John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, PC, FRS (3 November 1718 – 30 April 1792) succeeded his grandfather, the 3rd Earl, in 1729, at the age of ten. During his life he held various military and political offices (such as Postmaster General and First Lord of the Admiralty), but is perhaps most renowned for the claim to have originated the modern concept of the sandwich.
The modern sandwich is possibly named after Lord Sandwich but not invented by him. It is said that he ordered his valet to bring him meat tucked between two pieces of bread. Because Montagu also happened to be the Fourth Earl of Sandwich, others began to order "the same as Sandwich!" However, the exact circumstances of the invention are still the subject of debate. A rumour in a contemporary travel book called Tour to London (although not confirmed) by Pierre Jean Grosley formed the popular myth that bread and meat sustained Lord Sandwich at the gambling table. The sober alternative is provided by Sandwich's biographer, N. A. M. Rodger, who suggests Sandwich's commitments to the navy, to politics and the arts mean the first sandwich was more likely to have been consumed at his desk.
It is also possible that Sandwich's Grisons Republic born brother-in-law, Jerome de Salis, taught him about sandwiches. The Grisons is known for its dried meat, Bündnerfleisch, while its then subject territory the Valtelline, where De Salis also grew up, is known for Bresaola.
Sandwich was a great supporter of Cook’s Pacific exploration, and supplied Admiralty funds for the purchase and fit-out of the Resolution, Adventure and Discovery. Captain James Cook named the Sandwich Islands, (now Hawaii), which were discovered in 1778, after him, as well as the South Sandwich Islands, and also Montague Island in Alaska.
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