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

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, (21 February 1805 – 29 December 1893), styled The Lord King from 1833 to 1838, was an English nobleman and scientist. He was the husband of Lord Byron's daughter Ada, today remembered as a pioneerin ...

and

Ada Lovelace Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace (''née'' Byron; 10 December 1815 – 27 November 1852), also known as Ada Lovelace, was an English mathematician and writer chiefly known for her work on Charles Babbage's proposed mechanical general-pur ...

, 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) was an English poet. He is one of the major figures of the Romantic movement, and is regarded as being among the greatest poets of the United Kingdom. Among his best-kno ...

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 Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

. Subsequently he was educated privately; he matriculated at

University College, Oxford University College, formally The Master and Fellows of the College of the Great Hall of the University commonly called University College in the University of Oxford and colloquially referred to as "Univ", is a Colleges of the University of Oxf ...

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 a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

, 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 Mont Blanc (, ) is a mountain in the Alps, rising above sea level, located right at th ...

with his guide, Emile Rey; 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

Harriet Beecher Stowe Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe (; June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American author and Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist. She came from the religious Beecher family and wrote the popular novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (185 ...

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 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 counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, 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. Locat ...

, his ashes were buried in All Saints' Church, Ockham. The church's King Chapel, intended as a chapel over the family vault, still contains the

funerary urn An urn is a vase, often with a cover, with a typically narrowed neck above a rounded body and a footed pedestal. Describing a vessel as an "urn", as opposed to a vase or other terms, generally reflects its use rather than any particular shape or ...

with the ashes of the 2nd Earl of Lovelace and those of

Lady Mary Lovelace Lady Mary Lovelace (1848-1941) was an artist, architect, and author as well as a member of the British nobility. Biography and career Born Mary Caroline Stuart-Wortley, she grew up in London in a small house in St. James Place with her parents, ...

. The urn has the form of a stone casket on monolithic pedestal with heraldic enamel plaques.All Saints' Church, Ockham, Surrey
/ref>

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 30 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 King-Milbanke, 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 name of English origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Old High German ''Radulf'', cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms are: * Ra ...

1839 births 1906 deaths Family of Lord Byron