Statesman; born in
Scotland in 1713; succeeded to his father's titles and estates when he was ten years of age; and, in 1736, married the only daughter of
Lady Mary Wortley Montagu.
In February, 1737, he was selected one of the sixteen representative peers of
Scotland, and appointed lord of the bedchamber of the
Prince of
Wales in 1738.
The beautiful
Princess of
Wales gave him her confidence on the death of her husband in 1751, and made him preceptor of her son, afterwards King George III.
Over that youth he gained great influence.
When he ascended the throne, in 1760, George promoted
Bute to a privy councillor, and, afterwards, a secretary of state; and, when
Pitt and the
Duke of
Newcastle retired from the cabinet,
Bute was made prime minister.
He soon became unpopular, chiefly because the
King had discarded the great
Pitt, and preferred this Scotch adventurer, whose bad advice was misleading his sovereign.
Insinuations were rife about the too intimate personal relations of
Bute and the young
King's mother, who, it was believed, ruled both the
King and his minister; and a placard appeared in front of the
Royal Exchange, in large letters, “No petticoat government — no Scotch minister — no
Lord George Sackville!”
Bute was vigorously attacked by
John Wilkes in his
North Briton.
The minister's unpopularity increased.
Suspicions of his being bribed by the enemies of
England were rife; and, perceiving a rising storm that threatened to overwhelm him with disgrace,
Bute suddenly resigned his office (April 7, 1763), but nominated his successor.
He retired to private life, passing his time between
England and
Scotland in the enjoyment of an ample fortune.
He published, at his own expense ($50,000), a work on botany, in 9 volumes, printing only twelve copies to make the work scarce.
He died in
London, March 10, 1792.
