George Granville William Sutherland Leveson-Gower, 3rd Duke of Sutherland (19 December 1828 – 22 September 1892), styled Viscount Trentham until 1833, Earl Gower in 1833 and Marquess of Stafford between 1833 and 1861, was a British politician.
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Sutherland was the son of George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 2nd Duke of Sutherland. He was educated at Eton College and King's College London.
Sutherland was Member of Parliament for Sutherland from 1852 until he succeeded his father as Duke in 1861.
The Third Duke played a key role in the early history of the Highland Railway, being a founder board member of the company and contributing extensively towards the Sutherland Railway, building the Duke of Sutherland's Railway out of his own pocket and also supporting the Sutherland and Caithness Railway. The Highland Railway operated these lines, absorbing them in 1884.
He married, firstly, Anne Hay-Mackenzie (1829–1888), later created Countess of Cromartie in her own right, on 27 June 1849, at Cliveden House in Buckinghamshire. They had five children:
Sutherland married, secondly, Mary Caroline Blair, nee Michell, widow of Captain Arthur Kindersley Blair of the 71st Highland Light Infantry (died in a hunting accident in 1883 near Pitlochry) and daughter of Rev. Richard Mitchell, DD , Principal of this marriage caused a scandal because it took place less than four months after his first wife died, and the lady had been living with the Duke before marriage. (At the time of the marriage, the Duke had been living quietly in Tampa, Florida, for two months with Mrs Blair. At his death in 1892, the 3rd Duke tried to leave all his money to his second wife, who was later found guilty of destroying documents and was imprisoned for six weeks. The family later made a substantial settlement in her favour, enabling her to build Carbisdale Castle between 1906 and 1917.[1] Her first husband was apparently a dependent of the 3rd Duke, and was accidentally shot by him in 1883.[2] He died at Dunrobin Castle, and was buried on 29 September 1892 at Trentham in Staffordshire.
His widow, known as Duchess Blair, married thirdly on 12 November 1896 (sep 1904) as his second wife Sir Albert Kaye Rollit (1842–1922), MP for South Islington. She enjoyed an income of 100,000 pounds until her death according to one source.[3]
In 1871 the Duke of Sutherland sent a wild cat with a badly injured foreleg trapped in Sutherlandshire to the first Crystal Palace Cat Show held in July and organized by Harrison Weir.[4]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Sir David Dundas |
Member of Parliament for Sutherland 1852 – 1861 |
Succeeded by Sir David Dundas |
| Honorary titles | ||
| Preceded by Roderick McLeod |
Lord Lieutenant of Cromarty 1853–1891 |
Office abolished |
| Preceded by The 2nd Duke of Sutherland |
Lord Lieutenant of Sutherland 1861–1892 |
Succeeded by The 4th Duke of Sutherland |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower |
Duke of Sutherland 1861 – 1892 |
Succeeded by Cromartie Sutherland-Leveson-Gower |