Sandwich, Edward Montagu, 1st earl of

Sandwich, Edward Montagu, 1st earl of (mon'tugyOO) [key], 1625–72, English admiral. He fought in the parliamentary army during the civil war, became (1653) a member of the council of state of the Commonwealth, and was appointed (1656) general at sea. After the collapse of the Protectorate, however, he assisted in the Restoration (1660) of Charles II and escorted the king home from Holland. Created (1660) earl of Sandwich and admiral of the narrow seas, he negotiated (1661) the marriage between Charles and Catherine of Braganza, secured English possession of Tangier as part of her dowry, and brought Catherine to England. He fought with distinction at the battle of Lowestoft (1665) in the second Dutch War and was killed in the battle of Southwold Bay in the third war. Samuel Pepys, his cousin's son, was his secretary at the admiralty.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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