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.

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.

CAVENDISH-BENTINCK, WILLIAM HENRY, 3RD DUKE OF PORTLAND, elder son of William Bentinck, 2nd Duke of Portland, and Lady Margaret Cavendish Harley, only dau. of Edward Harley, 2nd Earl of Oxford (qv); b. 14 Apr 1738; styled Marquis of Titchfield to 1762; adm. May 1747 (Watts'); left Dec 1754; Christ Church, Oxford, matr. 4 Mar 1755; MA 1 Feb 1757; DCL 7 Oct 1792; LLD Tinity Coll. Dublin 18 May 1782; assumed additional surname of Cavendish 1755; MP Weobley 1761 - 1 May 1762; succ. father as 3rd Duke of Portland 1 May 1762; Lord Chamberlain 15 Jul 1765 - 26 Nov 1766; Privy Councillor 10 Jul 1765; Lord Lieut., Ireland, 10 Apr - 15 Sep 1782; Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury 21 Apr - 19 Dec 1783; although previously a committed Whig politician, he became alarmed by the French Revolution and joined William Pitt’s government in 1794; Secretary of State for Home Affairs, 11 Jul 1794 - 30 Jul 1801, Lord President of the Council 30 Jul 1801 - 14 Jan 1805; KG 16 Jul 1801; Prime Ministry and First Lord of the Treasury 31 Mar 1807 - 28 Sep 1809, when he resigned through ill-health; Chancellor of Oxford University from 27 Sep 1792; Lord Lieut., Nottinghamshire, from 19 Jun 1795; FRS 5 Jun 1766; a Busby Trustee from 14 Mar 1765; m. 8 Nov 1766 Lady Dorothy Cavendish, only dau. of William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire PC KG; d. 30 Oct 1809. DNB.

COTTON, STAPLETON, 1ST VISCOUNT COMBERMERE, second son of Sir Robert Salusbury Cotton, Bart. (qv); b. 14 Nov 1773; adm. 28 Jan 1785; at school four years; 2nd Lieut., 23rd Foot, 26 Feb 1790; 1st Lieut., 13 Apr 1791; Capt., 6th Dragoon Guards, 28 Feb 1793; Maj., 59th Foot, 1794; Lieut. -Col., 25th Light Dragoons, 9 Mar 1794; Brevet Col., 1 Jan 1800; Lieut. -Col., 16th Light Dragoons, 14 Feb 1800; served in Flanders 1793-4, at Cape Town 1795, in campaign against Tippoo Sahib 1799, and in Dublin during Emmett’s insurrection 1800; Brig. -Gen., 11 Feb 1804; Maj. -Gen., 30 Oct 1805; commanded allied cavalry during part of Peninsular War; wounded at Salamanca 1812; Lieut. -Gen., 1 Jan 1812; Col., 20th Light Dragoons, 27 Jan 1813 – Jan 1821 [check]; took part in Pyrenees Campaign, 1813-4; commanded allied cavalry in France, 1815-6; Governor of Barbados 1816-20; Col., 3rd Dragoons, 25 Jan 1821 – Sep 1828; Commander-in-Chief, Ireland, 1822-5; Gen., 27 May 1825; Commander-in-Chief, East Indies, 9 Feb 1825 - 1 Jan 1830; captured city of Bhurtpore, 28 Jan 1826; Col., 1st Life Guards, from 16 Sep 1829; Constable of the Tower (and Lord Lieut., Tower Hamlets) from 11 Oct 1852; Field-Marshal, 2 Oct 1855; MP Newark 1806 - 17 May 1814; succ. father as 6th baronet 24 Aug 1809; KB 21 Aug 1812; created Baron Combermere 17 May 1814, with annuity of £2000 p. a. for two generations; GCB 2 Jan 1815; GCH 1817; Governor of Sheerness 25 Jan 1821 – still 1829; Privy Councillor (I) 21 Nov 1822; created Viscount Combermere 8 Feb 1827; DCL Oxford Univ. 23 Jun 1830; Privy Councillor 16 Dec 1834; KCSI 19 Aug 1861; m. 1st, 1 Jan 1801 Lady Anne Maria Pelham-Clinton, eldest dau. of Thomas Pelham-Clinton, 3rd Duke of Newcastle, Major-Gen. in the Army; m. 2nd, 22 Jun 1814 Caroline, second dau. of Capt. William Fulke Greville RN; m. 3rd, 2 Oct 1838 Mary Woolley, dau. of Thomas Gibbings MD, Gibbings Grove, co. Cork; d. 21 Feb 1865. DNB.

COURTENAY, WILLIAM REGINALD, 11TH EARL OF DEVON, elder son of William Courtenay, 10th Earl of Devon (qv); b. 14 Apr 1807; adm. (G) 16 Sep 1818; Christ Church, Oxford, matr. 30 Mar 1824; President, Oxford Union 1827; 1st cl. Classics 1827; BA 1828; BCL 1831; DCL 1838; Fellow, All Souls Coll., 1828-30; adm. Lincoln’s Inn 22 Mar 1828, called to bar 27 Jan 1832; MP (Cons) South Devon 1841 - Feb 1849; a Poor Law Inspector 1849-50; Secretary, Poor Law Board 1850-9; succ. father as 11th Earl of Devon 19 Mar 1859; took Conservative whip in House of Lords; member, Public Schools Commission, 1862; Chancellor, Duchy of Lancaster, Jul 1866 - May 1867; Privy Councillor 10 Jul 1866; President, Poor Law Board, May 1867 - Dec 1868; known in Devon as “the good earl”; Chairman, Devon QS, for fifty-two years; DL JP Devon, JP co. Limerick; Busby Trustee 11 May 1861; member governing body, Westminster School, from 1869; edited with others vol. 6 of Cases decided in the House of Lords on appeal from the Courts of Scotland, 1832-3; m. 27 Dec 1830 Lady Elizabeth Fortescue, seventh dau. of Hugh Fortescue, 1st Earl Fortescue; d. 18 Nov 1888. DNB.

Davidson, John Colin Campbell, 1st Viscount Davidson, only son of Sir James Mackenzie Davidson, Kt., M.B., C. M., of London, by Georgiana Barbara Watt, daughter of William Henderson, of Aberdeen; b. Feb. 23, 1889; adm. Jan. 15, 1903 (A); left July 1907; Pembroke Coll. Camb., matric. Michaelmas 1907; B.A. 1910; Private Secretary to several Cabinet Ministers, including the Rt. Hon. A. Bonar Law when Prime Minister, 1910-23; called to the bar at the Middle Temple June 4, 1913; M. P. Herts (Hemel Hempstead Div.) Nov. 1920 - Nov. 1923, and from Oct. 1924; Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster June 1923 - Jan. 1924; Financial Secretary to the Admiralty Nov. 1924 - Nov. 1926; Chairman of the Conservative Party organization 1926-30; Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 1931-7; served in Home Guard in Great War II; Controller of Production, Ministry of Information 1941; C. B. Jan. 1, 1919; C. H. March 25, 1923; P. C. 1928; G. C. V. O. 1935; created a Viscount May 28, 1937; a Governor of the School July 1927; Busby Trustee 1929; president of the Elizabethan Club 1946-49; represented Westminster on Governing Bodies' Assn. 1949-59; m. April 10, 1919, the Hon. Frances Joan, younger daughter of Willoughby, 1st Baron Dickinson; d. 11 Dec. 1970.

ELLIS, WELBORE, 1ST BARON MENDIP, younger son of Welbore Ellis (qv); b. 15 Dec 1713; adm. Jul 1727; KS (Capt. ) 1728; elected to Christ Church, Oxford 1732, matr. 15 Jun 1732, Westminster Student 29 Dec 1732 - resignation 25 Apr 1739; BA 1736; DCL 7 Jul 1773; inherited fortune of his uncle John Ellis (KS 1660, qv) in 1738; Grand Tour (Italy) 1739-40; MP Cricklade 24 Dec 1741-7, Weymouth 1747-61, Aylesbury 1761-8, Petersfield 1768-74, Weymouth 1774-90, Petersfield 29 Apr 1791- 13 Aug 1794; an active and useful member of the House of Commons; a Lord of the Admiralty 1747-55; Vice-Treasurer for Ireland 1755-62; Privy Councillor 20 Mar 1760; Secretary at War 1762-5; Vice-Treasurer of Ireland (again) 1765-6, 1770-7; Treasurer of the Navy 12 Jun 1777 – Apr 1782; Secretary of State for the American Colonies 11 Feb - Mar 1782; created Baron Mendip 13 Aug 1794, with special remainder to his great-nephew Henry Welbore Agar-Ellis, 2nd Viscount Clifden (qv); member, Society of Dilettanti 1740/1; FRS 20 Jun 1745; Trustee of the British Museum 1780; Busby Trustee 25 Mar 1777; was accustomed to boast of having slept both in the Old Dormitory and in the New Dormitory; m. 1st, 18 Nov 1747 Elizabeth, only dau. of Hon. Sir William Stanhope KB MP; m. 2nd, 20 Jul 1765 Anne, eldest dau. of George Stanley, Paultons, Hampshire; d. 2 Feb 1802. Buried in North Transept, Westminster Abbery. DNB.

GORDON-LENNOX, CHARLES, 5th DUKE OF RICHMOND AND GORDON, eldest son of Charles Lennox, 4th Duke of Richmond and Lennox KG PC, Lord Lieut. Ireland and Governor-General of Canada, Gen. in the Army, and Lady Charlotte Gordon, eldest dau. of Alexander Gordon, 4th Duke of Gordon KT; grandson of Lord George Henry Lennox (qv); b. 3 Aug 1791; styled Earl of March 1806-19; adm. (Glover); left 1809; Trinity Coll. Dublin, adm. nob. 28 Oct 1809; BA 1813; Ensign, 8th Garrison Battalion 8 Jun 1809; Lieut., 13th Light Dragoons 21 Jun 1810; Capt., 92nd Foot 9 Jul 1812; 52nd Foot 8 Apr 1813; Brevet Maj., 15 Jun 1815; Brevet Lieut. -Col., 25 Jul 1816; half-pay 25 Jul 1816; ADC and Assistant Military Secretary to Duke of Wellington in Peninsular War 1810-4; wounded at Orthes; ADC to Prince of Orange at battle of Waterloo; MP Chichester 1812 – 28 Aug 1819; succ. father as 5th Duke of Richmond and Lennox 28 Aug 1819; as MP and peer a supporter of Tory governments to 1828, but opposed Catholic Emancipation and went into opposition after the passage of the Catholic Emancipation Bill in 1829; KG 13 May 1829; offered and accepted Cabinet office in the incoming Whig government Nov 1830; Postmaster-General Nov 1830 – May 1834; Privy Councillor 22 Nov 1830; resigned office over Whig government’s Irish Church policy May 1834, moving to cross-benches in House of Lords; inherited Scottish estates of his cousin 5th Duke of Gordon 1836, assuming additional surname of Gordon before Lennox, 9 Aug 1836; became a vocal advocate of agricultural protection in the 1840s, strongly opposing Sir Robert Peel’s repeal of the corn laws; Col., Sussex Militia, from 4 Dec 1819; Extra ADC to William IV 9 May 1832; Lord Lieut. of Sussex from 19 Jun 1835; Chancellor, Marischall College, Aberdeen, from 1836; FRS 2 Apr 1840; President, Royal Agricultural Society, from 1845; DL Banffshire 1846; Steward, Jockey Club 1831; horses of his won the Oaks 1827, 1845, and the One Thousand Guineas 1845; Provincial Grand Master of Freemasons, Sussex, from 1823; several details of his school life, including his fight with an overgrown bully, will be found in a Memoir of him published in 1862; Busby Trustee from 19 May 1827; m. 10 Apr 1817 Lady Caroline Paget, eldest dau. of Henry William Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey (qv); d. 21 Oct 1860. DNB.

GROSVENOR, RICHARD DE AQUILA, 1ST BARON STALBRIDGE, fourth son of Richard Grosvenor, 2nd Marquis of Westminster (qv); b. 28 Jun 1837; adm. 24 Jan 1849 (G); an intimate school friend of Francis Markham (qv); Trinity Coll. Cambridge, adm. pens. 21 Feb 1855, fellow commoner 15 Oct 1855, matr. Mich. 1855; MA 1858; MP (Liberal) Flintshire May 1861 – 22 Mar 1886; Vice-Chamberlain of the Household Mar 1872 - Feb 1874; Privy Councillor 19 Mar 1872; Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury and Chief Liberal Whip, House of Commons 1880-5; created Baron Stalbridge 22 Mar 1886; took Liberal Unionist whip, House of Lords; Chairman, London and North Western Railway Co. 1891-1911, having been a director since 1870; a Governor of the School 1875-1880 and from 1889; Busby Trustee from 1 Jun 1875; President, Elizabethan Club 1885-91, Vice-President from 1891; an intimate friend of Francis Markham (qv), who frequently mentions him in his Recollections; m. 1st, 5 Nov 1874 Hon. Beatrix Charlotte Elizabeth Vesey, third dau. of Thomas Vesey, 3rd Viscount De Vesci (I); m. 2nd, 3 Apr 1879 Eleanor Frances Beatrice, dau. of Robert Hamilton Stubber, Moyne, Queen’s Co.; d. 18 May 1912. DNB Supp.

HARCOURT-VERNON, GRANVILLE EDWARD, eldest son of Granville Harcourt-Vernon (qv), and his first wife; b. 23 Nov 1816; adm. 16 Sep 1829 (Stikeman's); KS 1830; Capt. of the School 1834; elected head to Christ Church, Oxford 1835, matr. 4 Jun 1835, Westminster Student; BA 1839; MA 1842; Private Secretary to Edward Granville Eliot, 3rd Earl of St Germans (qv), when Chief Secretary for Ireland, and to Earl of Lincoln MP, when Chief Commissioner of Woods and Forests and Chief Secretary for Ireland; MP (Peelite) Newark 1852-7; m. 23 Nov 1854 Lady Selina Catherine Meade, only dau. of Richard Meade, 3rd Earl of Clanwilliam PC GCH, Ambassador at Berlin; d. 1 Feb 1861.