John Spencer was a British

Kingdom of Great Britain

The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...

 politician and an ancestor of the Earls Spencer

Earl Spencer

Earl Spencer is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain that was created on 1 November 1765, along with the title Viscount Althorp, of Althorp in the County of Northamptonshire, for John Spencer, 1st Viscount Spencer, a great-grandson of the 1st Duke of Marlborough...

.

Biography

Born the Hon. John Spencer, he was the youngest son of the 3rd Earl of Sunderland

Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland

Sir Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland KG PC , known as Lord Spencer from 1688 to 1702, was an English statesman...

 and his wife, Lady Anne Churchill. In 1732, he succeeded his cousin, William Godolphin, Marquess of Blandford

William Godolphin, Marquess of Blandford

William Godolphin, Marquess of Blandford was an English nobleman.He was born the eldest son of The Hon. Francis Godolphin and his wife Lady Henrietta Godolphin, née Churchill...

 as Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 (MP) for Woodstock

Woodstock (UK Parliament constituency)

Woodstock, sometimes called New Woodstock, was a parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom. It comprised the town of Woodstock in the county of Oxfordshire and the surrounding countryside and villages, and elected two Members of Parliament from its re-enfranchisement in 1553 until 1832...

, a seat he held until 1746. He was involved in the foundation of the Foundling Hospital

Foundling Hospital

The Foundling Hospital in London, England was founded in 1741 by the philanthropic sea captain Thomas Coram. It was a children's home established for the "education and maintenance of exposed and deserted young children." The word "hospital" was used in a more general sense than it is today, simply...

, famously championed by Thomas Coram, William Hogarth

William Hogarth

William Hogarth was an English painter, printmaker, pictorial satirist, social critic and editorial cartoonist who has been credited with pioneering western sequential art. His work ranged from realistic portraiture to comic strip-like series of pictures called "modern moral subjects"...

 and others. Spencer is listed alongside these gentlemen as one of the organisation's founding governors.

In mid-January 1733, Spencer inherited his father's family's estates in Bedfordshire

Bedfordshire

Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....

, Northamptonshire

Northamptonshire

Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...

 (including Althorp

Althorp

Althorp is a country estate of about and a stately home in Northamptonshire, England. It is about north-west of the county town of Northampton. The late Diana, Princess of Wales is buried in the estate.-History:...

) and Warwickshire

Warwickshire

Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...

 and his grandmother, the Duchess of Marlborough's

Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough

Sarah Churchill , Duchess of Marlborough rose to be one of the most influential women in British history as a result of her close friendship with Queen Anne of Great Britain.Sarah's friendship and influence with Princess Anne was widely known, and leading public figures...

 property, including Wimbledon Park

Wimbledon Park

Wimbledon Park is an urban park in Wimbledon and the suburb south and east to which it lends its name. It is the second largest park in the London Borough of Merton and also gives its name to Wimbledon Park tube station. To the immediate west of the park resides the All England Lawn Tennis and...

. He was married a month later on 14 February to Georgina Carolina Carteret (the third daughter and co-heir of Viscount Carteret

John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville

John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville, 7th Seigneur of Sark, KG, PC , commonly known by his earlier title as Lord Carteret, was a British statesman and Lord President of the Council from 1751 to 1763.-Family:...

, later Earl Granville

Earl Granville

Earl Granville is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of Great Britain and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.-First Creation:...

); their only child was John

John Spencer, 1st Earl Spencer

John Spencer, 1st Earl Spencer was a British peer and politician.Spencer was born in 1734, at his family home, Althorp. He was the son of Hon. John Spencer and Georgiana Carolina Carteret , and a grandson of the 3rd Earl of Sunderland...

, who was later created Earl Spencer

Earl Spencer

Earl Spencer is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain that was created on 1 November 1765, along with the title Viscount Althorp, of Althorp in the County of Northamptonshire, for John Spencer, 1st Viscount Spencer, a great-grandson of the 1st Duke of Marlborough...

 in 1765. Spencer died in 1746 and his wife was remarried four years later to the 2nd Earl Cowper

William Clavering-Cowper, 2nd Earl Cowper

William Clavering-Cowper, 2nd Earl Cowper , styled Viscount Fordwich between 1718 and 1723, was a British peer and courtier....

. The Althorp estate remains the seat of the earls, but the Wimbledon estate was later sold by the 4th Earl

Frederick Spencer, 4th Earl Spencer

Vice-Admiral Frederick Spencer, 4th Earl Spencer KG, CB, PC , styled The Honourable Frederick Spencer until 1845, was a British naval commander, courtier and Whig politician. He initially served in the Royal Navy and fought in the Napoleonic Wars and the Greek War of Independence, eventually rising...

in 1846.