Marlborough, John Churchill, 1st Duke of 1650-1722
English soldier

Born in Ashe, Devon, he was the son of Sir Winston Churchill, an impoverished Devonshire Royalist. His first post was as page to the Duke of York (the future James VII and II). The patronage of Barbara Villiers (Duchess of Cleveland) enriched him, and brought him an ensigncy in the Guards (1667). Service in Tangier and the Netherlands, combined with the influence of his sister Arabella, mistress of the Duke of York, brought him promotion to colonel. His prospects were further enhanced by his secret marriage in 1677, to Sarah Jennings (see Sarah Churchill), an attendant to, and close friend of, the Princess, later Queen Anne. In 1678 his discreet handling of a confidential mission to William of Orange (William III) led to his ennoblement as Baron Churchill of Eyemouth (1682), and his wife was made Lady of the Bedchamber to Anne. In 1685 he crushed the rebellion led by the Duke of Monmouth, and was rewarded with an English barony. When William landed Churchill pledged his support to his cause. The value of his defection was recognized by his elevation to the earldom of Marlborough. Yet by 1692, despite his brilliant service in William's Irish campaign, the suspicion that he was still sympathetic to the Jacobites brought him into temporary disfavour, though Sarah maintained her close friendship with Anne, who succeeded as queen in 1702. In the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-14) Marlborough was given supreme command of the British and Dutch forces. His march to the Danube brought him the vital co-operation of Prince Eug�ne of Savoy, and ended in the victory of Donauworth and the costly but unequivocal triumph of Blenheim (1704), which earned him a palatial residence at Woodstock. He defeated Louis XIV in the campaign of 1706 at Ramillies and foiled the Duc de Vend�me's 1708 attempt to recover Flanders, which led to the surrender of Lille and Ghent. With their superior manpower, the French recovered from their failure of 1709 at Malplaquet; however in 1711 Marlborough displayed his military flair, when he forced the Duc de Villars' 'impregnable' lines and went on to capture Bouchain. But in England Robert Harley and the Tories had been conspiring for a compromise peace - the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), which sacrificed virtually everything for which the war had been fought - and for Marlborough's public overthrow, while Queen Anne had transferred her friendship from Sarah to Abigail Masham. In 1711 Marlborough, charged with embezzlement, was dismissed and then went abroad (1712). With the accession of George I (1714), however, he was restored to his honours, his advice being sought at the time of the Jacobite rebellion in 1715.

Bibliography: Winston Churchill, Marlborough: His Life and Times (6 vols, 1933-38)