Bute John Stuart

Bute, John Stuart, third Earl of, statesman, was born in 1713. After being educated at Eton, he was in 1738 appointed a lord of the bedchamber to Frederick, Prince of Wales, the father of George III. After the Prince's death he became Groom of the Stole to George III., over whom he exercised great influence. In 1761 he was appointed Secretary of State, and in the following year became Prime Minister from May 29, 1762, to April 8,1763. This brief government proved one of the most unpopular, its leading idea being the supremacy of the king. On his resignation Bute retired into private life, and devoted himself to literature and science, particularly to botany. He married the only daughter of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, through whom the Wortley estates came into the Bute family. He died in 1792.