John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford

For other people named John Russell, see John Russell (disambiguation).

His Grace The Duke of Bedford KG PC FRS
The Duke of Bedford, by Sir Joshua Reynolds
Lord President of the Council
In office 9 September 1763 – 12 July 1765
Monarch	George III
Prime Minister	George Grenville
Preceded by	The Earl Granville
Succeeded by	The Earl of Winchilsea
British Ambassador to France
In office 4 April 1762 – 1 June 1763
Preceded by	Vacant The Earl of Albemarle recalled due to the Seven Years' War
Succeeded by	The Earl of Hertford
Lord Privy Seal
In office 25 November 1761 – 22 April 1763
Monarch	George III
Prime Minister	The Duke of Newcastle The Earl of Bute George Grenville
Preceded by	In Commission The Earl Temple, 5 October 1761
Succeeded by	The Duke of Marlborough
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
In office 3 January 1757 – 3 April 1761
Monarch	George II 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 Kingdom of Great Britain
Died	Woburn, Bedfordshire Kingdom of Great Britain
Resting place	Chenies, Buckinghamshire United Kingdom
Nationality	British
Spouse(s)	Lady Diana Spencer

John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford KG, PC, FRS (30 September 1710 – 5 January 1771) was an 18th-century British statesman. 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; and having lost his first wife in 1735, married in April 1737 Lady Gertrude Leveson-Gower (died 1794), daughter of John Leveson-Gower, 1st Earl Gower.

Early political career

In the House of Lords he joined the Patriot Whig opposition hostile to the Prime Minister Sir Robert Walpole, took a fairly prominent part in public business, and earned the dislike of George II. When Carteret, now Earl Granville, resigned office in November 1744, Bedford became First Lord of the Admiralty in the administration of Henry Pelham, and was made a privy councillor. He was very successful at the admiralty, but was not equally fortunate after he became Secretary of State for the Southern Department in February 1748. Pelham accused him of idleness and he was constantly at variance with his colleague The Duke of Newcastle. Newcastle, who had previously admired The Earl of Sandwich, Bedford's successor as First Lord of the Admiralty, for his forthright and hardline views, had increasingly begun to distrust him and his relationship with Bedford. Newcastle engineered the dismissal of both of them, by sacking Sandwich in June 1751. Bedford resigned in protest, as Newcastle had calculated, allowing him to replace them with men he considered more loyal personally to him. During his time in the post he was accused of spending far too much time at his country estate playing cricket and shooting pheasants.

Seven Years' War

Further information: Great Britain in the 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 Bedford Whigs. After Newcastle’s resignation in November 1756, Bedford became Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in the new government led by William Pitt and the Duke of Devonshire. He retained this office after Newcastle, in alliance with Pitt, returned to power in June 1757. 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. He oversaw the Irish response to the threatened French invasion in 1759, and the landing of a small French force in northern Ireland. In March 1761 he resigned this office.

Peace negotiator

Main article: Peace of Paris (1763)

Having allied himself with the Earl of Bute and the party anxious to bring the Seven Years' War to a close, Bedford was noticed as the strongest opponent of Pitt, and became Lord Privy Seal under Bute after Pitt resigned in October 1761. The cabinet of Bute was divided over the policy to he pursued with regard to the war, but pacific counsels prevailed, and in September 1762 Bedford went to France to treat for peace. 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. Resigning his office as Lord Privy Seal soon afterwards, various causes of estrangement arose between Bute and Bedford, and the subsequent relations of the two men were somewhat virulent.

Grenville ministry

The duke refused to take office under George Grenville on Bute’s resignation in April 1763, and sought to induce Pitt to return to power. A report, however, that Pitt would only take office on condition that Bedford was excluded, incensed him and, smarting under this rebuff, he joined the cabinet of Grenville as Lord President of the Council in September 1763. His haughty manner, his somewhat insulting language, and his attitude with regard to the regency bill in 1765 offended George III, who sought in vain to supplant him, and after this failure was obliged to make humiliating concessions to the ministry. In July 1765, however, he was able to dispense with the services of Bedford and his colleagues, and the duke became the leader of a political party, distinguished for rapacity, and known as the Bedford party, or the Bloomsbury gang.

File:John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford by Thomas Gainsborough.jpg

Portrait of John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford by Thomas Gainsborough, circa 1770

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 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 Duke of Grafton in December 1767. This proceeding led "Junius" to write his "Letter to the Duke of Bedford," one of especial violence. Bedford was hostile to John Wilkes, and narrowly escaped from a mob favourable to the agitator at Honiton in July 1769.

Children

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.

The duke held many public offices: lord-lieutenant of Bedfordshire and Devon, and chancellor of Dublin University 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 Trinity College, Dublin from 1765 to 1770.

References

Honorary titles
Preceded by New Creation	President of the Foundling Hospital 1739–1771	Succeeded by Lord North
Vacant Title last held by The Duke of Kent	Lord Lieutenant of Bedfordshire 1745–1771	Succeeded by The Earl of Upper Ossory
Preceded by The Earl of Orford	Lord Lieutenant of Devon 1751–1771	Succeeded by The Earl Poulett
Political offices
Preceded by The Earl of Winchilsea and Nottingham	First Lord of the Admiralty 1744–1748	Succeeded by The Earl of Sandwich
Preceded by The Duke of Newcastle	Secretary of State for the Southern Department 1748–1751	Succeeded by The Earl of Holdernesse
Preceded by The Duke of Devonshire	Lord Lieutenant of Ireland 1757–1761	Succeeded by The Earl of Halifax
Preceded by The Earl Temple	Lord Privy Seal 1761–1763	Succeeded by The Duke of Marlborough
Preceded by The Earl Granville	Lord President of the Council 1763–1765	Succeeded by The Earl of Winchilsea and Nottingham
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by None due to Seven Years' War	British Ambassador to France 1762–1763	Succeeded by The Earl of Hertford
Peerage of England
Preceded by Wriothesley Russell	Duke of Bedford 1732–1771	Succeeded by Francis Russell