Earls of Dartmouth

1711

Queen Anne promotes Baron William Legge, making him the first Earl of Dartmouth.

1750

The younger William Legge, 19, becomes the second Earl of Dartmouth He is known as "the psalm singer" for his zeal for the new movement of Methodism.

1760

The Earl applies for the office of Lord of the Bedchamber in the court of George III. He is rejected by court insiders, "lest so sanctimonious a man should gain too far on His Majesty's piety."

1764

In his first known correspondence with Lord Dartmouth, Eleazar Wheelock writes to "solicit your Lordship's favorable notice of, and friendship towards, a feeble attempt to save the swarms of Indian natives in this land from final and eternal ruin."

1766

Samson Occorri, a Mohegan Indian on a fundraising mission for Wheelock's school, meets Dartmouth in London. "He appeared like a worthy Lord indeed," Occom records in his journal. Dartmouth agrees to use his political influence at court on behalf of the school.

1768

Occom and his associates sail home to New England, having raised more than £1O,OOO. The Earl of Dartmouth contributes £5O.

1769

A charter creates an institution "by the name of Dartmouth College, for the education and instruction of youths of the Indian tribes in this land, in reading, writing."

1770

In a letter to the Earl, Wheelock admits he has used Dartmouth's name without first seeking his consent."

1883

A satirical account of English nobility describes the fifth Earl of Dartmouth, William Walter Legge, as "a peer of the old type, titled to the eyes, acred to the lips, having no responsibilities beyond the wellthumbed limits of his rentbook."

1904

William Heneage Legge, the sixth Earl of Dartmouth, becomes the first of his line to visit Hanover. A brief biography says "[He] has had Influenza no fewer than eight times since its introduction into the list of modern diseases and he lives in dread of it. "

1952

While stranded at the British Youth Hostel in London, Mac Donald Samuel Chikwendu Nwariaku '56 of Ubakala, Nigeria, appeals for aid from the eighth Earl of Dartmouth, Humphrey Legge. The Earl provides an airline ticket to New York.

1969

Gerald Humphrey Legge, ninth Earl of Dartmouth, and wife Raine, the Countess of Dartmouth, dedicate a plaque in honor of the College's bicentennial.

1975

Gerald divorces Raine. Upon remarriage the former Countess of Dartmouth becomes stepmother to Princess Diana. Her stepchildren dub her "Acid Raine" and accuse her of selling the family heirlooms.

1980

The College archivist writes the Earl asking for the preferred translation of the family motto "Gaudet tentamine virtus." The Earl replies, "Virtue rejoices in travail."

1995

The Earl receives this magazine in Hertfordshire, England.

The college eponym with his wife, "Acid" Raine.