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 April 2025, there are 800 hereditary peers: 30 dukes (including six royal dukes), 34 marquesses, 189 earls, 108 viscounts, and 439 barons (not counting subsidiary ...

and

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

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 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 Officer (armed forces), commissioned officers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. It later also trained officers o ...

. He was awarded an MA at

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

Career

Cranbrook was elected to the office of Parliamentary Private Secretary 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 jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

of the London County Council between 1928 and 1933. He was honorary

Air commodore Air commodore (Air Cdre or Air Cmde) is an air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes ...

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 collec ...

in 1958. Cranbrook was also trustee of the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

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

Marriages and children

Cranbrook was married on 7 October 1926 to his cousin Bridget D'Oyly Carte, 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 hotelie ...

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) was a British hereditary peer, Conservative politician, and military officer. Early life Born John Stewart Hardy, Lord Cranbrook was the eldest son of the Co ...

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

Frederic Seebohm, Baron Seebohm Frederic Seebohm, Baron Seebohm, Territorial Decoration, TD (18 January 1909 – 15 December 1990), was a British banker, soldier and social work innovator. Early life and background Seebohm was born in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, the son of wa ...

, 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 zooarcha ...

(born 20 June 1933); *

Lady ''Lady'' is a term for a woman who behaves in a polite way. Once used to describe only women of a high social class or status, the female counterpart of lord, now it may refer to any adult woman, as gentleman can be used for men. "Lady" is al ...

Juliet Gathorne-Hardy (born 12 December 1934); * Lady Catherine Sophia Gathorne-Hardy (born 11 March 1936); * Lady Christina Gathorne-Hardy (born 1 May 1940), who married the South African surgeon Stanley Edward Letanka in 1967. They have three children, including the jazz pianist Pete Letanka (born 1974), who married Lady Flora Grimston, daughter of

John Grimston, 7th Earl of Verulam John Duncan Grimston, 7th Earl of Verulam (born 21 April 1951), styled Viscount Grimston between 1960 and 1973, is a British peer. Early life and education Grimston was born in 1951, the only son of John Grimston, 6th Earl of Verulam. He succ ...

; and * Hon Hugh Gathorne-Hardy (born 30 December 1941).

Death

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 Earls in the Peerage 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 E ...

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

Early life and education

Career

Marriages and children

Death

See also

References