George Leveson-Gower, 1st Duke of Sutherland

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George Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Duke of Sutherland, KG, PC (9 January 1758 – 19 July 1833) was the son of the 1st Marquess of Stafford. He is estimated to have been the wealthist man of the nineteenth-century, surpassing even that of Nathan Rothschild. The precise value of his estate at death is unknown, as is was simply classed as 'upper value'. He was described by Charles Greville as a "leviathan of wealth" and "...the richest individual who ever died".

He married Elizabeth Sutherland, 19th Countess of Sutherland, daughter of William Sutherland, 18th Earl of Sutherland and the former Mary Maxwell, on 4 September 1785. They had four surviving children:

• George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 2nd Duke of Sutherland,(1786–1861)
• The Lady Charlotte Sophia Leveson-Gower (c. 1788–1870), married Henry Fitzalan-Howard, 13th Duke of Norfolk and had issue.
• The Lady Elizabeth Mary Leveson-Gower (1797–1891), married Richard Grosvenor, 2nd Marquess of Westminster and had issue.
• Francis Leveson-Gower (later Egerton) 1st Earl of Ellesmere, (1800–1857)

He was invested as a Privy Counsellor in 1790, a Knight of the Garter in 1806 and was created Duke of Sutherland on 28 January 1833. He is perhaps most well-known for his role in carrying out the Highland Clearances, where thousands of tenants, including the elderly and infirm, were forced out of their homes, which were often burned down, in order to make way for sheep.^[1]

This early form of ethnic cleansing was undertaken between 1811 and 1820. At first it involved relocations from Assynt to coastal villages on the assumption that farmers could take up fishing. Later when the consequences of these actions became clear the evictions were met with opposition, which was ruthlessly repressed. Resentment mounted when one of his factors was acquitted of murder and then took over one of the massive sheep farms the evictions created. Condemnation was widespread and the Highlanders' grievances were heard in the British House of Commons. However, little was done in practice to prevent the emptying of the glens.^[2]

In 1837 a large monument, known locally as the Mannie, was erected on Ben Bhraggie near Golspie to commemorate the Duke's life.^[3] The existence of this statue has been the subject of some controversy—in 1994, Sandy Lindsay, a former Scottish National Party councillor from Inverness proposed its demolition. He later altered his plan, asking permission from the local council to relocate the statue and replace it with plaques telling the story of the Clearances. Lindsay proposed moving the statue to the grounds of Dunrobin Castle, after the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles declined his offer to take it. ^[4] As of February, 2008, however, the statue still stands.

Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by George Hay Viscount Chewton	Member of Parliament for Newcastle-under-Lyme with Viscount Chewton 1779 Archibald Macdonald 1780–1784 1779–1784	Succeeded by Sir Archibald Macdonald Richard Vernon
Preceded by Sir John Wrottesley Sir Edward Littleton	Member of Parliament for Staffordshire with Sir Edward Littleton 1787–1799	Succeeded by Sir Edward Littleton Lord Granville Leveson-Gower
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by The Duke of Dorset	British Ambassador to France 1790–1792	Vacant French Revolutionary Wars Title next held by The Marquess Cornwallis
Honorary titles
Preceded by The Marquess of Stafford	Lord Lieutenant of Staffordshire 1799–1801	Succeeded by The Earl of Uxbridge
	Custos Rotulorum of Staffordshire 1799–1828	Succeeded by The Earl Talbot
Peerage of the United Kingdom
New creation	Duke of Sutherland 1833	Succeeded by George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower
Peerage of Great Britain
Preceded by Granville Leveson-Gower	Marquess of Stafford 1803–1833	Succeeded by George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower
Peerage of England
Preceded by Granville Leveson-Gower	Baron Gower (writ in acceleration) 1799–1833	Succeeded by George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower

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