Lionel Sackville-West, 2nd Baron Sackville

Lionel Sackville-West, 2nd Baron Sackville, GCMG (19 July 1827 – 3 September 1908), was a British diplomat.

The Lord Sackville
Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the United States
In office
1881–1888
Preceded bySir Edward Thornton
Succeeded bySir Julian Pauncefote
Personal details
Born19 July 1827
Cambridgeshire, England
Died3 September 1908(1908-09-03) (aged 81)
ChildrenVictoria Sackville-West, Baroness Sackville
Parent(s)George Sackville-West, 5th Earl De La Warr
Lady Elizabeth Sackville

Background edit

Sackville-West was the fourth son of George Sackville-West, 5th Earl De La Warr, by Lady Elizabeth, daughter of John Sackville, 3rd Duke of Dorset. He was the younger brother of George West, Viscount Cantelupe, Charles Sackville-West, 6th Earl De La Warr and Mortimer Sackville-West, 1st Baron Sackville.

Diplomatic career edit

Sackville-West was Minister Plenipotentiary to Argentina from 1872 to 1878 and Ambassador to Spain from 1878 to 1881. Then, he was appointed Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the United States, a post he held until 1888, when he retired for writing of the Murchison letter. In 1888, he also succeeded his elder brother Mortimer in the barony of Sackville.

Family edit

Lord Sackville had seven children by a Spanish dancer, Josefa de la Oliva (née Durán y Ortega, known as Pepita). Soon after his death one of these, calling himself Ernest Henri Jean Baptiste Sackville-West, claimed to be a lawful son and his father's heir. He asserted that between 1863 and 1867 Sackville-West had married his mother. The case came before the English courts of law in 1909–1910, and it was decided that the children of this union were all illegitimate, as Pepita's husband, Juan Antonio Gabriel de Oliva, was alive during the whole period of his wife's connection with Sackville-West. Lord Sackville died in September 1908, aged 81, and was succeeded by his nephew, Lionel, who married his cousin, Lord Sackville's daughter Victoria. They were the parents of Vita Sackville-West.

References edit

Sources edit

  •   This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domainChisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Sackville, Mortimer Sackville-West, 1st Baron". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 23 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
  • Lee, Sidney, ed. (1912). "Sackville-West, Lionel Sackville" . Dictionary of National Biography (2nd supplement). London: Smith, Elder & Co.
  • Matthew, H. C. G.; Sanderson, T. H. "West, Lionel Sackville Sackville-, second Baron Sackville (1827–1908)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/35902. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  • Campbell, Charles S. "The Dismissal of Lord Sackville." Mississippi Valley Historical Review 44.4 (1958): 635-648 online.
  • Brooks, George. "Anglophobia in the United States: Some Light on the Presidential Election." Westminster Review (130.1 (1888): 736-756 online.

External links edit

Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Minister Plenipotentiary to Argentina
1872–1878
Succeeded by
Preceded by Ambassador to Spain
1878–1881
Succeeded by
Preceded by Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
to the United States

1881–1888
Succeeded by
Peerage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Baron Sackville
1888–1908
Succeeded by