Edward Montagu, 1st Earl of Sandwich

Edward Montagu, 1st Earl of Sandwich (27 July 1625 – 28 May 1672), was an English military officer, politician and diplomat from Barnwell, Northamptonshire. During the First English Civil War he served with the Parliamentarian army, and was a member of the Parliament of England at various times between 1645 and 1660. Under the Protectorate, he was also a member of the English Council of State and General at sea.

In the political infighting that followed the death of Oliver Cromwell in 1658, he played an important role in bringing about the Stuart Restoration in May 1660. Created Earl of Sandwich by Charles II, he served as Ambassador to Portugal from 1661 to 1662. He was appointed Ambassador to Spain in 1666 and helped to negotiate the 1667 Treaty of Madrid.

When the Second Anglo-Dutch War began in 1665, he commanded a naval squadron but was later suspended in a dispute over prize money. He was restored to command when the Third Anglo-Dutch War began in May 1672, but was killed at the Battle of Solebay in June. Montagu is one of the best-known characters of the 1660s, being a central figure in the diaries of his distant cousin the naval official Samuel Pepys.