Ralph King-Milbanke, 2nd Earl of Lovelace
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Ralph Gordon King Noel Milbanke, 2nd Earl of Lovelace (2 July 1839 – 28 August 1906) was a British author of ''Astarte: A Fragment of Truth concerning George Gordon Byron, Sixth Lord Byron''.


Life

He was born at 10 St. James's Square, London on 2 July 1839, the second son of
William King-Noel, 1st Earl of Lovelace William King-Noel, 1st Earl of Lovelace, FRS (21 February 1805 – 29 December 1893), styled the Honourable William King until 1833 and Lord King from 1833 to 1838, was an English nobleman and scientist. Early life and background Lovelac ...
and Ada Augusta, the world's first computer programmer. His maternal grandparents were the poet
Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and Peerage of the United Kingdom, peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and h ...
and Annabella Byron, Baroness Wentworth, 11th holder of the barony of Wentworth. His father, who succeeded as eighth Baron King in 1833, was created Earl of Lovelace on 30 June 1838. He was lord-lieutenant of Surrey from 1840 to his death in 1893, and interested himself in agricultural and mechanical engineering. During 1847–8, Ralph was a pupil at Wilhelm von Fellenberg's Pestalozzian school at Hofwyl, near
Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...
. Subsequently-educated privately, he matriculated at
University College, Oxford University College (in full The College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as "Univ") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It has a claim to being the oldest college of the univer ...
in 1859, but did not graduate. On 1 September 1862, upon the death of his elder brother, Byron Noel, Viscount Ockham – who had succeeded his grandmother, Lady Byron, as twelfth Baron Wentworth – Ralph himself became thirteenth Baron Wentworth, and Viscount Ockham (the courtesy title of Lord Lovelace's heir-apparent). He had assumed the surname of Milbanke, Lady Byron's maiden surname, by royal license on 6 November 1861. Taking little part in public life, he read widely and showed independent if rather erratic judgment. At the age of twenty-two he spent a year in
Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
, and was a zealous student of Norse literature. In early life he was a bold Alpine climber, he spent much time in the Alps, and in 1887 made the first ascent of the
Aiguille Noire de Peuterey The Aiguille Noire de Peuterey (3,773 m) is a mountain of the Mont Blanc massif in Italy, forming part of the Peuterey ridge to the summit of Mont Blanc with its higher neighbour, the Aiguille Blanche de Peuterey. The best-known route on the mou ...
with his guide,
Emile Rey Emil or Emile may refer to: Literature *''Emile, or On Education'' (1762), a treatise on education by Jean-Jacques Rousseau * ''Émile'' (novel) (1827), an autobiographical novel based on Émile de Girardin's early life *''Emil and the Detective ...
; a peak of the Dolomites also bears his name. An accomplished linguist, he was especially conversant with Swiss and Tyrolese dialects. His intimate acquaintance with French, German, and English literature was combined with a fine taste in music and painting. He enjoyed the intimacy of W. E. H. Lecky and other men of letters. In 1893, he succeeded his father as second earl of Lovelace. In 1906, he privately printed ''Astarte: A Fragment of Truth concerning George Gordon Byron, first Lord Byron'', dedicated to M. C. L. (his second wife, nee Mary Caroline Stuart-Wortley, married 30 December 1880). This vigorous if somewhat uncritical polemic purported to be a vindication of Lovelace's grandmother, Lady Byron, from the aspersions made upon her after the "revelations" of Mrs. Beecher Stowe in 1869–70. Lovelace alleged, on evidence of hitherto undivulged papers left by Lady Byron, and now at his disposal, that Byron's relations with his half-sister, Mrs. Augusta Leigh, were criminal, and that she was the Astarte of the poet's ''
Manfred ''Manfred: A dramatic poem'' is a closet drama written in 1816–1817 by Lord Byron. It contains supernatural elements, in keeping with the popularity of the ghost story in England at the time. It is a typical example of a Gothic fiction. Byr ...
''. Lovelace printed a statement signed in 1816 by Dr. Lushington, Sir Robert Willmot, and Sir Francis Doyle, and various extracts from correspondence. He also cited a letter in support of his conclusion from Sir Leslie Stephen, who had examined the papers. ''Astarte'' provoked replies from a Mr. John Murray and from a Mr. Richard Edgcumbe. Lovelace died very suddenly at Ockham Park, Ripley,
Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
, on 28 August 1906. After cremation at
Woking Crematorium Woking Crematorium is a crematorium in Woking, a large town in the west of Surrey, England. Established in 1878, it was the first custom-built crematorium in the United Kingdom and is closely linked to the history of cremation in the UK. Loc ...
, his ashes were buried in the King Chapel over the family vault in Ockham church.


Family

He was twice married: first on 25 August 1869, to Fanny (died 1878), third daughter of George Heriot, vicar of St. Anne's, Newcastle; second on 10 December 1880, to Mary Caroline, eldest daughter of the Rt. Hon. James Stuart-Wortley; she survived him. There was no male issue. Lovelace's daughter, Ada Mary, by his first wife, succeeded to her father's barony of Wentworth. The earldom of Lovelace devolved on his half-brother Lionel Fortescue King, son of the first earl by his second wife.


Notes


References

* *


External links

*ThePeerage.com: ''Ralph Gordon Noel King, 2nd Earl of Lovelace'' – website ThePeerage *Ralph Gordon Noel – website Cracroft's Peerage {{DEFAULTSORT:Lovelace, Ralph King-Milbanke, 2nd Earl of *13
Ralph Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms ...
1839 births 1906 deaths