John Ker, 3rd Duke of Roxburghe, (23 April 1740 – 1804) was a Scottish peer, scholar and publisher.

Early life

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, on 23 April 1740, Ker succeeded his father to become the 3rd Duke of Roxburghe in 1755. During his Grand Tour in 1761 he fell in love with Duchess Christiane of Mecklenburg, oldest daughter of Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg."Ker, John, third Duke of Roxburghe", in: ''

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'' vol. 31, New York 1892, p. 51. This would have been a perfect match of social equals. Shortly afterwards a younger sister,

Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Sophia Charlotte; 19 May 1744 – 17 November 1818) was List of British royal consorts, Queen of Great Britain and Ireland as the wife of King George III from their marriage on 8 September 1761 until her ...

, became engaged to King

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

. It was considered bad etiquette for an elder sister to marry someone of lower rank than a younger sister. For whatever reason, both John Ker and Christina separated and remained single for the rest of their lives. If George III recognised the sacrifice that Ker had made, it was rewarded with a high position at court. He was

Lord of the Bedchamber Gentleman of the Bedchamber was a title in the Royal Household of the Kingdom of England from the 11th century, later used also in the Kingdom of Great Britain. A Lord of the Bedchamber was a courtier in the Royal Household, the term being fir ...

from 1767, was appointed a Knight of the Thistle in 1768. In 1796 he was appointed Groom of the Stole and made a

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council, formally His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its members, known as privy counsellors, are mainly senior politicians who are current or former ...

. He was appointed a

Knight of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. The most senior order of knighthood in the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British honours system, it is outranked in ...

in 1801.

Bibliophile

While in Italy, Ker saw a first edition of

Boccaccio Giovanni Boccaccio ( , ; ; 16 June 1313 – 21 December 1375) was an Italian writer, poet, correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanist. Born in the town of Certaldo, he became so well known as a writer that he was s ...

's '' Decameron'', often called the ''Valdarfers edition''. This was a fabled book, which many said did not exist. He paid 100 guineas for it and showed it to his friends in London to huge acclaim. For the next 40 years he collected ancient and curious books, particularly editions of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

's works and other works which merely mentioned Shakespeare. At his death in 1804 there were 10,000 items. Most were books, but there were also pamphlets and broadside ballad sheets. His library was auctioned in 1812, leading to the formation of the Roxburghe Club. His collection of ballads were later published as the Roxburghe Ballads. He died unmarried and childless, and the titles Earl Ker and Baron Ker, which had been created for his father in 1722 in the

Peerage of Great Britain The Peerage of Great Britain comprises all extant peerages created in the Kingdom of Great Britain between the Acts of Union 1707 and the Acts of Union 1800. It replaced the Peerage of England and the Peerage of Scotland, but was itself repla ...

, became extinct. His cousin William Bellenden, 7th Lord Bellenden succeeded to the dukedom and all of its other subsidiary titles.

In popular culture

In '' Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell'', a 2004 novel by British writer Susanna Clarke, the Duke's affection for the Queen's sister and their subsequent separation are mentioned, and made a premise for an important aspect of the story. One of the title characters, Gilbert Norrell, had a longstanding wish to examine the books of the Duke's library, believing there to be magical texts within. The Duke, being a bibliophile and rich, saw no reason to allow Mr. Norrell the opportunity, and so upon the Duke's death, the new Duke puts the library up for sale in order to pay off court debts. The Duke's library contained several extremely rare and valuable tomes, which Mr. Norrell purchases at auction, causing an increase in friction between himself and Jonathan Strange.

Ancestry

Notes

Bibliography

*Dibdin, Rev. Thomas Frognall. ''Reminiscences of a Literary Life''. 2 vols.
Vol IVol II
. London: John Major, 1836.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roxburghe, John Ker, 3rd Duke of 1740 births 1804 deaths Nobility from the Scottish Borders Anglo-Scots Ballads 3 Knights of the Garter Knights of the Thistle Lord-lieutenants of Roxburghshire Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain People from Westminster Scottish politicians Scottish publishers (people) Scottish scholars and academics Scottish book and manuscript collectors John Ker, 3rd Duke of Roxburghe Grooms of the Stool Court of George III