity in the Gunpowder Plot, but succeeded in clearing himself while under arrest; Ambassador to Venice 1610-5, The Hague 1616-25; knighted Sep1610; Vice-Chamberlain of the Household 1625-6; Privy Councillor 1626; Envoy to Paris 1626, The Hague 1626-8; created Baron Carleton 22 May 1626 and Viscount Dorchester 25 Jul 1628; Secretary of State from 18 Dec 1628; the most sagacious and successful British diplomat of his day; m. 1st, Nov 1607 Anne, dau. of George Gerrard, Dorney, Bucks., and step-dau. of Sir Henry Savile (founder of Savilian Professorship at Oxford); m. 2nd, 1630 Anne, widow of Paul Bayning, 1st Viscount Bayning, and dau. of Sir Henry Glemham, Little Glemham, Suffolk; d. 15 Feb 1631/2. Buried Westminster Abbey, monument in St. Paul’s Chapel. DNB.

CARTERET, JOHN, 2ND EARL GRANVILLE, eldest surviving son of George Carteret, 1st Baron Carteret, and Lady Grace Granville, subsequently created Countess Granville, youngest dau. of John Granville, 1st Earl of Bath; b. 22 Apr 1690; succ. his father as 2nd Baron Granville 22 Sep 1695; at school under Knipe; contributed to collection of verses written by the scholars on death of Duke of Gloucester, 1700; Christ Church, Oxford, matr. 15 Jan 1705/6; DCL 12 Jul 1756; took seat, House of Lords, 25 May 1711; a supporter of the Hanoverian succession; a Lord of the Bedchamber to George I, 16 Oct 1714 - Aug 1721; Bailiff of Jersey, Jul 1715; Lord Lieutenant, Devon, 13 Jul 1716 - 9 Aug 1721; joined section of Whig party headed by Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland (qv), 1717; Ambassador Extraordinary to Sweden, May 1719 - Jun 1720, securing opening of Baltic to British commerce and negotiating peace between the Baltic powers; Secretary of State, Southern Department, 5 Mar 1721 - Apr 1724; Privy Councillor 5 Mar 1721; became a favourite of George I but was not able to rival the supremacy of Sir Robert Walpole; Lord Lieutenant, Ireland, 3 Apr 1724 - Apr 1730; on intimate terms with Swift, who said that Carteret “had a genteeler manner of binding the chains of the kingdom than most of his predecessors”; offered post of Lord Steward of Household on return from Ireland, but declined to take further office under Walpole; took a prominent part in the long struggle against Walpole, and on 13 Feb 1741 unsuccessfully moved his famous resolution in the House of Lords for Walpole’s removal from office; Secretary of State, Northern Department, 12 Feb 1742 - Nov 1744; attended George II during campaign in Germany in 1743, but his pro-Hanoverian policy made him unpopular in Britain; succ. his mother as 2nd Earl Granville, 18 Oct 1744; advised the King not to admit William Pitt to office, but failed himself to form a ministry in Feb 1746; nominated KG 22 Jun 1749, installed 12 Jul 1750; Lord President of the Council from 17 Jun 1751; of the five great men who Horace Walpole believed to have lived in his time, Granville “was most a genius . . . he conceived, knew, expressed what he pleased”; a Busby Trustee from 19 Feb 1710/1; m. 1st, 17 Oct 1710 Frances, only dau. of Sir Robert Worsley, Bart.; m. 2nd, 14 Apr 1744 Lady Sophia Fermor, sister of George Fermor, 2nd Earl of Pomfret (qv); d. 2 Jan 1763. Buried in north aisle of Henry VII’s Chapel, Westminster Abbey. DNB.

CAVENDISH-BENTINCK, LORD WILLIAM, second son of William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland (qv); b. 14 Sep 1774; at school under Vincent (Steward, Anniversary Dinner 1798, 1809); Ensign, 2nd Foot Guards, 21 Jan 1791; Capt., 2nd Light Dragoons, 1 Aug 1792; 11th Light Dragoons, 20 Feb 1793; Maj., 28th Foot, 21 Feb 1794; Lieut. -Col., 24th Light Dragoons, 20 Mar 1794; ADC to King George III and Brevet Col., 1 Jan 1798; Major-Gen., 1 Jan 1805; Col., 20th Light Dragoons, 4 Jan 1810 – Jan 1813 [check]; Lieut. -Gen., 4 Jun 1811; Col., 11th Light Dragoons, from 27 Jan 1813; Gen., 27 May 1825; served on Duke of York’s staff in the Netherlands 1794, with Marshal Suvorov’s army in Northern Italy 1799, and subsequently with Austrian forces until 1801; MP Camelford 19 Mar 1796-96, Nottinghamshire 1796 - Apr 1803; Governor of Madras, 17 Nov 1802, arriving in India 30 Aug 1803 and holding post until 11 Sep 1807; recalled by Directors of East India Co. following mutiny at Vellore, for which he was held mainly responsible; on staff of Sir Henry Burrard in Portugal, Aug 1808; commanded a brigade at battle of Corunna; Envoy Extraordinary to Court of Sicily, and Commander-in-Chief of British Forces there, 1811-4, conducting expeditions against enemy forces on east coast of Spain and at Genoa; MP Nottinghamshire 1812 - 12 Mar 1814, 8 Jul 1816-26, King’s Lynn 1826 - Jan 1828; KB 1 Feb 1813; GCB 2 Jan 1815; GCH 1817; Governor-General of Bengal 4 Jul 1827 - Nov 1834, also Commander-in-Chief 16 May 1833; Privy Councillor 17 Aug 1827; Governor-General of India 14 Nov 1834 - 20 Mar 1835; the first British statesman who adopted the policy of governing India in the interests of the people of that country; MP (Whig) Glasgow from 17 Feb 1836; Clerk of the Pipe in the Exchequer Oct 1783 - Oct 1833 (office abolished); m. 19 Feb 1803 Lady Mary Acheson, second dau. of Arthur Acheson, 1st Earl of Gosford (I); d. at Paris 17 Jun 1839. DNB.