John David Gathorne-Hardy, 4th Earl of Cranbrook (15 April 1900 – 22 November 1978) was a British

hereditary peer The hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom. As of September 2022, there are 807 hereditary peers: 29 dukes (including five royal dukes), 34 marquesses, 190 earls, 111 viscounts, and 443 barons (disregarding subsid ...

and

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

Early life and education

Cranbrook was the son of Gathorne Gathorne-Hardy, 3rd Earl of Cranbrook and Lady Dorothy Boyle, daughter of

David Boyle, 7th Earl of Glasgow David Boyle, 7th Earl of Glasgow, (31 May 1833 – 13 December 1915), was a British naval commander and colonial governor. He served as Governor of New Zealand between 1892 and 1897. Background Boyle was the son of Patrick Boyle (eldest son of D ...

. He inherited the earldom in December 1915 at the age of 15 upon the death of his father. He was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

and the

Royal Military Academy, Woolwich The Royal Military Academy (RMA) at Woolwich, in south-east London, was a British Army military academy for the training of commissioned officers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. It later also trained officers of the Royal Corps of Sig ...

. He was awarded an MA at

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

Career

Cranbrook was elected to the office of

Parliamentary Private Secretary A Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) is a Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom who acts as an unpaid assistant to a minister or shadow minister. They are selected from backbench MPs as the 'eyes and ears' of the minister in the H ...

in 1927 and retained the position until 1928, to the First Commissioner of Works. In addition to this, he was

Alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

of the London County Council between 1928 and 1933. He was honorary Air commodore of the No. 3169 Suffolk Fighter Control Unit, Royal Auxiliary Air Force between 1950 and 1961. He was vice-president and a treasurer of the

Linnean society The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature colle ...

in 1958. Cranbrook was also trustee of the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

between 1964 and 1973. He died in 1978, aged 78.

Marriages and children

Cranbrook was married firstly on 7 October 1926 to his cousin

Bridget D'Oyly Carte Dame Bridget D'Oyly Carte DBE (25 March 1908 – 2 May 1985) was head of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company from 1948 until 1982. She was the granddaughter of the impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte and the only daughter of Rupert D'Oyly Carte. Thoug ...

, daughter of

Rupert D'Oyly Carte Rupert D'Oyly Carte (3 November 1876 – 12 September 1948) was an English hotelier, theatre owner and impresario, best known as proprietor of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company and Savoy Hotel from 1913 to 1948. Son of the impresario and hotelier R ...

and Lady Dorothy Gathorne-Hardy (daughter of

John Gathorne-Hardy, 2nd Earl of Cranbrook John Stewart Gathorne-Hardy, 2nd Earl of Cranbrook (22 March 1839 – 13 July 1911), known as Lord Medway from 1892 to 1906, was a British peer and Conservative Member of Parliament. Born John Stewart Hardy, Cranbrook was the eldest son of the Co ...

). They divorced in 1931. He was married secondly on 26 July 1932 to Fidelity Seebohm, sister of

Frederic Seebohm, Baron Seebohm Frederic Seebohm, Baron Seebohm, TD (18 January 1909 – 15 December 1990), was a British banker, soldier and social work innovator. Early life and background Lord Seebohm's father was Hugh Exton Seebohm and grandfather was the historian F ...

, with whom he had five children:Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003 *

Gathorne Gathorne-Hardy, 5th Earl of Cranbrook Gathorne Gathorne-Hardy, 5th Earl of Cranbrook, (born 20 June 1933), styled Lord Medway until 1978, is a British zoologist, biologist, naturalist, and peer. Since 1956, he has been active in the fields of ornithology, mammalogy, and zooarch ...

(born 20 June 1933) *

Lady The word ''lady'' is a term for a girl or woman, with various connotations. Once used to describe only women of a high social class or status, the equivalent of lord, now it may refer to any adult woman, as gentleman can be used for men. Inform ...

Juliet Gathorne-Hardy (born 12 December 1934) * Lady Catherine Sophia Gathorne-Hardy (born 11 March 1936) * Lady Christina Gathorne-Hardy (born 1 May 1940) *

Hon Hon or HON may refer to: People * Han (surname) (Chinese: 韩/韓), also romanized Hon * Louis Hon (1924–2008), French footballer * Priscilla Hon (born 1998), Australian tennis player Other uses * Hon (Baltimore), a cultural stereotype of ...

Hugh Gathorne-Hardy (born 30 December 1941)

Death

Lord Cranbrook died on 22 November 1978 at the age of 78 and was succeeded in the earldom by his elder son Gathorne. Fidelity, Dowager Countess of Cranbrook died in 2009.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cranbrook, John Gathorne-Hardy, 4th Earl of 1900 births 1978 deaths Nobility of the United Kingdom British archaeologists

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich People educated at Eton College