Thomas Gainsborough was an English portrait and landscape painter, draughtsman, and printmaker. Along with his rival Sir Joshua Reynolds, he is considered one of the most important British artists of the second half of the 18th century. He painted quickly, and the works of his maturity are characterised by a light palette and easy strokes. Despite being a prolific portrait painter, Gainsborough gained greater satisfaction from his landscapes. He is credited as the originator of the 18th-century British landscape school. Gainsborough was a founding member of the Royal Academy.
A courtesy title is a form of address and/or reference in systems of nobility used for children, former wives and other close relatives of a peer, as well as certain officials such as some judges and members of the Scottish gentry. These styles are used "by courtesy" in the sense that persons referred to by these titles do not in law hold the substantive title. There are several different kinds of courtesy titles in the British peerage system.
Sir Henry Raeburn was a Scottish portrait painter. He served as Portrait Painter to King George IV in Scotland.
Earl of Mansfield, in the County of Nottingham, and Earl of Mansfield, in the County of Middlesex, are two titles in the Peerage of Great Britain that have been united under a single holder since 1843.
Viscount Massereene is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1660, along with the subsidiary title of Baron Loughneagh. From 1665 to 1816 the Skeffington Baronetcy of Fisherwick was attached to the viscountcy and from 1756 to 1816 the Viscounts also held the title of Earl of Massereene. Since 1843 the peerages are united with titles of Viscount Ferrard, of Oriel and Baron Oriel, both in the Peerage of Ireland, and Baron Oriel, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The Viscount also holds the subsidiary titles of Baron Loughneagh (1660) and Baron Oriel (1790) in the Peerage of Ireland and Baron Oriel (1821) in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. As Baron Oriel, he sat in the House of Lords until 1999.
David Murray, 2nd Earl of Mansfield, 7th Viscount of Stormont, known as the (7th) Viscount of Stormont from 1748 to 1793, was a British diplomat and politician. He succeeded to both the Mansfield and Stormont lines of the Murray family, inheriting two titles and two fortunes.
David William Murray, 3rd Earl of Mansfield, KT was a British army officer and peer, who served as Lord Lieutenant of Clackmannanshire from 1803 until his death.
Thomas Graham, 1st Baron Lynedoch was a Scottish aristocrat, politician and British Army officer. After his education at Oxford, he inherited a substantial estate in Scotland, married and settled down to a quiet career as a landowning gentleman. However, with the death of his wife, when he was aged 42, he immersed himself in a military career, during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.
Lieutenant-General Charles Schaw Cathcart, 9th Lord Cathcart, KT was a British soldier and diplomat. He was also chief of the Clan Cathcart.
George Venables-Vernon, 2nd Baron Vernon, was the 2nd Baron Vernon of Kinderton. He acceded to the title in 1780 after the death of his father George Venables-Vernon, first Baron Vernon of Kinderton.
Lady Louisa Stuart was a British writer of the 18th and 19th centuries. Her long life spanned nearly ninety-four years.
John Stewart, 7th Earl of Galloway,, styled Viscount Garlies from 1747 until 1773, was a British peer who became the 7th Earl of Galloway in 1773 and served as a Member of Parliament from 1761 to 1773.
Lady Elizabeth Southwell, called Lady Cromwell (1674–1709) was an English noblewoman, the only daughter of Vere Essex Cromwell, 4th Earl of Ardglass and wife Catherine Hamilton.
Richard Milles was an English Tory politician, landowner and horticulturalist who sat in the British House of Commons from 1761 to 1780, representing the constituency of Canterbury.
James Drummond, 1st Baron Perth, was a Scottish soldier, landowner and peer.
Frances Evelyn "Fanny" Boscawen was an English literary hostess, correspondent and member of the Blue Stockings Society. She was born Frances Evelyn Glanville on 23 July 1719 at St Clere, Kemsing, Kent. In 1742 she married Admiral The Hon. Edward Boscawen (1711–1761). When his navy work took him away from home, his wife would send him passages from her journal, some of which were later published.
Louisa, 2nd Countess of Mansfield, was a Scottish noblewoman, who was married twice: first to David Murray, 2nd Earl of Mansfield, and then to The Hon. Robert Fulke Greville.
Elizabeth Noel, Viscountess Campden, formerly Lady Elizabeth Bertie, was the fourth wife of Baptist Noel, 3rd Viscount Campden, and the mother of nine of his children.
Susanna Brudenell-Bruce, Countess of Ailesbury, formerly Susanna(h) Hoare, was the first wife of Thomas Brudenell-Bruce, 1st Earl of Ailesbury, and the mother of the 1st Marquess.
Jane Cathcart was the wife of Lord Cathcart the British ambassador to Russia. She was a personal friend of Catherine the Great and a patron to Josiah Wedgewood.
