John Earl of Sandwich

Lord Sandwich, for whom Cook named the Hawaiian islands; after the portrait by Gainsborough. Cook's friend and patron John Montagu, fourth Earl of Sandwich (1718-1792), was appointed First Lord of the Admiralty in February 1748, and in three short years instigated a series of reforms of shipyards and naval discipline, but was bundled out of office in 1751. His notorious personal life, which included membership of the infamous Hellfire Club meant that he was often lampooned, satires which became vicious when he was involved in the prosecution of John Wilkes. He nonetheless returned to the Admiralty in 1771, where he quickly became the mentor and confidant of James Cook, a friendship begun in the heated debates about the outfitting of his second voyage. It was Sandwich who prevailed on Cook to undertake his third voyage when Cook had initially refused the post.

This portrait, engraved by J. Collyer and published by Cooke, was used to illustrate the posthumously published account of Sandwich's 1738 voyage to the Mediterranean. The caption is from Virgil, and suggests that his merits have made him beloved: perhaps an overstatement, given Sandwich's notorious career.